EP 3 times a day...

purplepeanut6

LO latches with a shield but wont take more than 3-5 min of BF. and i need to do it at home since positioning and holding shield is key. so I feel so confined to my house waiting for her to wake up and feed. before the LC she wouldnt latch at all so I was EP 6 times a day getting about 50 oz for the day. but it was so hard, now with my schedule I am lucky if I get 3 sessions in a day. I make now about 20-25 oz for the day. 

Im just wondering if I should turn EP and give up on the BF since its not really working or if anyone has insight on if pumping only 3 times is bad? Not sure what to do 

thanks!

kelly422

I think it is really up to you.  If you are up to continuing to try BF, I would encourage that.  It may get easier with more practice!  That being said, if you decide to turn to EP, don't feel bad about that.  I EP after we failed with latching after LO got bottles for too long (she was a preemie).  Are you able to squeeze in more sessions a day?  What made the 6 sessions a day hard? Have you done weighted feeds to know how much LO is getting in her 3-5 minutes? Are you needing to supplement with formula? Basically, I need more information  

purplepeanut6

kelly422 said:

I think it is really up to you.  If you are up to continuing to try BF, I would encourage that.  It may get easier with more practice!  That being said, if you decide to turn to EP, don't feel bad about that.  I EP after we failed with latching after LO got bottles for too long (she was a preemie).  Are you able to squeeze in more sessions a day?  What made the 6 sessions a day hard? Have you done weighted feeds to know how much LO is getting in her 3-5 minutes? Are you needing to supplement with formula? Basically, I need more information  

Its hard to pump more often since I'm out or she is up. I am trying to pump 4 but well see I just bought a scale so well try weight feelings. I don't need to supplement since she's on a bottle with bm too.

costa2011

I EP'ed since week 1 as LO would not latch, even with a shield. (Worst week of my life). Went to EP and started like you at 6 times a day and got a lot. Had to start cutting it down to prepare to go back to work and as soon as I started to cut it down my supply started to diminish. And let's face it, pumping is pretty time consuming because you have to pump...then you still need to actually feed your LO so you're really taking up more time than just BF. LO is completely weaned now. I cut down to pumping 3 times a day and than gradually to once before bed...and then nothing.

Unfortunately you do have to make that decision for yourself though. The above is just my experience with it.

purplepeanut6

costa2011 said:

I EP'ed since week 1 as LO would not latch, even with a shield. (Worst week of my life). Went to EP and started like you at 6 times a day and got a lot. Had to start cutting it down to prepare to go back to work and as soon as I started to cut it down my supply started to diminish. And let's face it, pumping is pretty time consuming because you have to pump...then you still need to actually feed your LO so you're really taking up more time than just BF. LO is completely weaned now. I cut down to pumping 3 times a day and than gradually to once before bed...and then nothing.

Unfortunately you do have to make that decision for yourself though. The above is just my experience with it.

how long did you pump for during each stage? 

how long did it take for your supply to diminish? 

kelly422

purplepeanut6 said:

kelly422 said:

I think it is really up to you.  If you are up to continuing to try BF, I would encourage that.  It may get easier with more practice!  That being said, if you decide to turn to EP, don't feel bad about that.  I EP after we failed with latching after LO got bottles for too long (she was a preemie).  Are you able to squeeze in more sessions a day?  What made the 6 sessions a day hard? Have you done weighted feeds to know how much LO is getting in her 3-5 minutes? Are you needing to supplement with formula? Basically, I need more information  

Its hard to pump more often since I'm out or she is up. I am trying to pump 4 but well see I just bought a scale so well try weight feelings. I don't need to supplement since she's on a bottle with bm too.

I put LO in her bouncy chair at my feet when I need to pump so I can still interact with her and bounce her if she gets fussy. I also pump when she's napping. We have also perfected feeding her while pumping. I just put her on my crossed knee and maneuver around the pump. Works pretty well for us. I've also done a lot of car pumping if that helps, too!

costa2011

 

purplepeanut6 said:

costa2011 said:

I EP'ed since week 1 as LO would not latch, even with a shield. (Worst week of my life). Went to EP and started like you at 6 times a day and got a lot. Had to start cutting it down to prepare to go back to work and as soon as I started to cut it down my supply started to diminish. And let's face it, pumping is pretty time consuming because you have to pump...then you still need to actually feed your LO so you're really taking up more time than just BF. LO is completely weaned now. I cut down to pumping 3 times a day and than gradually to once before bed...and then nothing.

Unfortunately you do have to make that decision for yourself though. The above is just my experience with it.

how long did you pump for during each stage? 

how long did it take for your supply to diminish? 

I would never pump for less than 15 minutes at a time. At my peak I was getting a good 4 oz from each breast. It didn't take long at all for the supply to decrease. As soon as I went from pumping 6 times a day to 5, I was only getting about 3.5 oz from each breast. By the time I was done to 3 sessions a day, I was only getting 2 oz per breast. At 1 session a day I would still get 2 oz but thinking about it...that's a full 24 hours of build up just to get 2 oz per breast. From there, stopping all-together was a breeze, no pain or swelling. A little tenderness for the first couple of days after, nothing a warm shower can't fix.

purplepeanut6

costa2011 said:

 

purplepeanut6 said:

costa2011 said:

I EP'ed since week 1 as LO would not latch, even with a shield. (Worst week of my life). Went to EP and started like you at 6 times a day and got a lot. Had to start cutting it down to prepare to go back to work and as soon as I started to cut it down my supply started to diminish. And let's face it, pumping is pretty time consuming because you have to pump...then you still need to actually feed your LO so you're really taking up more time than just BF. LO is completely weaned now. I cut down to pumping 3 times a day and than gradually to once before bed...and then nothing.

Unfortunately you do have to make that decision for yourself though. The above is just my experience with it.

how long did you pump for during each stage? 

how long did it take for your supply to diminish? 

I would never pump for less than 15 minutes at a time. At my peak I was getting a good 4 oz from each breast. It didn't take long at all for the supply to decrease. As soon as I went from pumping 6 times a day to 5, I was only getting about 3.5 oz from each breast. By the time I was done to 3 sessions a day, I was only getting 2 oz per breast. At 1 session a day I would still get 2 oz but thinking about it...that's a full 24 hours of build up just to get 2 oz per breast. From there, stopping all-together was a breeze, no pain or swelling. A little tenderness for the first couple of days after, nothing a warm shower can't fix.

hmm ok thanks for sharing your experience!