I didn’t expect to exclusively breastfeed for as long as I did. I realize that 6 months is not really considered “long” and that many moms elect to continue breastfeeding for much longer, but having no friends or family that exclusively nurse their babies, I didn’t anticipate that it would be natural for me. I knew I wanted to try, but didn’t expect much and was fully prepared to last a few weeks at most. It was a tricky balance preparing my mind and heart for Brooks’s arrival because, while I knew I would love to breastfeed him exclusively and thought it would be helpful to tackle it with a “Don’t give up” attitude, I also understood that there are many factors that might lead one to have difficulty maintaining a schedule of exclusive nursing – physically, emotionally, or mentally. I understood that the factors that could discourage me from nursing would be out of my control, and I didn’t want to set myself up to be disappointed and to feel like I had “failed” if this was in fact the case. Because I knew that wouldn’t be true – there is no such thing as “failing” at breastfeeding – it either works for both mom and baby or it isn’t the best option. I also knew that postpartum Kelsie might take that hit a little harder if I hadn’t prepared my heart. So I entered into his birth with a desire but not an expectation, and God willing our breastfeeding journey began.

During the 6 months that I exclusively breastfeed, I decided to learn from my baby instead of the internet or a lactation consultant. I knew the basics but I also knew that every baby and every mom’s body is different, so I did my best to stay in tune with my body and his. I tuned in to the queues from both and did my best to always do what “felt right”, and for anyone who is beginning their nursing journey without a clue or idea of what to expect, I would say that this is the single most important advice I can provide. What resulted was a challenging but totally fulfilling 6 months of exclusive nursing with an added freezer full of pumped milk that we are burning through now (at what seems like a million mph)! If you follow my on Instagram, you have probably noticed my mid-pump stories or shots of milk bags in my purse. I’ve been pretty transparent about my journey – the challenges and what I’ve learned – on this platform and with that I’ve received my share of comments and questions. To make this straightforward and as valuable as possible, I’ve compiled my answers to the 18 most asked questions I’ve received below in hopes that it may leave you feeling comforted that your not alone or perhaps a little less blind going in! Or, if you’re like me, you just find this stuff so dang interesting!! So here we go…

Please understand that every woman and baby is different, so what worked for me may not produce the same results in others! I feel so fortunate and grateful to have had this fulfilling experience and want to openly share my thoughts as perspective, not as a “How To”.

Also, I typically try and write in a way that sounds somewhat “poetic”, but this is pretty matter of fact. I had so much to get out and just wanted to offer it up in a simple format. If you watch my Instagram stories you could probably imagine me speaking this… because that’s how I typed it. 

Breastfeeding FAQ’s – My Personal Experience

1. Why did you want to breastfeed?

Let me start by saying FED IS BEST. I truly believe that. I was formula fed. I am happy and healthy. So know that! I did decide I wanted to try breastfeeding (without putting too much pressure on myself) for a few reasons that I’ll briefly outline – not in any specific order. 1) I had the opportunity to stay home with my son and, without any physical barriers to prevent me from nursing him on demand, I felt like I should take advantage of the flexibility!  2) While formula has all the good nutrients to almost perfectly mimic breastmilk, the biology teacher in me also understood that there were some biological factors that could not be reproduced such as mother-specific antibodies. I knew that the antibodies I made from my daily exposure to microbes would be passed to my son in this way, and while it wouldn’t harm him to not have those, it would be an added benefit to his immune system! 3) I think it’s SO COOL. My body is making food specific for my baby? SO COOL. It was yet another opportunity to appreciate my body’s capability, so I wanted to take it! 4) …$$$. Momma lost her salary, so I’ll cut all the costs I can! Oh and there’s a secret 5th reason… I wanted to have another excuse to get out of things. “Oh sorry Matt, I know you want to go to that obnoxious concert downtown tonight but we can’t because we’d have to go back to the car to pump every 2 hours! Bummer!!! Oh the sacrifices I make for our son… can you rub my feet?”

2. How did you get started/ Get your milk to come in?

Most hospitals try and encourage you to breastfeed whether you want to or not, so I was pretty fortunate that my nurses did the thinking for me while we stayed in the hospital. Immediately after Brooks was born, we tried nursing. I’m sure nothing came out… I thought I saw a hint of the thick colostrum but that could totally be my eyes playing tricks on me. Regardless, I brought him to the breast to nurse whenever he fussed, no matter if it was 15  minutes or 1.5 hours apart! I didn’t let him go more than 1.5 hours in the first couple days without at least trying – this was more for my body than it was for him because I knew I had to “program” my girls to produce enough milk. I wasn’t making any yet, but I nursed regardless. Brooks lost 10 oz during our stay… I’m sure it was because my milk hadn’t come in yet, but I knew this was normal. I stuck to this “every 1.5 hours” gig for those early days and on the 5th day my milk finally came in (slowly but surely)! Boy, was that a great feeling!

