Pumping

charmedlifex3

Lets talk about the unique horror which is pumping breast milk, pumping at work, etc. I think we have a couple ladies who are exclusively pumping, and a few momma's who are returning to work already. 

Freezer stash questions? Getting an exclusively breast fed baby to take a bottle? Pump trouble shooting... all that good stuff. Let;s talk about it!

I know I have a couple questions...  I brought them up in the breast feeding thread, but this is kind of it's own animal. 

charmedlifex3

I know breast feeding the baby isn't supposed to HURT if the latch is right, but pumping hurts. Am I doing something wrong? (A pump can't really latch right?)

How often with daily use do you replace the replaceable parts on a PISA? 

Also, how do I go about building a stash when he seems to need what I am producing? He got a bit behind because I was so sick at first, so is this something which will even out, and I will have some extra? (or maybe he is just a piggy)

Stephanie7693

Are your nipples rubbing on the side of the whatchymacallit when you're pumping? I know I have to get mine on just right to avoid that. You can get a different size too if that helps. For me pumping is only uncomfortable for a couple seconds, and then it's fine. Nursing actually hurts more. 
If you start losing suction, you might need to replace the membranes. 
If baby is eating all your are producing and you want a stash, add an extra pumping session or two a day. Or maybe pump before or after you feed him? Depending on the time of day and last feed, I pump 0 to 2 times a day, and give him 1 bottle of pumped milk a day, but still have enough to freeze a few ounces a day.
This is just what I know/what works for me. 

ramoseecology

@Allisun85
The nursing hurts more than the pumping for me, I have the suction pretty low. I bought a book Work.Pump.Repeat that recommends pumping after your first morning nursing session (or at night if baby is sleeping a long stretch) to build your stash--getting .5-2 oz (or more) out of that each day. She said you're aiming to have enough for the first day back at work and then some emergency stash. Pumping until you are really empty should help with production too.

That's what I'm doing for now, it's not a lot of extra but I have some weeks left before I have to go back to build the stash. To figure out how much you need track how many feedings he has, how many feedings you will miss and then how much --2.5 to 5 oz per feed I think. 

Car0liiine

I have a hard time finding the time to pump. From what I've been told by lactation consultants, I should pump within an hour after nursing. But there are only a few minutes a day when I'm not holding her, not sleeping, not feeding myself or showering . . . I just don't get how women manage to pump after every feed?
I have just been doing it whenever I have a few minutes. I was using an electric pump but have found it more convenient to use the manual pump because I can start and stop more easilyand it takes less to get hooked up. I guess/hope it will get easier when she starts to eat less frequently?
@Allisun85 You might already be doing this but I always lube up my nips before pumping with either Olive oil or coconut oil. Still hurts some, especially by the end of the day, but I think it helps a lot!

crabcake18

I still have two months before I return to work, when did you ladies start pumping and having baby get used to a bottle? I'm hoping LO will take a bottle ok but also still want to breastfeed sometimes, I'm a little nervous. I have a little stash in my freezer of what I could collect using advent breast shells during feelings but it's only about an ounce or two at a time. @ramoseecology would you recommend that book? 

lblu43

I hate pumping.  There I said it. 

It's hard to find a consistent time each day & sometimes it hurts me too @Allisun85. Breast compressions during & lanolin help some.  We do only to 1 bottle a night. I try to pump 2x a day,it just depends on how much he eats. Pumping the opposite side while he eats is def easier & quicker. Getting about 2-4 ounces per session. I supplement with the Milkies collection & have frozen about 20oz .Thats from a span of about 5 days, with an additional 12 oz in the fridge for emergency. I have an electric double pump the insurance company sent but still haven't used it. The single Lansinoh manual is so much easier. Maybe when I go back to work. 6 more wks

Bookhousegirl

I've heard from multiple sources that pumping in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning is best. That is when your supply is highest, and baby tends to not empty your brea are completely. I've started using my manual pump at these times. I pump about an ounce after the middle of the night feeding (definitely could get more, but I'm too tired!) and another 2 ounces after he finishes eating in the morning. 

slycat

I'm having trouble building up a stash. My LO has never latched and screams like you are trying to kill him when he has a boob in his face. I have seen 5 different lactation consultants and an ear, nose, and throat specialist. The only conclusion I was given was to pump and bottle feed if breast feeding was important to me. It's been a source of anxiety for me. I pump 8 to 12 times a day, 4 to 6 oz at a time, and I can just stay ahead of his feedings. How am I supposed to freeze some when he eats everything?  His pediatrician reccomends giving him formula twice a day and then freezing two pumped meals per day. Any other suggestions?  

ramoseecology

@sparklypink17girl I haven't finished it yet but it seems ok, not earth shattering but helpful for some aspects. Might be better too depending on your situation, there is a whole section on negotiating a place to pump or something similar from what I'm remembering. The reviews are good so I think overall people like it.

