Feeding on demand-should I pump?

marchbride32407

My DD is 3 weeks old. For the first week or so, she couldn't latch well and I pumped and fed her from a syringe. She's been BF about 2 weeks exclusively and I haven't been pumping. But, she's so hard to predict. She usually wants to eat every 2 hours, sometimes sooner. The past 2 days, she'd want to eat every hour or even more, but only for a short amount at a time. She also likes to stay on one breast per feeding (if she comes unlatched, she doesn't always want to latch back on). So, I try to alternate breasts each feeding.

But, sometimes she'll be "full" (probably from all of the cluster feedings) and go longer. For example, she hasn't nursed from my left breast since about 7:00 this morning. Do I need to pump? The few times I've tried, I feel like she immediately wants to eat as soon as I'm done. I'm just worried about my supply if she goes a few hours without being on one breast. Last night from 12 am to 3 am, she just wanted to nurse the whooe time, but wasn't getting much because I think she was using it more for comfort. She is so hard to predict! She's definitely getting what she needs based on diapers though.

Thanks for the advice!

MWoodside

You really don't need to pump at all right now.  Your body is figuring out how much milk it needs to make.  I pumped a ton in the beginning & battled over supply for a long time.  If you get engorged just pump a little bit to relieve it.

animalcrckr

Do not worry about your supply.  As long as you are ebfing, your supply should be just fine.  If you need to start building a freezer stash, then an occasional pump would not hurt. 

If you do end up pumping do not stress out if your LO is ready to nurse right after pumping.  Your body is constantly making milk, it's really no big deal.

Just do not pump too often and create oversupply.

CarlaAndJames

animalcrckr:

Do not worry about your supply.  As long as you are ebfing, your supply should be just fine.  If you need to start building a freezer stash, then an occasional pump would not hurt. 

If you do end up pumping do not stress out if your LO is ready to nurse right after pumping.  Your body is constantly making milk, it's really no big deal.

Just do not pump too often and create oversupply.

I agree with this. (I'm a newbie, so take it for what it's worth!)

I breastfeed on demand and pump once or twice a day just to build a stash - if she sleeps a long time and I'm engorged (sometimes just for a few minutes, she has a hard time with my crazy fast letdown when I'm that full!), or once randomly per day in between feedings.

She has woken up and wanted to nurse immediately after a pumping session a few times, and she has never had trouble getting milk even right after I pump. She's much more efficient than the pump!