Adjustment One: Breastfeeding
-Pumping round the clock and not breastfeeding your baby is for the birds. I miss looking at Rowan's face instead of a machine every feed. Props to moms of our NICU that do this for months on end.
-No one had given me any insight into what it would be like to have to pump, wash, dry and reassemble pumping gear as often as every three hours. I'm seriously considering getting an extra set of flanges and parts just so I don't have to wash and especially dry all the nooks and crannies one set contains.
-When I go to "pump" at work, I am actually pumping only 8-10 minutes. The rest of the time I am messing with the parts. So I end up being gone from my assignment for about 20-25 min which makes me feel slightly bad.
-Every time I pump when I am away from her I get stressed out if the amount isn't what I expected. 3.5 oz totally gets me worried my supply is tapering off only to then pump 6 oz the next time and breathe a sigh of relief. I need to freaking chill out.
-It's great we have a pump room on our floor that I can use, unfortunately it is a little awkward when you meet your baby's mom back there. Oh hey Rolanda, I know I just told you little Neveah is having a bad night and you cried at the bedside but lets forget about that and pumping side by side together. Or hey Kitty, I know I said I would watch over little Miracle but as soon as you left the bedside, I left too and am back here pumping and not rocking your baby to sleep. I mean awkward is the only word.
-Trying to figure out when to pump when away from Rowan is a trial and error process. Currently I am pumping when she would be eating, which sounds like a great idea but I work nights remember. So I pump at 930 and again at 530 while at work...awesome. Then I pump at 830 before bed and proceed to wake up every 3-4 hours to pump then try to go back to sleep. This is not easily achieved because I have to wash, dry and reassemble everything for the next time I wake up to pump and after I have done all that I am awake. My body isn't so sure it wants to fall back asleep at 2 in the afternoon after I have fully woken it up. So we will try this a little longer but may have to resort to another option. I just know if I were to try and sleep all day and not wake up to pump, my body would make so much milk I would either wake myself up from pain or leak all over the bed. So I will have to brainstorm into how to make that transition work smoother if I go that route. Another concern with that is that I will confuse my body as to when it needs to be making milk and I will either make way too much all the time flip flopping from days I am off to nights I work or I will loose my supply. Neither are really preferred.
Adjustment Two: Being able to empathize, not just sympathize with moms
-So the first night I came back and had babies cry on my pod, my heart instantly broke a little and I had the urge to breastfeed them all to make them feel better....creepy
-Now when babies give me different expressions I relate them all to Ro's and respond in similar fashion as I would to her.
-I am more thorough in giving parents updates and asking how they are coping/healing/feeling than I was before.
-The thought of watching parents loose a child right before their eyes terrifies me and I hope it will be awhile before I have to witness that, too much putting myself in their shoes would happen and I would be a bawling mess. My hormones need more time to adjust to work.
Adjustment Three: Being away from Matt and Rowan for long stints.
-It's just as crappy as I thought....that's about all
Adjustment Four: Being around my co-workers again
-It's just as great as I thought and has been so good to catch up with them
So overall I give going back to work a B- on weeks I work 3 shifts and a B+ on weeks I work 2 shifts, not too bad. Matt has done awesome getting Ro ready and off to family in the mornings so that has helped a ton. My mom came to us the first week and now Ro goes to her house, so that was a nice ease into working as well. My mom and Leslie have been great and I sleep better during the day knowing she is with them. Now all that is left is just getting settled into our new little routine!
Hi Rachael,
ReplyDeleteI am not fond of leaving/giving advice to people who have new little ones because I think people get bombarded with advice but I too struggled with breast feeding on the night shift in a busy ICU. I talked with several lactation consultants and one gave me the most valuable tip I could have ever dreamed of. I was telling her about how long it took me to clean and assemble things at work and during the day when I was trying to sleep. She told me this little trick. Use your parts overnight at work, place them all in a large ziplock bag side by side when finished, zip them up to protect them, and place them in the refrigerator. This makes them ok to use for two pumping sessions rather than one and will save you a little time. I used this mostly during the day when I was trying to sleep so that I was only up to pump, throw those things in the fridge and go back to sleep. Thought I would share that little tip and see if it helps you save some time. Your little one is adorable, I love her hair so much!! Best of luck with the back to work business.
Jenn
Jenn-
ReplyDeleteThat is great advice, I am totally going to try that this week. Thanks for the tip friend!