I am having a very hard time EBF and have tried a lot of things already. Trying to see if their are any real disadvantages to EP? I have looked online and the issue is never fully addressed. Thanks for any info.
I pump 95% of the time and it is a bit more time consuming but I am so much happier doing it. I was so stressed with EBF because my LO would fall asleep while nursing no matter what I did to keep him awake, and because of that he'd wake up an hour or so later screaming because he was still hungry.
I pump every 3-4 hours and bottle feed LO about every 3. I don't necessarily base my pumping on his feedings. The only thing I find to be a pain in my tush is if I'm gone for long periods of time I have to take my pump along so I'm bringing a diaper bag and the pump bag. Other than that it is working out great for me and DS. He's still getting the breast milk but we aren't so stressed out.
If we are going to be out and about I just pump before we leave and while we are out if I need to pump I find a spot like a family bathroom to pump or use a nursing cover in the car. And if I can't find a spot to pump, I just find a spot to plop down with my nursing cover & breastfeed the little guy for as long as I can keep him awake.
I EP and I hate it. My advice is to try to get nursing to work if you can and keep at least 1 or 2 nursing sessions per day just in case you change your mind. LO doesn't really know how to nurse any more so now I'm stuck.
For me pumping is very time consuming. I spend about 2.5 hours per day pumping and that's time that I can't use for work (I'm in a cube so I have to leave my desk), exercise, chores, playing with LO, sleeping. I spend additional time feeding LO and if I were nursing I would only need to spend time on nursing and that is time that is also spent with LO instead of hooked to a machine.
Pumping has also become very hard on my body. I have lots of problems with bleeding
I constantly struggle with supply. The pump just doesn't stimulate production like nursing does so over time supply continues to drop.
Blog - No Longer on the DL ~ The Man Cave
Shawn and Larissa
LO #1 - Took 2 years and 2 IVFs ~ DX - severe MFI mild PCOS homozygous MTHFR (a1298c)
LO #2 - TTC 7 months, surprise spontaneous BFP!
I also pump 95% of the time. DD was a preemie and got so used to bottles in the NICU that she will only nurse for a few minutes before getting frustrated and screaming for a bottle. EPing is just so much less stressful for the both of us. Its honestly not that bad. I don't necessarily sync pumping with her feedings. I pump every 3 hours during the day and she eats every 2-2.5. Sometimes I have to feed her while I pump (usually in the middle of the night to save time). Get a hands free pumping bra, it will make life so much easier. As far as I know EPing and bottle feeding is just as good as breastfeeding. I have heard that frozen milk has less nutrients, but I have not touched my freezer stash yet. I pump, store it in the fridge in the bottles i pumped it into and make her bottles once a day so they are all ready to grab and heat.
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I have EP since almost the beginning. It was really hard at first but it has gotten sooo much better. The reason why it was hard is because I felt like I was doing double the work; I would feed DD and then have to pump. It's not like I was putting her to the breast and letting her "pump" me til empty. It was also difficult when I needed to pump and she wanted all my attention. But once we got into the groove of things and I figured out a schedule that would allow me to pump while she slept or while she was able to entertain herself, things got a lot better. Now I only pump 5 times a day (hoping to get down to 4 soon) and am enjoying not feeling like such a slave to the pump. It is hard work though and you have to be committed to pumping. There were days where I wished I could just put DD to the breast but that's not how our feeding relationship worked out. I'm just happy that I am able to EP, have a good supply, and that I'm able to give DD nothing but breast milk. I personally love to pump and have had such a great experience with it, but I also had a horrible and super emotionally draining experience with trying to get DD on the breast.
I pump 100%, BF twins just wasn't working out for me. The health benefits for the baby are the same as BF as far as I know and my pedi/LC said the same thing. But it takes a commitment...you just have to decide what's going to make you and your LO happy
The disadvantages are:
1) washing a million bottles, nipples and collars every day
2) Carrying the pump with you every time you will be out for a significant ammount of time
3) Getting used to pumping in public places
4) Can be a little time consuming, not only are you caring for the baby but you have to squeeze in pumping sessions throughout the day and the older they get, the harder it is to manage when you are on your own.
That all sounds a little negative but I wouldn't do this any other way, it was important to me that my babies have the BM, when BF didn't work out, I didn't care how they got it and I am happy to do this for them every single day.
I think that for some people- EP is an essential way to ensure that their baby gets breastmilk.
I think for other people EP may be presented as an easy fix to a problem that could have been overcome another way- then EP winds up being more trouble than the original problem that led to it and the beginning of the end. I read these boards every day- and between questions about frozen milk smelling sour, storage concerns, power outages and the lost stash, forgotten and broken pump parts, mold in the tubing, washing parts, bleeding/sore nipples, dwindling supply... I does not sound to me like EP is always such an easy task, and certainly not a burden I'd take on voluntarily if I had a baby who was nursing fine and didn't need to leave the baby for long spans of time.
