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Hawaii Babies
Pumping while...
I have a sort of question/survey for all you ladies who pump. I was going to post way back when about how horrible my milk production is (as in like hardly any), so I have to pump constantly to try and stimulate my body to produce more. Well that never really happened (body making gobs and gobs of milk), and I mostly got over feeling like a total loser that I couldn't feed my baby (she gets whatever she nurses and then formula supplementation). Of course now she quit nursing on me (this is our second nursing strike - seems to coincide with when she has a growth spurt), so now I have to pump to give her the milk + formula. Anyhoos, long story short, I saw Vanilla15 posted in another thread about pumping while going (driving?) to work. And then I wanted to know - what have you done while pumping? I have a hands-free bra thingy that holds the flanges in place (sort of), so I have been able to prep dinner while pumping, surf the web while pumping (I'm pumping now, hee hee), let the dog out to potty (but remembered just in time not to step outside lest giving the neighbors a sight they probably don't want to see).
Sooo...what have you done while pumping? And can you drive and pump?????
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Re: Pumping while...
I do pump & drive! I pump 4 times each day. Once in bed right after 1st feeding so I try to sleep & pump then. Next while driving. 3rd & 4th time while working. I pump in a spare office at work so I try to bring in something small that doesn't require a computer that I can work on or a magazine to read.
how do you pump and let the dog out? Do you have the battery operated adapter?
**edit** PS...why did my siggy completely revert to 6 months ago?? Oh Nest/Bump! 62 weeks pregnant!! OMG...can you imagine?
Never tried driving and pumping! Probably would have, though, if I had BFed longer.
I did do dishes, prep dinner, laundry, eat dinner, and surf the internet while pumping, though.
This is so cool
I would totally do it if I had a commute (right now, my commute is 8 min so I don't think I could even pump much in that time frame).
So do you just wear the hands-free under your clothes all day? Or just in the morning and then you take it off after you're done pumping in the car and take it with you for pumping in the office later?
All I've done while pumping is use the computer/read a magazine/etc. I haven't even prepped food while pumping...I really like all the ideas I'm getting here
Wha...how? Details, please, I may need to do this when I go back to work!
yes, do tell! one of my friends pumps while driving to work, she said the only weird thing is when she's stopped next to a bus, since she feels like people can look down through her window and see her (covered up, but still!). hehe.
Details: I put my hands-free bustier on while getting dressed in the morning (under my nursing bra). Then (while parked) I get everything set up & turn the pump on. I always have my nursing cover on so nothing is visible even if I am driving next to a big truck or something bigger than my car. And then I don't touch it again until I am completely finished. Usually I am in my office parking lot, or if traffic is really slow, I may have time to mess with everything at a red light. I don't ever fool with it while I am actually driving. Once I am done, I wipe down the pump parts with the Medela wipes & I am ready to go. **the hardest part is getting the bustier off from underneath my bra. I have figured out it is easiest if you get the bustier from underneath both bra straps and then just pull it straight out across your back.
It is a big time saver for me, and if I didn't pump right before work I would need to pump 3 times in the office & while everyone has been great, I don't want to push it.
I haven't done anything but watch TV while pumping! I thought about pumping on my way to work but when I mentioned it to DH he was very strongly against it - said the insurance company probably wouldn't cover anything if they found out I was pumping at the time of a wreck! :P
re: not making much milk - don't get thrown off by others who say they get like 10 oz every time they pump! this isn't the norm and it is normal for you to only get 0.5-2 oz per side when pumping (according to kellymom at least)... you are doing what you can, no need to beat yourself up over it or feel like a loser b/c you don't pump tons of milk!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
Vanilla15 - wow! I'm impressed. Too bad I can't pump on the bus (my current form of work commute) :P But we've wanted to do a couple of short road trips while I'm still on leave and I didn't want to have to stop all the time to pump.
Thanks, Jamie, for the words of support - they mean a lot to me. I try not to get too down about my abysmal milk production; I just wasn't prepared for how challenging nursing would be.
are you getting less than 0.5 oz per side when you pump? if not, then your milk production is not abysmal and is normal! also keep in mind that when babies nurse, they are way more efficient than a breast pump so they are getting way more than what you would get from pumping. since you say the nursing strikes seem to coincide with growth spurts, i would guess that LO is just really hungry and getting frustrated at the breast b/c the milk doesn't come out as quickly as from the bottle. i'm sure you're already doing it but make sure you are using the lowest flow nipple as possible.
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
When I pump at my "fullest", I guess, I get about .5 oz from one side and about .25+ oz from the other (I've always had lopsided boob production). It varies throughout the day, sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more. I suppose the one good thing about this strike is I'm pumping tons more b/c I pump every time she eats from a bottle. Yeah we got some low flow, wide neck bottles; but I agree I think she just gets frustrated when she's suprer hungry. I did bust out the nipple shield again (since she was just sort of pushing my nipple around before getting upset) and I've been able to nurse or at least non-nutriative nurse a few times.
I drive while pumping...usually from work to home...I figure why not? It's 10 minutes and I can get a good 7-8 oz!
I have the FreeStyle but have never been able to get the hands-free staps to work for me. That said, I have figured out a way to go hands-free using my nursing bra. It looks CRAZY, but it works!
I've also pumped and surfed the 'net, while doing dishes and folding laundry.
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
I have pumped while surfing the net but not while doing laundry. How do you do that? Do you walk around the house with the pump strapped on you? Is that even possible? LOL
I have pumped in the car when we did a road trip to NYC but I was not driving. I did have the nursing cover.