Exclusively pumping Big Thread

Lindsay808

Not sure if this has been brought up before but I found a pretty cool pumping app...milk maid. Downfall is that it's not free but it keeps track of your stash and pump sessions. Nifty.

nycgirlkat

Hi Ladies,

I might be bowing out of this group soon myself to switch to formula full time. I've been trying to pump and feed as much as I can, however my LO is 3 weeks today and very colicky so I'll feed and burp her and she will on average fuss for an hour to two hours after that, making pumping very difficult. I thought if I had a LC come to the house to give it the old college try it would help. I paid $250 for this visit and she tells me, "in my 15 years of doing this, I've never had a baby and momma stump me like you two. Really, I am good at what I do and I've only had one baby not take to the breast and that was because I had to leave the session when my then-husband was having a heart attack ." Gee, thanks.

I just feel so out of control trying to pump, feed, soothe, get some sleep for myself, etc. And I've had help for the past 3 weeks too! (My mom stayed with me for 2 weeks and my mother in law is currently staying with us for a week).

Just wanted to say this is a great group and you've helped me so much!!!

ambarnett1

@nycgirlkat‌ do what's best for you and the baby. A happy mama will be more equipped to take care of baby, especially a fussy one. My LO is the same way right now. He's 3 1/2 weeks and is fussy unless he's eating or sleeping. After he eats, he won't go down for an hour or two because he's fussing. It's hard dealing with a high needs baby. I am thinking of switching to formula soon if my LO doesn't start calming down. Look at it this way, some breast milk is better than no breast milk!

Mamamonzo

How many times are we all pumping? I pump 7 times a day and power pump every other week for 3 days.

I'm 2 months (yikes) pp so I've had the BC talk and got the mini pill. DH and I are back in the sack but in soooo scared to start the pill in case it hurts my supply. But I'm also scared that next month I'll be letting you all know I'm KU again.

KatieGummow

@Mamamonzo‌ good luck! We have been using condoms, but I think I will get the mirena...

I am pumping 6-8 times a day. I try my best to do it every 3 hours but life gets in the way.

KatieGummow

@nycgirlkat‌ I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. The best thing you can do for your baby is to take care of yourself. If pumping isn't working then formula is best for the babe! It's great that LO got any BM so don't feel guilty or bad for having to stop. Xoxox

KatieGummow

@patunia7321‌ great work for going as long as you have! I am jealous of your no more night pumping!!! Wooooo!

Jenn06L80

I pump 6 times a day. The girls really don't like the formula that I supplement with twice a day so that gives me some motivation to keep pumping. Last night I took an 8 hour break from pumping! It was wonderful!

My husband is getting a vasectomy. We have 3 girls. We are so done!

scarles

I am pumping 6-7 times a day. 3 hour intervals during the day and 4 at night

Xxlilies

Mamamonzo said:

How many times are we all pumping? I pump 7 times a day and power pump every other week for 3 days. I'm 2 months (yikes) pp so I've had the BC talk and got the mini pill. DH and I are back in the sack but in soooo scared to start the pill in case it hurts my supply. But I'm also scared that next month I'll be letting you all know I'm KU again.

i pump 6-7 times a day last pump minutes before i go to bed and first pump of the day at 4;45am  so i don't have to pump during the night as my baby only wakes once during the night.

My supply isn't the greatest . I supplement with formula but it is improving with fenugreek , upping water intake ( which is the hardest for me as I m tired so want caffeine) eating oatmeal, and pumping as much as i can .

Sometimes during the day when Im home with just the baby ( and my furbabies) I do find it hard to pump often enough when he is fussy or demanding. I generally will pump on my bed during those times and either sit crossed leg with him on my lap , or if he is willing i will lay him on a pillow on centre of bed and he ll kick his legs etc. 

kalette

I am 2 1/2 weeks pp... i pump 3 times a day, but my boobs are over achievers and think I had triplets or something. I am stretching it out to reduce supply. I was getting around 60 oz a day but am down to 35-40 at 3 ppd. It was the same when I had DD but I was able to go down to 2x a day with her around 6 months PHP and stayed there till weaning at 16.5 months.

