Bad pumping day

I looked down at the pump and saw that the little
silicon thingy that creates the suction in an Isis was
covered in soapy foam, which was climbing up the horn (never
happened before). So now I have a two ounce bottle (Bottle
A) of potentially detergent-ful, almost thin enough to see
through foremilk, which after 2 hours in the fridge still
has some visible bubbles, although it doesn't taste soapy.

Chances are it's not soap, especially since you said it doesn't taste soapy.
It's just bubbles. Happens all the time, especially with the Avent pump -- and
even when it *does* taste soapy (because of lipase) many babies will happily
drink it anyway. :-)

So I'd go ahead and mix your bottles together and feed her with it.

d) cough up the $300 for a PIS, since odds are I'll need one
within the next 6 months anyhow (I don't normally have
trouble getting enough milk with the Avent, but it almost
always takes me 40 minutes to an hour and two pumping
sessions to get the 3.5-4.5 ounces she usually drinks in the
one feeding I miss.

If you can come up with the $300, it's definitely worth trying the PIS, given
how long it's taking you to pump enough for her. Also consider the Ameda
Purely Yours which costs a bit less and is just as effective. (AFAIK it's just
the accessories that differ.)

Holly
Mom to Camden, 2.5 yrs

Phoebe,

Have you tried the Isis without the silicon petal?
I was never able to get much with it on but even now I can pump some 6
ounces without the silicon thingy on early morning.

Faye

"Phoebe & Allyson" wrote in message
...
To make a long story short, when I left for work yesterday
thinking I had a 2 1/2 ounce bottle plus 3 ounces of backup
milk (getting old and from a day I hadn't been keeping a
food diary), I really had 3 ounces of backup milk and no
fresh bottle at all. Which meant I needed to get enough to
feed Caterpillar that day, plus pump enough (maybe 3.5
ounces) for the next day, and if she reacted to the milk,
there was no telling what she was reacting to.

So I came home early, bringing some work home with me.
Pumped for half an hour and got 10 milliliters. Pumped for
half an hour later in the evening and got enough to bring it
up to an ounce. Pumped for half an hour this morning and
got another ounce and a half. So Caterpillar got that plus
an ounce from the freezer (another no food diary batch).

I had much better luck this afternoon. Right up until the
point I looked down at the pump and saw that the little
silicon thingy that creates the suction in an Isis was
covered in soapy foam, which was climbing up the horn (never
happened before). So now I have a two ounce bottle (Bottle
A) of potentially detergent-ful, almost thin enough to see
through foremilk, which after 2 hours in the fridge still
has some visible bubbles, although it doesn't taste soapy.

Capped off that bottle, took apart the pump and rinsed it in
hot water, put everything back together and got another 2
ounces of hopefully soap-free milk (Bottle B).

If I can get an ounce and a half tomorrow (not unreasonable
to expect, but the way my luck's going, I'll probably knock
it on the floor), then the soapy foremilk can be emergency
backup, and if unused, I don't like the looks of it enough
to freeze it.

If I'm unlucky and know I'll need more than what's
available, which of these options sounds better?
a) feed from Bottle B (non-soapy, fat-rich), then top off
with whatever she'll take from Bottle A (maybe soapy,
water-thin)
b) mix Bottle B with Bottle A (to get a reasonable fat
balance, but with potential for soapy contamination)
c) Feed from Bottle B, then top off with freezer stash
(which means one more day of not knowing what, if anything,
she's reacting to)
d) cough up the $300 for a PIS, since odds are I'll need one
within the next 6 months anyhow (I don't normally have
trouble getting enough milk with the Avent, but it almost
always takes me 40 minutes to an hour and two pumping
sessions to get the 3.5-4.5 ounces she usually drinks in the
one feeding I miss. The 4 ounces this afternoon took nearly
an hour, but I'd normally stop after 20 minutes and 2.5 ounces.)

Phoebe *leaning towards Option B and maybe D*

Faye Tarzwell wrote:

Have you tried the Isis without the silicon petal?

Yep. It's more comfortable with them, and since that's not
saying much, I had limited patience for prolonged pumping
without.


even now I can pump some 6
ounces without the silicon thingy on early morning.

The frustrating thing for me is that I have to "save up" by
nursing Caterpillar on the other side for so long (like 8
hours to get 2 ounces in the morning, then 5 more hours to
get 3-4 ounces in the afternoon) when I know there's tons
more milk there. But if I don't, then I get next to nothing
from the pump. And either way, I can put Caterpillar on
after I pump and hear the milk running down her throat a few
second later.

Phoebe

Phoebe & Allyson wrote:

If I'm unlucky and know I'll need more than what's
available, which of these options sounds better?
a) feed from Bottle B (non-soapy, fat-rich), then top off
with whatever she'll take from Bottle A (maybe soapy,
water-thin)
b) mix Bottle B with Bottle A (to get a reasonable fat
balance, but with potential for soapy contamination)
c) Feed from Bottle B, then top off with freezer stash
(which means one more day of not knowing what, if anything,
she's reacting to)
d) cough up the $300 for a PIS, since odds are I'll need one
within the next 6 months anyhow (

I like option d. The PIS is the only pump I've ever used so I can't compare
but the amount of time you spend pumping you'd probably really benifit from
being able to double pump even if the output isn't much different. For
tomorrow I'd go with option A. I don't think the bubbly bottle will hurt
her any but if you mix them and she rejects it for some reason you've lost
the good milk as well. I don't really pay any attention to fat content in
bottles since mine also nursed a lot at the breast.

You might experiment with pumping every single morning at the same time.
With Hunter I increased my morning out put up to 10 ounces in 20 minutes by
doing this. Plus I pumped during the day. Of course Hunter wouldn't drink
it :-P. It worked in the beginning for Luke as well only not quite so eye
popping.

--
Nikki
Mama to Hunter (4) and Luke (2)