Babies: 0 - 3 Months

Pumping Question

Has anyone else that is bfing been told not to start pumping?  My lc said the earliest I should start pumping is 3 weeks but the more I read up on bging and read different posts, most people seem to start right away.  Anyone else been told not to and do you know why?

Re: Pumping Question

  • I was never told one way or another, but I did right away...   didn't have any problems...  GL!
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  • I've never been told not to (though I didn't start pumping until 2-3 weeks anyway), but I would imagine you wouldn't want to do anything to compromise feeding right from the breast, and sometimes pumping could make it harder for baby to eat at the next feeding, or make your nipple swollen or something and harder for baby to latch.  But those are just guesses, I have no idea.  Also, pumping in addition to feeding from the breast can increase supply and you don't want your body thinking, at the beginning, it has to feed twins when there's only one baby. 

    Why do you want to start pumping right away?  Even if you start at 3 weeks, you'll have plenty of time to get a little stash even if you have to go back to work at 6 weeks.

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  • I had to start pumping in the hospital for several reasons.?
  • kmgourley:  I have had to use a supplemental nurser and formula with DS.  He has jaundice and had very few stools and was losing quite a bit of weight.  I thought that if I pumped I might be able to supplement with bm instead of formula. 
  • Gotcha... that's a good reason!  Usually, you don't get quite as much milk from pumping as the baby does when nursing, so I'm not sure pumping would allow you to cut out supplementing with formula during this time.  However, if you are supplementing with formula, it would be very good to pump to ensure that your supply gets built up since your baby is receiving nutrition elsewhere right now.  I'm not sure why your LC would tell you not to pump, given the situation, and assuming you want to EBF in the future.  The first few weeks up to a month are SOOO important in establishing a good milk supply for the the duration of breastfeeding.

    If I were you, I would DEFINITELY pump every time I supplemented with formula, and put my baby to my breast as much as I possibly could.  Once your baby gets rid of the jaundice and starts gaining, start to wean from the supplements.  There is info at www.kellymom.com about weaning from supplements.

  • I didn't pump until week 3 out of paranoia- I didn't want to introduce a bottle too early, and if I pumped and then he was suddenly hungry, I wouldn't be able to feed him.  I got the OK to give bottles at 2-3 weeks as long as I was comfortable with BFing, when I was ready to do a bottle I pumped a feeding for DS.  Don't worry about delaying pumping hurting your chance to build a stash, I have over 250 oz in the freezer right now.  Good luck!
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  • When we were at the hospital, DD bruised me pretty bad so I started pumping when we got home.  I don't see a problem starting early...besides, it helps increase your milk supply.

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