Lindsay808

6-7 today here too...probably more like 6 lately. Getting some sleep has been more of a priority than that extra pump session! Or she's just too fussy and I can't pump unless someone else will hold her.

I'm planning on going on the mini pill as well. Didn't think about how it could hurt supply...fingers crossed to us all!

Do you all use your frozen stash every week, every other week, etc? I had no idea that BM changes over time to fit the need of the baby's age so now I'm paranoid about using my frozen milk soon.

Lindsay808

kalette said:

I am 2 1/2 weeks pp... i pump 3 times a day, but my boobs are over achievers and think I had triplets or something. I am stretching it out to reduce supply. I was getting around 60 oz a day but am down to 35-40 at 3 ppd. It was the same when I had DD but I was able to go down to 2x a day with her around 6 months PHP and stayed there till weaning at 16.5 months.

That is amazing! I could definitely keep up EPing no problem if I only had to pump 2 or 3x a day. You go mama.

spano41

I'm At 7 pumps a day. Last night I skipped my 4am pump and went for 6 hrs without pumping.... Hoping it doesn't hurt my supply because I would like to do that more often!

Lindsay808

spano41 said:

I'm At 7 pumps a day. Last night I skipped my 4am pump and went for 6 hrs without pumping.... Hoping it doesn't hurt my supply because I would like to do that more often!

I sometimes do this too and haven't noticed a difference...I usually pump a lot at the next one but not sure if that does more harm than good in the long run.

Mamamonzo

AndieD6709 said:

I'm getting 7 in a day. We dropped the 3 am one when dd started sleeping through it.

Question for power pumpers: when you do it are you staying on the three hour schedule? We're smack in the middle of a cross country move and I'm noticing the stress causing my supply to dip.

I stick to the 3 hours. So normally power pump at 3 pump at 6 and the 6:00 pump I tend I get less than normal.

snmetz7

I'm pumping 6-7 times a day with one bf session a day incase we need to bf in a pinch.

ambarnett1

I'm in the 6-8 ppd range. Depends on the day and how helpful DH is being.

How do you ladies skip pumps? If I go 3-4 hours then I'm leaking and in a lot of pain. Usually ill have the start of a clogged duct and have to massage it out as well.

scarles

@Ambarnett1‌ I'm in the same boat. If I skip I'm in pain! I haven't gone longer than 4.5 hours.

ambarnett1

I'm afraid to even try weaning LO off breast milk because of the pain it will cause me.

kalette

If you stretch it out by an hour or so after a day or two your supply will adjust to the new time and it wont hurt anymore

Stace0616

So I never thought I'd need to worry about this, but my left boob was an overachiever after my six hour sleep break in between pumps: what happens when you pump more milk than space in the receptacles? My Medela bottles I pump into are a little over 5oz, but lefty produced 4.5oz on her own this morning! Are there larger bottles you can buy to fit these things?

Also, on a semi-related note: if THIS is what happens when I eschew my normal ice cream dessert for lactation cookies and Mother's Milk tea? I think I may have a new bedtime ritual!

scarles

@Stace0616‌ yes there are bigger bottles you can buy!

@Jessieann1020‌ I am pretty commuted to EPing (for now) but my determination definitely has it's ups and downs. My advice is just this - don't quit without giving it a few days of thought. If you still want to quit after 2-3 days, you'll know it's the right thing.

spalumb9

I am pumping 2x a day now. It gets me 4 of the 7 bottles a day. So my LO get 3 formula bottles a day. It has made for a much happier family! (8 weeks PP)

As for BC, I started a pill Sunday and got my period yesterday!!!! Soooooo depressing! Anyone else started? I haven't even been able to be with my DH yet because I had a bacterial infection the day I got cleared to, had to do the Rx for that and the day I finish the meds, I get my period!!! This means that I haven't been with my DH since September still!!!!!!!

snmetz7

So I found this guide it is for formula feeding but I figure the ozage and frequency would be the same. So I thought I'd pass it along

KatieGummow

Thank you!