@slycat Kellymom has some suggestions under the "how can I increase pumping output" section on this page that may be helpful
https://kellymom.com/hot-topics/pumping_decrease/

cait5413

I don't think pumping should be that uncomfortable. As other ladies have mentioned, lube up your nipples, check your flange size ( you can order different sizes), turn down the suction. I also put my parts in the fridge  between pumps and the cool flanges feel nice. I started trying to give baby a bottle about a week before going back to work. I had DH give it to her. She took to it right away, but she is particular about the brand of bottle she likes. I am at work 2 days a week, so if anyone has questions, I can tell you what I've done. She was less than a month old when I went back. 

tresamigos

If anyone is exclusively pumping, there's a great private group on Facebook with lots of helpful info and and an awesome support system from other women that are pumping. I started exclusively pumping when my twins were 3 weeks old, & this group has been an awesome resource. It's called Exclusively Pumping Moms Private Group. They have a few strict rules to read over before joining, just FYI. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/exclusivelypumpingmoms/

ginger819

I pump one session (usually around 9 pm) to make a bottle to get him used to taking it and freeze the extra (between 1-3oz depending on when and how much he ate last). I've been using my hand pump, but am getting the new tubing for my electric pump I need today so will be switching. I plan on adding a pump after his early morning feed too to keep adding more to the stash. I started pumping and giving the bottle at 2.5 weeks at the suggestion of our ped to make sure he would take it. I'm glad I did it early. He's a boob lover and isn't a huge fan of the bottle. He kept spitting it out at first and still takes the bottle better from other people. (He also only takes the pacifier when he's desperate to suck, but loves to comfort suck after feeds.)

ETA: We started DD on bottles this early as well and never had any nipple confusion with her either. She was good at switching back and forth.

MamaKSquared

I don't have any soreness from pumping, but I only pump once a day right now. I pump after his morning feeding. He usually doesn't eat off both breasts, so I pump from one breast while he nurses from the other. This seems to work really well. He sleeps for a pretty long stretch, so once he's finished with his breast, I usually pump another 2 oz or so from it. I'm pumping enough to freeze 2 2-3oz portions. 

To increase output, I've heard that looking at a picture of your baby helps. I'm still at home with mine, so I haven't tried this and he's usually with me when I pump, so maybe this works. 

I haven't tried the bottle yet and I'm a little nervous about it. Any tips on that? I'm not sure if it's best to just try him out on one and if he does well, just feed him with bottles as needed, or to feed him a bottle a day so it becomes part of his routine. We hope to keep him at home through this year (I work from home), but at some point, he will be in daycare.

ginger819

@MamaKSquared We give LO a bottle a day. I'm home with him every day as well, but it was important for me to be able to leave him with DH or my mom at some point (and we did get a date night after we were sure he would take the bottles). As I said LO prefers breastfeeding so we will keep giving him a bottle a day. I do it at his last feeding before bed so that DH or someone else can give it to him. 

Jaspertheyoungturnip

Power pumping is great for supply, but does take a chunk of time. I did it after I got sick and was in the hospital ER for an entire afternoon until 1 a.m. and my supply dropped. It did wonders and I'm back to producing far more than he ever eats. I've over produced since day 1 and have over 300 oz frozen from August

lindseyb918

MamaKSquared said:

To increase output, I've heard that looking at a picture of your baby helps. I'm still at home with mine, so I haven't tried this and he's usually with me when I pump, so maybe this works. 

Stuck in box - 
I took a video of LO before our time apart, and watched it while I was hand pumping. It worked even better than a photo... the milk was literally pouring out. Crazy how our brains work! 

gingersnap-mama

@Jaspertheyoungturnip I'm so jealous of your freezer stash!! I only have about 30 oz from when I was battling oversupply in the first couple of weeks! I haven't been pumping every day. I just started 1 pumping session in the morning about 3 days ago.

christineehh

I'm struggling with balancing supply and pumping. I have forceful/painful letdown - - likely an oversupply issue so I don't want to pump too much. I try to keep at least 8-10 oz in the fridge so husband can give a bottle at night or I can give one when we're out and I always make sure to pump when we give a bottle. But I'm nervous to start trying to pump more and freeze, it's such a delicate balance.  And baby seems to get frustrated in the evening when my supply dips so I sometimes offer a bottle. And gas is a huge issue and I'm worried that he's not getting enough hind milk. Ugh! 

MamaKSquared

ginger819 said:

@MamaKSquared We give LO a bottle a day. I'm home with him every day as well, but it was important for me to be able to leave him with DH or my mom at some point (and we did get a date night after we were sure he would take the bottles). As I said LO prefers breastfeeding so we will keep giving him a bottle a day. I do it at his last feeding before bed so that DH or someone else can give it to him. 

We started doing this as well. I would like to have DH feed him the last bottle of the day to get him down, but he goes to sleep so much better on the breast. This is something I want to work toward, but for now, I just want to get him to go to bed consistently before midnight. Haha.