Sunday, January 27, 2013

Reverse Cycling?

Has anyone heard of "reverse cycling" or have a baby doing this?  Apparently, this is what my little guy is doing.  He will literally eat only 2-3 ounces all day when I am at work and then nurse almost continually once I return home from work.  Kellymom has a great article about this.  Basically, "if mom is away from baby during the day, baby may take just enough milk (by bottle or cup) to 'take the edge off' his hunger, then wait for mom to return to get the bulk of his calories. Baby will typically nurse more often and/or longer than usual once mom returns. Some mothers encourage reverse cycling so they won’t need to pump as much milk. Reverse cycling is common for breastfed babies who are away from mom part of the day, especially those just starting out with the bottle."

They say that I should "Be patient. Try not to stress about it. Consider it a compliment – baby prefers you!" This is OK if one does not have to go to work and be functional the next day.  It is also OK if one has the luxury to nap when baby naps during the day.  Unfortunately, the reality is I have a job that I must be alert for and a toddler who does not necessarily nap when baby naps.  If anyone has experienced this, I would LOVE to hear your stories and how you were able to break this cycle.  Being up all night to nurse a baby is wearing me down.  Co-sleeping is something I had never thought I would do but it is seriously the only way I can get any sleep these days.  I literally spend all night just rolling him from one boob to the other.

If there is an upside to all of this, I pump much more milk than my baby will ever eat.  As a result, I have been exploring my options with breastmilk donation.  In my area (Northern California), there are two options that I am exploring, the San Jose Milk Bank and Human Milk for Human Babies.  Does anyone have experience with either of these donation methods?  One is more formal than the other.  I would love your input on this as well.

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