3. Did your doctor ever recommend that you “supplement” with formula?

YES. And boy do I have thoughts on this – here they are: 1) Brooks needed more than what he was getting from me in those early days. He had a bit of jaundice and was loosing weight. I knew that what was best for him was to eat – anything. 2) Doctors think foremost about the health of your baby (as they should), so when they tell you to “supplement” they often fail to educate you on how you can continue to encourage a productive milk supply. This often leaves women “substituting” entire nursing sessions with bottles of formula, which is FINE, but is not going to do anything for helping your milk come in as it naturally would. 3) Here’s the thing – our bodies are designed to make milk in a supply-and-demand fashion, and the first few days of baby’s life are used to establish the “supply”. Baby’s stomach is SO small for this reason and the trace amounts of milk you’re producing during this time is SO thick and loaded with good stuff to alleviate the pain of this adjustment time. It is NATURAL for your baby to lose weight early on as your bodies get in sync with one another. That being said, we still get all up in arms when a baby is dropping weight and try and intervene with whatever we can to stop it, even thought it would usually all even itself out within a few days! So what did I do when my doctor told me to supplement with formula on day 3? I continued to bring Brooks to the breast every 1.5 -2 hours at least in addition to every time he acted fussy (sometimes as little as 15 minutes apart). If AFTER the nursing session he was still fussy or acted dissatisfied, I followed up by offering him a bottle of formula. To me this was the perfect method because I was still programming my body with how much milk he was demanding but I was also ensuring he was getting the nutrients and calories he needed by offering up the formula as “dessert”. I did this for 3 days and only 1 time did he take any of the bottle. My milk finally came in later that week and Brooks was back to his birth weight within a few days of this. Had I completely substituted full nursing sessions for formula, my body would have been programmed differently and I don’t believe I would have had the same outcome.

4. How did you establish an over-supply to build up milk freezer stash?

I’m actually going to devote a blog post entirely to this topic because I think it’s too much to respond to in one paragraph (my paragraphs are already lengthy but that would be another level). Here’s a condensed version – I breastfed on demand for the first month and attempted to pump following a nursing session twice a day during that time as well. I didn’t once let my body go longer than 3 hours between nursing/pumping and tried to keep it closer to 1.5 hours since I knew the first month was critical in building my supply. Read #3 to see how I started pumping from the very start – I think many women unknowingly make a critical mistake that causes a dip in supply early on when their supply is most vulnerable! For the bulk of my breastfeeding (from about months 2 – 5), I was pumping an additional 12-28 oz of milk a day to store in the freezer.

5. Did an over-supply drain your energy and interfere with your ability to do things?

Okay, yes and no. My energy was drained at times for many reasons, and I’m sure around the clock nursing played a role. You know how you sort of “take one for the team” during pregnancy with the specific diet and feeling bad and not wanting to do things? That’s sort of the lifestyle I continued – I brushed it off as #newmomprobs and viewed it as a blessing that I was able to do it. I kept my energy up with my diet (I’ll share more on that later) and honestly enjoyed the extra calories I needed! Perfect timing that the height of my breastfeeding fell during the holidays so I literally ate ALL. THE. THINGS. As for doing things, I preferred not to during those early months. I didn’t want to go to a baseball game or to a concert, so I preferred to have the excuse to opt out. This only really interfered if I had to run errands or if we were had stacked events such as church/brunch. In this scenario, I would simply bring my pump in case I couldn’t slip away to nurse him – I used the car charger for the pump and would always just park accordingly so I could run out to pump in the car.

6. What pump & milk storage system did you use?

I used the Spectra S2 pump (SO EASY to get with insurance from Aeroflow Breastpumps) and the Kiinde milk collection/storage/bottle system! I love the Spectra because it is quiet, hospital grade, lightweight and super easy to carry around. I especially like that it has a nightlight (that was SO handy). The Kiinde milk storage system is, in my opinion, the easiest way to effortlessly pump straight into the storage bag and store the milk in easy – ready to feed- pouches. Brooks eats about 4-6 oz at a time and the bags are 6 oz so it couldn’t be more convenient. The only downside is all the plastic – If you go this route I would recommend to recycle! As for storage, we used an outdoor deep freezer the size of a regular refrigerator and each time I filled up a grocery sac with a couple dozen breastmilk bags, we would tie it up, label it with a date range, and toss it in the deep freezer.

