Breastfeeding
LER091811
member
How do you incorporate pumping if you do?
LER091811
member
I'm really looking forward to being able to give LO bottles of expressed milk, but we're not going to start until 4 weeks since I got a little taste of latching problems a few days ago and will truly lose my mind if we go back to that.
I'm imagining pumping from time to time and having bottles for the middle of the night, outings, and if my husband ever wants to feed her. Really I have no idea how it works though.
So how do you incorporate it, and what does it really involve?
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Re: How do you incorporate pumping if you do?
I am an EBF and pump for when i am away from my DS. I started pumping right off the bat. In the hospital I started stocking up on bags and milk. I have a freezer filled of milk that dissapears quickly depending on who is watching him when we are apart.
We never had any latching problems until around 6 weeks. I think he started to get nipple to bottle confusion and DH and I argued around that a lot! I went back to work at 5 weeks and DS did not want me for a little. IT SUCKED>
if you can, i suggest starting to pump and freeze milk now. build up a supply because it gets used, spilled, spoiled and thrown out.I have a lot of milk and honestly barely feel like i make enough for his demand when we are apart. So start now. Buy the small baggies and freeze em. Also look for bottles/nipples that deliver the same flow as natural feeding. Good luck!
I think I first started when E was 3-4 weeks. I would pump in the morning on the side E just nursed from. In the beginning, I went through a crazy over supply issue and always woke up engorged. I would get enough from pumping just that one time for DH to give E a 4-5oz bottle that night, and I could freeze an additional 4oz. I had a huge freezer stash by the time I went back to work at 13 weeks. I didn't regularly pump until I started back to work. I would pump at night or during the weekends if i missed a feeding while someone else was watching E. Just remember if you LO is having a bottle, you should be pumping to replace. Breastfeeding is supply and demand, so as long as you are pumping when LO is eating, you should be OK.
I remember being so intimidated by the pump and having no clue where to start. I would just start slowly, try for once a day and then you will get used to pumping and knowing the situations when you should pump vs not pump. I was so scared I was going to mess up my supply, but it really isn't a problem once you start.
I pump 30-60 minutes after LO 5am/6am feeding, early in the morning is when I get the most extra milk (5am = 5 oz, 9am =2.5 oz). I also normally feed LO, take a shower and then pump... the warm water is suppose to help.
I set the milk in the fridge and we either use it or I freeze it in 48-72 hours. We never had a latching problem or nipple confusion, we supplemented with formula week 2 and 3 due to weight issues and it has not been an issue.
This was a great question...I'm learning lots. I plan to not feed with a bottle til about 3-4 weeks to avoid nipple confusion. I had heard mornings were usually when supply was most so to pump then.
I'm going to a breastfeeding class too so hopefully they'll have other great tips.
While on maternity leave I nursed exclusively for the most part. Around 4-6 weeks I started pumping once in the am about 1 hour after the first morning feeding. I didn't do it EVERY day but most days. I was home alone so I'd set him in the bouncy seat in front of me and pump away. Sometimes it went beautifully and he napped. Other times he cried and was stressful, haha. But it really helped with the freezer stash.
As far as going out or other bottles, you'll just have to pump when others are giving him a bottle. For a date night once we left DS with my sister and I pumped in the car while DH drove us to the movie, haha. Not the most romantic thing but you gotta do what you gotta do!
Be careful about pumping to early on. In the first few weeks your supply is getting established and pumping will to much can cause oversupply. I was engorged when I came home from the hospital and it hurt as much as my abdomen. I pumped after each feeding for the 2nd and 3rd weeks only because DD needed a supplement after nursing.
For bottle feeding and pumping, we did it night for awhile starting at about a month. DHwould give her the bottle atnight while I pumped for the next night feeding. This was for one of her middle of the night feedings. Ibeat her hour nursing at the wee hours. I just used my manual pump, and it did take awhile to pump enough for one feeding. For a few nights I would pump after nursing, thand she have a combo of that milk and nursing the next night.
After first morning nursing is a good time too. I nurse her on one side then imediatly pump the other.