Lindsay808

I'm getting overwhelmed about how to use my stash. How often do you all use freshly pumped milk, refrigerated, and frozen?

scarles

@Lindsay808‌ I use frozen milk once or twice a week. Example - every Monday I'll pull the oldest bags from the freezer and give that to my LO for the day and freeze what I pump. On regular days, I pour fresh milk into clean bottles. Once I have filled all my clean bottles, I freeze the pumped milk. I just repeat this process unless it's a day I'm using frozen milk.

spano41

Lindsay808 said:

I'm getting overwhelmed about how to use my stash. How often do you all use freshly pumped milk, refrigerated, and frozen?

I'm also interested in this. Fresh is obviously better, but you have to use your freezer stash before it goes bad. I defrosted my first bag yesterday and DD didn't like it as much as the fresh, I could tell, but she ate it. I'm thinking maybe I could try mixing some frozen with some fresh? What Is everyone else planning on doing?

Jenn06L80

I take 4-8 oz of frozen milk every day or every other day and use it to make the girls bottles for the day. They get six 3.5-4 oz bottles each day - two are formula - and I put a little of the frozen milk in each bottle of the four bottles that are breast milk.

Lindsay808

spano41 said:

Lindsay808 said:

I'm getting overwhelmed about how to use my stash. How often do you all use freshly pumped milk, refrigerated, and frozen?

I'm also interested in this. Fresh is obviously better, but you have to use your freezer stash before it goes bad. I defrosted my first bag yesterday and DD didn't like it as much as the fresh, I could tell, but she ate it. I'm thinking maybe I could try mixing some frozen with some fresh? What Is everyone else planning on doing?

Did you happen to see if it smelled soapy? I read that some frozen milk can smell/taste soapy and some babies don't like it. Just a thought!

KatieGummow

I do fresh milk at night. During the day I do fresh and frozen for very other feeding. So I am able to freeze about 3 bags and use about 3 frozen bags every day.

spano41

Lindsay808 said:

spano41 said:

Lindsay808 said:

I'm getting overwhelmed about how to use my stash. How often do you all use freshly pumped milk, refrigerated, and frozen?

I'm also interested in this. Fresh is obviously better, but you have to use your freezer stash before it goes bad. I defrosted my first bag yesterday and DD didn't like it as much as the fresh, I could tell, but she ate it. I'm thinking maybe I could try mixing some frozen with some fresh? What Is everyone else planning on doing?

Did you happen to see if it smelled soapy? I read that some frozen milk can smell/taste soapy and some babies don't like it. Just a thought!

I thought it might be high lipase but it didn't smell any different than regular milk. It was also from when my milk was just coming in so it might have just been a little different and she wasn't used to it.

scarles

I have been going between 6-7 pumps per day. Today I was at 6 pumps and hit 40 oz! I think I'm going to set my schedule at 2a, 6a, 10a, 2p, 6p, and 10p. It seems so much more manageable than 7 or 8 ppd!!

Stace0616

So I was out of the house much longer than I planned on being and Mr. Fusspot decided to take the only bottle I brought within the first 30mins of our outing. I seriously considered driving all the way home to pump but then realized I could put him on the boob to relieve a little bit of the pressure. This is the second day in a row I've thrown a BFing session into the mix of my normal 7 ppd, and not only is he getting enough milk to go 3-4hrs before his next bottle, but all of my subsequent pumps have been 0.5-1oz higher than normal. Coincidence?

Lindsay808

So disappointed with the hands free bra...it's annoying to put on and I don't want to just leave it on in between pumps because I feel weird with my nips poking out.

snmetz7

Just had a nice long girls day at the mall. Pumped twice whole I was out and at stores I didn't feel like shopping in. I feel like I can totally make EP work for me!

Emily041285

Anyone pumping and nursing? I have dd a bottle I pumped earlier at restaurant and it was wonderful not to have to worry about whipping the boob out! I just pumped in the car after to replace the feeding but I still want to nurse too. Anyone doing this and think it's doable?

scarles

@Emily041285‌ it's definitely possible! Just be careful about an oversupply.

Lindsay808

Emily041285 said:

Anyone pumping and nursing? I have dd a bottle I pumped earlier at restaurant and it was wonderful not to have to worry about whipping the boob out! I just pumped in the car after to replace the feeding but I still want to nurse too. Anyone doing this and think it's doable?

I did this for two weeks. You should be fine if you're replacing a feeding. I would definitely do paced feeding for a a little bit though...I got lazy with it and DD started to prefer the bottle.