7. What are some ways you boosted your milk supply?

I can provide a few answers to this! One, read my answer to #4 to see how I used pumping and nursing to my advantage to essentially “trick” my body into thinking I had twins haha. 2) I ate a LOT and intentionally. I avoided ever allowing myself to get hungry by snacking throughout the day in addition to meals (it was awesome). I always made a point to eat first thing in the morning when my milk supply was strongest so I could capitalize on this over-supply. I drank a lot of water (similar to pregnancy – the key was to have a giant bottle always nearby so you don’t have to move to get water). As for WHAT I ate, I tried to calorie pack my meals – healthy fats & carbs were a big part of my diet. I obviously tried to eat healthy, but that was also hard with having a new little baby at home, so I felt comfortable knowing that I had my prenatal vitamin as “insurance” for nutrients and that calories were most important! Also, I didn’t deny myself treats. Brooks will probably have a sweet tooth, but I’ll tell him it’s his trade off for his immunity boost! I did actually hear that dark chocolate helps to promote milk production, so I never felt guilty snacking on dark chocolate!

8. How did you maintain your milk supply while working out?

While breastfeeding my workouts were relatively light. I would run a couple of times a week (about 1.5-2 miles at a time) and sprinkled in a few pure barre classes and body/lightweight workouts in the garage! On days I worked out (especially running days), I did my best to drink more than enough water. For every 30 minutes I exercised I tried to drink a full bottle of water. I also ate a carb heavy something or protein bar BEFORE my workout so that my body would burn this for energy instead of the stored fat used to make my milk. Following my workout, I tried to eat pretty quick as well so that I didn’t allow myself to go hungry. Basically I used my workouts to maintain my body’s FUNCTION, not it’s form, and didn’t consider my goal to “lose weight” but rather to “regain strength”. Nursing alone was burning enough calories, so I didn’t need workouts for that!

9. What was your pumping schedule?

This changed a lot depending on his age and sleeping schedule. Once my milk was established (after the first month), I pumped a few extra bags in addition to exclusive nursing. Here’s the schedule I followed by month:

• Months 1-2 – My goal was to increase supply and begin building a good stash of stored milk. Nursing around the clock (about every 1.5-3 hours) one boob at a time with using the second boob as top off if he still acted hungry. In addition, I pumped both sides (one 4-5 oz bag on each) in the late morning while he was sleeping (between nursing sessions), and in the late afternoon (again between nursing sessions). Through the night, I pumped the remaining milk/ un-finished side following nursing sessions – that was right before bed, after the middle-of-the-night feeding, and after the early morning feeding. So, I would end up accumulating about 3-4 extra milk bags from bedtime through the early morning, but these were always just the leftover milk AFTER nursing through the night (I didn’t want to create an additional pumping session for the middle of the night but also wanted to capitalize on the high production I had during this time when I was already feeding him).
• Months 3-4 – My goal was to maintain my productive supply and still yield a couple stored bags a day but to slowly allow myself to cut back on unnecessary pumping sessions. I started allowing myself to deal with engorgement in the late morning and afternoon when I would typically have pumped for storage. I ONLY pumped the extra milk after feedings – basically slowly began to transition my body into making exactly what he needed and not too much more. I ended up coasting on pumping out the extra after nursing right before bed at night, pumping the un-used side after the middle-of-the-night feeding, and pumping out the extra after nursing first thing in the morning (a total of about 3 stored bags a day).
• Months 5-6 – My goal was to slowly back off pumping extra milk and make only what he needs. I also wanted to sleep through the night without pumping. I knew I was planning to wean around the 6th month, so I started cutting back on my pumping around month 5 to make this transition smoother. Brooks was sleeping through the night (from 8 PM – 6 AM) so I would also like to be able to sleep at least 6-8 hours without having to pump! I began by stretching the night hours. I would pump out the remaining milk right before bed (around 11 PM) and get up to feed him around 6:30-6 AM. For a while I dealt with engorgement in the morning and had so much milk that he wouldn’t drink it all, so I pumped the extra in the morning after nursing (or during – made it happen faster). After about a week or two of this, I began stopping him before he totally emptied the first one and switching him to the other side, so he would be relieving my engorgement on both sides but not totally emptying. This allowed my body to learn how much HE needs, and not make more. With this method along with slowly pushing back the hour of evening pumping to align with his bedtime nursing session, I was able to slowly discontinue pumping extra milk and only had to pump if I was unable to nurse him.

