Confused about where to start (Long, sorry)

carolyn&ryan

Hi all, first time posting on this board. I was supposed to take a breastfeeding class, the last one before my due date and then I got the nasty crud going around. I was not going to go to a class full of pregnant ladies sick, so I skipped it. Now, I feel totally lost and anxious about breastfeeding! I have some questions that I hope someone can help with. I ordered a book from the library (The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding).

1. When the baby is born, obviously I start nursing. How long should I nurse exclusively before I try to pump? I will go back to work after 8 weeks at home. I've read some people say 3-4 days, some say about 4 weeks, some say there's no need to wait.

2. Once I do start pumping, what type of schedule should I use? Should I pump immediately after nursing? Should I pump an hour or so after baby nurses?

3. Once I am back at work, do I pump at work maybe 3-4 times, then nurse at home?

I think that's the main two questions for now. I know that everyone is different, and I may get 10 different answers, but I'd just like to hear other people's experiences. I'm a first time mom and would love to go for at least 6 months, but would prefer 12! If you have any sites to look at, please feel free to share that too! Thanks in advance.

vvvvvfee

you probably want to wait to start pumping until baby is 3-4 weeks old and your supply has been established. if you pump too much at the beginning, it will tell your body to produce more milk and then you will create an oversupply. also, the first few weeks are totally exhausting and you seriously will not need one more thing to worry about!

a good time to pump is in the morning, since that is when your supply tends to be highest. for me, i found it easiest to pump one side while baby nursed on the other side. this helps you get used to letting down for the pump, since you have baby to help stimulate you. you will probably not get very much- only 1/2 or 1 ounce- since you will not be skipping any feedings. you can also try pumping both sides after your LO nurses- but again, don't expect to get a lot. you can start freezing the pumped milk in 1 or 2 ounce portions to start building up a stash for when you go back to work. some people pump once per day- i was still pretty frazzled with a newborn and only managed a couple of times a week.

the official answer for pumping at work is that you want to pump for each feeding that you will be missing. for most people this is about 3x per day at the beginning. i always nursed DS immediately before i left for work, and then again as soon as i got home. nursing on demand while at home is important to help keep your supply up.

you will also want someone (not you) to give your LO a bottle every couple of days once you start pumping. they don't need to feed your LO a tremendous amount (you could just give them an ounce), because you want to retain as much as you can for your freezer stash, but you want your LO to get used to taking a bottle so they are familiar with it by the time you have to go back to work.

https://www.kellymom.com/ is a fantastic resource. https://www.workandpump.com/ also has some good info. and of course, you can always ask questions here.

it does take some trial and error in the first weeks to figure out when to pump, how long, what to freeze, how much to send, etc. but you will figure it out and it will get easier!

carolyn&ryan

You say that you pump once a day while your husband keeps the baby. Is that after a feeding session or does it replace one? I mean, did you just feed the baby and by pumping you express more or does your husband give the baby a bottle because it's a normal feeding time? If that makes sense.

And to both of you ladies, thanks for the quick response and support. I'm sure I'll be on  here more and more as the big day gets closer (33 weeks today!).

jenn43

casey78 and vvvvvfee gave great advice - the only thing I would add is that I found the book "On balancing breast and bottle" really helpful for when/how to start LO on a bottle.  I had to start back at work very early as well, so it helped knowing my LO could transition back and forth.

surpriseaddition

Great advice given here. I never took a BF class (that wasn't all the rage when my oldest was born) and I was successful with all 3 of my kids (my youngest is still nursing at 16 months). You can do this! GL with the rest of your pregnancy.

springbeduk2

In addition to what pp said ...

- once you start pumping -check (smell/taste) your pumped milk after a few days in the fridge and maybe also after having been frozen a while. I didn't and turned out to have high lipase or something similar so stored milk starts tasting yucky within 24 hours if not scalded. So then the little bit of a freezer stash I'd managed to collect is all yucky. Save yourself the risk of that by checking!

Also it's turned out to be very handy to have a manual pump as well as the double electric. They gave me one to take home from the hospital for various reasons and its great for times when setting up the PISA is too much of a PITA but I need to pump.

Edited for autocorrect fail.