How we do it: Formula

I have gone to great lengths to make sure that Lulu does not have to drink formula and can continue to get breast milk.  Since the breast milk must be thickened (aspiration and reflux), it takes twice as long to make her a bottle.  I must heat the milk for about 5 min and then I add an amazing thickener (GelMix) to the milk.  It then has to sit for 5 min to thicken.  The whole process takes over 10 min and in the middle of the night, I do not have any extra time!  Just heating a bottle for a hungry baby seems like an eternity and I definitely do not want to sit around waiting for the bottle to thicken at 3am!  So, if she wakes to eat during the night she gets formula.  It works best for our family and I'm ok with it.  We give her formula that is pre-thickened with rice starch so that I don't have to add thickener.  I make it 3/4 thickened formula mixed with 1/4 plain formula to lessen constipation that she can get from the rice starch.

I use an awesome product by Dr. Brown's called a formula pitcher.  I start by adding the water to the pitcher (usually I make 16 oz just in case she's extra hungry- I like to be prepared). 

I then add the formula (usually 6 scoops thickened and 2 scoops regular).

And finally I put the lid on and mix.

I keep the pitcher in the fridge and then I can just pour out how much I need right into the bottle and it's ready to go- well, it has to be warmed but no mixing formula!  Also, the mixing pitcher keeps air out of the formula which reduces gas.

Update:  We are no longer giving any formula!  If Lulu wakes in the night, I just make her a bottle of breast milk and add the Gelmix.  Since she's starting to feel better, she doesn't need it as thick so I can feed it to her right away and it thickens as she drinks it.  It's working for us!

How we do it: Pumping

Since Lulu was 12 weeks old, I have been pumping all her bottles.  Since she aspirates, she must have thickened bottles and that means that I have to add thickener to her milk therefore she has to drink from a bottle.  I am determined to not have her on formula and plan on pumping until she is weaned to whole milk after she turns one.  There are a few items that I must have in order to make exclusively pumping successful:
1.  A high-grade double pump.  I have a Medela Pump In Style double breast pump and it is wonderful.  I could never do this without this amazing pump.  I can pump fast and efficiently.
2.  A hands-free bra.  I put on the bra over my clothes and viola, I can get things done while pumping!  I have the pump set up in the kitchen (weird, I know!) and it works great because I can clean, unload the dishwasher, eat, or just mess around on my iphone.
3.  Several bottles to pump into.  I have an abundant milk supply and often fill a bottle and have to switch to an empty one before my pumping session is over.
4.  Milk freezer bags.  Again, I have way too much milk so about 25 ounces a day go into the freezer.

The picture below shows my pumping set up in the kitchen:

This picture shows the pumping bra, pump (in the backpack), and two sets of shields with bottles attached.  It has been important to have at least two sets of pumping equipment (shields) so that I only have to wash them every other time.
After I pump, I fill the bottle/bottles that we need for the day and any additional milk goes into the freezer.  I fill Lulu's bottles to 8 oz and store them all lined up in the fridge.  I only store 3-4 bottles at once.  I like to have fresh milk continually rotating in the fridge.
Any milk that goes into the freezer gets put into a storage bag and is laid flat to freeze.

Once it's frozen, I move it into a tupperwear container for storage.

Or into the wall of the freezer.

We have a lot of milk in our freezer!  I pump far more than Lulu can eat so I ship all the extra frozen milk to a friend in California for her baby.  It works out really well and I enjoy helping another baby.  I will go through the shipping of milk in another post.