10. What did nursing sessions look like (mechanics and time)?

This is different for everyone from what I hear, but here’s what worked for us. I would feed him on one side until he appeared to finish off the milk (I could usually tell when I ran out because he would get frustrated). Then, if he was still hungry, I would switch him over to the opposite side and he would continue nursing until he was full. He didn’t always finish the 2nd side, so if this was the case I tried to remember to begin nursing on that side the next time! It took anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute for my milk to let down, except for if we went a big longer and I was full (then, it was pretty immediate). After that, the nursing session was about 10 minutes total (5 minutes per side) unless he was being lazy and clingy. As a reference, pumping took me a bit longer… up to 10 minutes per side to completely empty, but I could quickly pump a 3-4 oz bag in about 5 minutes per side if I was in a bind!

11. How did you handle drinking alcohol while nursing/pumping?

This is another thing that changed slightly depending on the month! It was the holiday season and I KNEW I wanted to be able to enjoy a glass of wine now and then (or two), so I just tried to be smart about it! I knew the science behind it – alcohol metabolizes pretty quick in the body and once it enters your blood it enters your milk, so the highest concentration of blood alcohol is actually shortly after taking a sip. The more time that passes after the last sip, the less concentration of alcohol in the milk, and that “safe zone” is typically an hour after the final sip. So, here’s what that looked like:

The first month I didn’t drink any alcohol – I was trying to establish supply and therefore pumping/nursing around the clock at 1.5 hours at least apart so I really didn’t have any “safe” window of time to do it. Luckily I didn’t really want to drink at all during that time and we didn’t have any events that would tempt me, so I just abstained. After about 4-6 weeks, I started allowing myself to enjoy a glass of wine when I wanted! If I ever wanted to drink a glass of wine I would make sure to begin immediately AFTER a nursing/pumping session. I tried to wait an hour after finishing the glass before feeding Brooks, but if I sipped it slow and it was only one small glass, I knew it was such a small amount that it wouldn’t impact him so I didn’t stress about it. If I wanted to drink MORE than one glass in a row, I would feed him or pump right before, begin drinking right after, and pump the “alcohol milk” out up until an hour after my final sip. I didn’t throw this milk away though, I saved it and labelled it “alcohol” in the freezer – I use it in the bath and it helps to nourish his skin and protect him against diaper rash! Bottom line, the older he got the less I stressed about having a glass of wine, but if I ever wanted more than one I tried to pump that milk out and wait an hour before feeding him again.

12. When did you introduce the bottle?

I started pumping to build supply around week 1, but I didn’t introduce bottled breastmilk to Brooks until after the first month. I’m sure it would have been fine to do so earlier, and he took to it really well, but I had heard of nipple confusion and didn’t want to jeopardize my vulnerable supply while it was being established in the first month! I also didn’t know how much he was actually getting and I didn’t know if the pump was getting out as much as he was able to, so I didn’t want to subject my body to any “mis-programming” early on.

13. How did nursing impact the rest of your body?

I was very surprised with how much my entire body would be influenced by breastfeeding. For one, I was just as much if not more hormonal and emotional than I was during pregnancy. I also did not realize that nursing would prolong my cycle returning – I didn’t get a period until about 6 months postpartum. I was ALWAYS hungry – wanted to eat all the carbs all the time! No joke, I grabbed a handful of chocolate chips & nuts almost every time I walked by the pantry.

14. What made you decide to wean at 6 months?

To be totally honest, I was so back and forth about this and the truth sounds a bit selfish. I decided to wean at 6 months for a couple reasons, and Brooks took so well to it that it honestly made it so much easier. 1) Matt and I want our kids to be pretty close in age, so I wanted to have “my body to myself” for at least a bit before, God willing, we get pregnant again! 2) I have several bachelorette parties, weddings, and trips through the spring and summer. Not that I couldn’t pump through them, but it just adds a layer of responsibility and difficulty… and I had so much milk stored that I could carry him at least a couple of months after weaning so I wanted to allow myself to enjoy these experiences fully before starting the whole cycle over again. 3) Brooks got teeth and started biting my nipples – it hurt SO BAD. This REALLY helped me to wean because when I began to doubt and think I should keep going, Brooks started biting me when he was getting impatient. He actually began to prefer the bottle and the immediate release of milk, and he expected that from me making him irritable when it didn’t happen that way. A small reason, but really helped me justify the actual “more selfish” reasons I had! We fully weaned by 1 week out of 7 months and I couldn’t be more comfortable with our decision and the process we went through!