Nursing at the breast has definite advantage over feeding pumped milk from a bottle if you can nurse at the breast... if you can't- well then EP has definite advantages over feeding formula.
Maybe if you could explain what sort of problems you are having nursing... and what sort of relief you think you would find by EPing... moms could help you to evaluate if your hopes for a solution are reasonable or practical.
Re: Question about EP...
I pump 95% of the time and it is a bit more time consuming but I am so much happier doing it. I was so stressed with EBF because my LO would fall asleep while nursing no matter what I did to keep him awake, and because of that he'd wake up an hour or so later screaming because he was still hungry.
I pump every 3-4 hours and bottle feed LO about every 3. I don't necessarily base my pumping on his feedings. The only thing I find to be a pain in my tush is if I'm gone for long periods of time I have to take my pump along so I'm bringing a diaper bag and the pump bag. Other than that it is working out great for me and DS. He's still getting the breast milk but we aren't so stressed out.
If we are going to be out and about I just pump before we leave and while we are out if I need to pump I find a spot like a family bathroom to pump or use a nursing cover in the car. And if I can't find a spot to pump, I just find a spot to plop down with my nursing cover & breastfeed the little guy for as long as I can keep him awake.
I EP and I hate it. My advice is to try to get nursing to work if you can and keep at least 1 or 2 nursing sessions per day just in case you change your mind. LO doesn't really know how to nurse any more so now I'm stuck.
For me pumping is very time consuming. I spend about 2.5 hours per day pumping and that's time that I can't use for work (I'm in a cube so I have to leave my desk), exercise, chores, playing with LO, sleeping. I spend additional time feeding LO and if I were nursing I would only need to spend time on nursing and that is time that is also spent with LO instead of hooked to a machine.
Pumping has also become very hard on my body. I have lots of problems with bleeding
I constantly struggle with supply. The pump just doesn't stimulate production like nursing does so over time supply continues to drop.
~Working Mom~Breastfeeding Mom~Cloth Diapering Mom~BLW Mom~
Blog - No Longer on the DL ~ The Man Cave
Shawn and Larissa
LO #1 - Took 2 years and 2 IVFs ~ DX - severe MFI mild PCOS homozygous MTHFR (a1298c)
LO #2 - TTC 7 months, surprise spontaneous BFP!
I have EP since almost the beginning. It was really hard at first but it has gotten sooo much better. The reason why it was hard is because I felt like I was doing double the work; I would feed DD and then have to pump. It's not like I was putting her to the breast and letting her "pump" me til empty. It was also difficult when I needed to pump and she wanted all my attention. But once we got into the groove of things and I figured out a schedule that would allow me to pump while she slept or while she was able to entertain herself, things got a lot better. Now I only pump 5 times a day (hoping to get down to 4 soon) and am enjoying not feeling like such a slave to the pump. It is hard work though and you have to be committed to pumping. There were days where I wished I could just put DD to the breast but that's not how our feeding relationship worked out. I'm just happy that I am able to EP, have a good supply, and that I'm able to give DD nothing but breast milk. I personally love to pump and have had such a great experience with it, but I also had a horrible and super emotionally draining experience with trying to get DD on the breast.
This has been my EP bible: https://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-ppexcluspump&msg=31119.1&x=y
If you have any questions, please ask!
I pump 100%, BF twins just wasn't working out for me. The health benefits for the baby are the same as BF as far as I know and my pedi/LC said the same thing. But it takes a commitment...you just have to decide what's going to make you and your LO happy
The disadvantages are:
1) washing a million bottles, nipples and collars every day
2) Carrying the pump with you every time you will be out for a significant ammount of time
3) Getting used to pumping in public places
4) Can be a little time consuming, not only are you caring for the baby but you have to squeeze in pumping sessions throughout the day and the older they get, the harder it is to manage when you are on your own.
That all sounds a little negative but I wouldn't do this any other way, it was important to me that my babies have the BM, when BF didn't work out, I didn't care how they got it and I am happy to do this for them every single day.
Good luck!!!!
I think that for some people- EP is an essential way to ensure that their baby gets breastmilk.
I think for other people EP may be presented as an easy fix to a problem that could have been overcome another way- then EP winds up being more trouble than the original problem that led to it and the beginning of the end. I read these boards every day- and between questions about frozen milk smelling sour, storage concerns, power outages and the lost stash, forgotten and broken pump parts, mold in the tubing, washing parts, bleeding/sore nipples, dwindling supply... I does not sound to me like EP is always such an easy task, and certainly not a burden I'd take on voluntarily if I had a baby who was nursing fine and didn't need to leave the baby for long spans of time.
Nursing at the breast has definite advantage over feeding pumped milk from a bottle if you can nurse at the breast... if you can't- well then EP has definite advantages over feeding formula.
Maybe if you could explain what sort of problems you are having nursing... and what sort of relief you think you would find by EPing... moms could help you to evaluate if your hopes for a solution are reasonable or practical.