EPers, c'mere.

JSS1002 · May 2013

So, for those of you who are exclusively pumping -- what is your process?

I've been EBF, and little guy is growing, but I am a part of the gigantic breasts club and it makes nursing really awkward and difficult -- really I can only do the football hold, but now that J is getting so LONG (he's 23 inches already), that limits me to really only being able to nurse in a few chairs / sofas in my house (unfortunately the chair in his nursery is one of the worst ones for that position).

He does really well with bottles, so I am thinking about this and thining about when I go back to work. I want to continue to give him breastmilk and I have an abundant supply, but am considering moving to exclusive pumping / bottle feeding... for all the reasons I listed above plus then DH can split the work wtih me when we are both working full time.

However, what I DON'T want to have to do is pump AND feed for the MOTN feedings. Wondering if I could get a day or two ahead of things -- ie, if I started this tomorrow, I could use freezer milk for the weekend while I pump and prep bottles for the coming days, etc. Then there would always be prepped bottles when LO woke up or was ready to eat.

How did you get started with this / what's your process?

emriley84 · May 2013

I've EPed since day 1 with this baby because he was in the NICU. With DS#1, it was after trying to BF for as week or so, so my supply was a little set by him. This time, I started pumping every 3 hrs around the clock. Every 4 at night, once my milk came in and he was still in the NICU.

Now, we're still working at getting back to breast, but I maily pump, so here's what I do. Pump first thing when we get up (usually 7-8am), 12p 4p 8p and when he wakes up the first time. I pump while DH feeds during this feed. Then I just leave the milk on the nightstand (its good at room temp for several hrs) so it's ready to go. Then when he wakes up for the 2nd time, I just feed him and go back to sleep, I skip pumping this session. Then I grab a bottle from the fridge and leave it out to warm up for when he wakes up in the am.

I'm pretty lax with my schedule because I have a ridiculous oversupply, like 50-60oz a day, and I can afford for my supply to drop a bit, I'm actually hoping it does. The nice thing with EPing is you can see right away if your supply is being affected and add a pump back in. GL momma, it's a lot of work, but can be done.

emriley84 · May 2013

I thought I'd share how I store my milk in case anyone needs a suggestion. I tried many things and this is what I found to ntake the least space. I freeze 6oz at a time to save space. I lay them flat to freeze, then when I have 6 bags I put them all in a gallon size ziploc bag with the dates on them. I know there is 36oz in each one, so it helps me keep track of my stash. I did this with DS#1 also, it worked great because at the end I knew exactly how much milk I had and I could stop pumping when he was 10.5 months old and I had enough until his 1st bday.

pinottoparenthood · May 2013

If you stop pumping at night, your milk supply will likely reduce drastically.

jglenn4 · May 2013

As one of the individuals that does not have an abundant supply (I produce enough to feed her the entire day with about a 2-3 oz surplus) I can't skip MOTN feedings. Unless you're like the PP, I would highly suggest you keep MOTN feedings AT LEAST until you reach 12 weeks where your milk supply is more established. As mentioned above, MOTN feedings generally produce the most milk (between the hours of 1 am and 5 am). Everything I've read thus far supports keeping at least one MOTN feeding until your supply is well established. For what it's worth, I still do two and DD is 8 weeks old.

EPers, c'mere.

Re: EPers, c'mere.

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