15. What did you do with your stored milk supply after weaning?

I am using it! When weaning was complete, I still had an entire exterior deep freezer full of frozen milk so we are slowly working our way through this stash each day. The milk is frozen in the individual Kiinde bags and grouped into grocery sacs by 1-2 week periods. We pull a new freezer sac for the indoor freezer about every week and each day pull what we need from that to defrost! The Avent bottle warmer fits our Kiinde milk bags as well as bottles (which is why we chose it – the versatility) and is a pro at helping us quickly thaw milk if we are in a bind. We will allow the thawed milk to remain in the fridge chilled for a couple of days and once it is room temperature we try and use it within 4-6 hours. We try and warm the milk before feeding him, but as long as it’s not ice cold, he doesn’t care! IMPORTANT TIP – while the milk is thawing, put your milk bags in Tupperware in case there is a hole! Sometimes when milk freezes it stretches the plastic and can puncture the surface, and you don’t realize it until it thaws and fills the warmer with milk. With my full milk bags, I allow them to thaw in a Tupperware container before putting them in the warmer, that way if there IS a hole I can salvage the leaked milk & make sure to avoid warming that bag in water!

16. How to keep supply up while pumping in place of nursing.

My experience with this isn’t extensive because I was able to be home with Brooks for most days, but what I do have to go off of is the few trips I took that I pumped entirely through. I once went over 5 days in a row without a single nursing session and I really wanted to keep my supply up, so I did a bit of experimenting! I knew that pumping full time could dip my supply, so I decided to “over-pump”. For example, Brooks was typically going 3-4 hours between nursing at that time, so I tried to pump every 2.5-3 hours (never allowed myself to go longer than 3 hours). I also made a point to drink WAY more water during these days because being hydrated helped my supply and my let-down. With these changes I was able to keep my supply consistent through these trips and beyond. Finally, I didn’t do this but heard it helps, if you are able to pump both sides at the same time it is supposed to help with let down! I can attest to this because the times that Brooks nursed on one side while I pumped the other the milk came out very quickly!

17. Did you ever get Mastitis? How did you avoid/fix it?

I am SO lucky… I did not ever experience mastitis. I cannot say it was due to anything I did, but I’ll share what may have helped! 1) While nursing or pumping, I massaged my breast around the edges, pushing toward the center specifically in the areas that felt “hardest”. I think doing this consistently kept milk from accumulating in any given area. 2) While weaning/stretching out nursing & pumping sessions, I made these changes gradually. If I wanted to change my schedule in some way, I did it in no more than 1-2 hour changes at a time. So, when Brooks started sleeping through the night, I spent a couple weeks allowing my body to adjust – I would wake up at 3 AM and pump to comfort, then once I started waking up at 3 AM comfortable I would push that to 4 AM, and then 5 AM, and so on! While pumping “to comfort”, I would make sure to massage my breasts extra so that any build up could distribute a bit since I knew it would accumulate more without “emptying”. I can’t say this is the reason I avoided mastitis, but I think it helped!

18. Did breastfeeding hurt? The whole time or in the beginning?

I feel like my answer to this might not be the norm but no I did not experience any sort of “raw” pain that people typically experience while beginning breastfeeding. At the exact moment that the milk came out it would feel like pins and needles briefly, but nothing too painful and honestly it was more of a relieving feeling than it was painful. I will say that in the first week I experienced an IMMENSE amount of cramping while nursing! It was like a mix between contractions and terrible period cramps. While this pain was at times nearly unbearable, I loved it because it meant my uterus was contracting back down to it’s original size! Oh yeah, that’s another bonus I didn’t know when I started – nursing actually prompts your uterus to contract back down to it’s original size faster than it would without nursing!

I think this is a good stopping point! If I didn’t get to your question, feel free to comment, email me (on the contact page), or send me a DM on Instagram and I will gladly elaborate! I also plan to elaborate on a few of the above topics with independent blog posts, so be on the lookout for that! I feel so fortunate to have had the experience I did with breastfeeding – it really went as smooth as I could have possibly dreamed of and I credit it to none other than the Lord! While I may have altered my lifestyle to encourage the experience, I truly believe it was divine intervention that allowed me the comfort and ease we were given, and for that I am so grateful. Most important, remember to do what makes you and your baby happy. Brooks and I were both happy while breastfeeding. If you are not, I would encourage you to allow yourself the grace to go another route. Your happiness is more beneficial to your babies’ health than any amount of antibodies can be! 

With Love,

Kelsie