Ex Pumpers
nicole08709
member
I never would have thought I would have so many questions about breastfeeding and pumping!!..
LO is two weeks old and I'm e.p. 8-10x a day- I just read that the milk supply will become "established" around 12 weeks and that's when you can start dropping sessions and your supply won't drop...well I haven't read anything about being engorged if you drop a few --
Does anyone have experience with this? -Right now if it's anywhere past 3 hrs and I don't pump I'm full and in pain! (I know I'm only a few weeks in..but does the pain go away? -- also- My boobs itch a lot--any lotion or anything would help I think it's from the constant pump being on there then the breast pads and bra ect-- one night I said screw it and wore a big tee shirt to bed no bra and my shirt was soaked... so that isn't going to work!
anyway--so I'm wondering how do some women pump 5-6x a day without getting so full?
It's a lot of work and exhausting.. the L.C. keeps recommending that I try to put LO back on breast but it puts me to tears it's so painful...But if I can keep going and eventually won't have to pump so much it will be easier for me to not want to give up everyday...
Hope this makes sense-lack of sleep-and my brain feels like mush anymore! thanks for your advice and help!
Re: Ex Pumpers
I pumped every 3 hours for two months. After my second bout of mastitis I decided something needed to change or I couldn't go on. I started letting myself sleep through the night. It didn't take long for my body to adjust.
I have now been pumping for 5 months and my supply has been pretty well established since about 3 months. I pump every 4 hours during the day and sleep all night.
I was itchy for awhile too. Try the comfort gel packs by Lansinoh. Keep them in the freezer and use them right after pumping. That really helped me.
It will get better! It's always going to be hard, but not as hard!