Pumping

cmost227316

When do you plan on starting to pump? DS is 2 1/2 weeks, and I will be going back to work in about 5 1/2 weeks. I will need to build supply for while I am away at work. What are your plans?

GraysonsMama

I would talk to a lactation consultant but I've heard that if you are exclusively breastfeeding you might not get a lot when pumping because you are pumping the extra milk so it may take a while to build up a supply. 

katy0990

I started pumping after each feeding during the day when LO was 2 weeks old. I get about 4-6 oz per day.

smushi

You could try the first week with pumping after your first AM feeding.  Assume to just get an ounce or less out of each breast.  Then the next week you could pump one side while you feed LO on the other one for that first AM feeding and then let LO nurse from the pumped side afterwards.  I found that was an easy way to 'ease' into pumping and get a day's worth of bottles ready for daycare.  I found that the first AM feeding was the best for pumping because I had the most milk at that time so I could get a full bottle pumping one side while LO nursed the other side (plus is helped encourage let-down). 

As an aside, around week 12, when my LO started daycare, we tried him on a few of my frozen bottles, but he would refuse them.  We were frantic as to why he suddenly started refusing bottles, with daycare looming on Monday.  Finally, we tasted the milk, and it was bad.  I found out that I had an excess lipase issue, which turned my milk bad quickly.  If ever your LO starts suddenly refusing bottles when before they were fine, make sure to taste the milk, just in case.  It's not a typical problem, but it's not something people think of immediately - to just taste the milk. 

CalebsHabibi

Do you plan on pumping at work? Then you really only need enough for the first day back. I pump once a day immediately after a feed and get 1-2 ounces. If this is the case, you could pump just once a day. Most women produce the most milk in the morning, so you could start pumping immediately after LO's morning feed. 

I understand wanting to have extra "just in case." You could try pumping once a day for a few days, then twice a day, and build up that way.

I recommend pumping AFTER 7 am and BEFORE 7 pm. I found that if I pumped before 7 am, my boobs would be engorged overnight. Boobs don't run on a 24 hour clock like we do, so what was happening was that they were told to make more milk in the morning by me pumping, but they were making it a few hours earlier than the time I was pumping.

I HATE the pump, so I'm only pumping once a day, sometimes skipping days. Remember, the more you pump, the more milk you will make and if you're not careful, you could end up engorged, with oversupply, and even infected. 

Another idea I had was to pump after LO feeds during the times I plan on pumping at work. (Ex: I work 9-6 and plan on pumping 10-15 minutes, 3-4 times a day, about every 2-3 hours. So I would feed LO at home at 8, then pump at 10, 12, 2, and 4 or 10, 1, and 4. So before I go back to work, I could try pumping at those times.)

Babies 1-6 months old eat about the same amount during that time. The average in ounces per day is 25. So to know how much you'll need that first day: take 25 and divide by the number of times LO eats per day. This gives you ounces per feed. Then figure out how many feeds you will miss while at work (including travel time!). Multiply number of missed feeds times ounces per feed and this is how many ounces you'll need per day. You will have to customize this to your LO's eating habits. My LO eats 8 or 9 times a day and I will be away from him 10 hours. 25/8= 3 and some change. In 10 hours I will miss 3-4 feedings. On the high end, I will need 16 ounces per day for when I go back to work. 

Assuming I pump 1 ounce a day everyday, I will need to pump 16 days before going back to work. If I want to have a whole week supply, I will need to pump 80 days before going back to work, or increase the number of times and therefore ounces I pump per day.

cwallen314

I've pumped once every few days since he was a few days old and my milk came in. I seem to have an overabundance of milk compared to how much he eats so if I don't pump a little every couple days my breasts start to feel really swollen and painful. I usually get about 8 oz total when I pump which is nice because my husband is able to help a little with feedings. I know lactation consultants say not to introduce the bottle too early but we have not had a problem...he switches back and forth no problem!

CalebsHabibi

@cwallen314 my LO didn't have too many issues switching back and forth. He does prefer a wider nipple on the bottle. We had to introduce the bottle early at 5 days because he had lost too much weight. After that I had to use a nipple shield for a few days because he would latch and relatch several times before feeding. The LC said it was because he preferred the texture of the bottle, but I found it quite easy to wean off of the shield. Now we can switch back and forth no problem. He's now 4 weeks old.