FTM here... Pumping questions

amberncarl

Hi everyone! I have a 5 wk old as of today. I have bought my pump & the plan is to start this weekend. I go back to work when my LO is 12 weeks. I have a few questions for those who have been here... 

1. How did you start your pumping routine? Did you just start after feeding LO one time? My LO right now is on each breast from 8-12 mins each feeding (except early morning feeding) so should I just start pumping after she is done with both? I just didn't know when to start.

2. I have a  Medela freestyle & I bought storage bags that you can pump right into. Do I put what I get straight into the freezer? Can I put in fridge for say the next feeding so DH can feed LO? How long can I keep that in the fridge until its not good anymore? If I did that should I just pump into the bottle they give you instead of storage bag? 

3. I need to start working on my freezer stash for DC. How many oz should I send with LO to DC? Right now she eats every 3-4 1/2 hours. Also, in the mornings when i drop LO off at DC should all the storage bags be frozen? Or should they all be thawed out for the day? (might be a silly question) 

4. When you thaw out a storage bag & put in bottle for LO... Should it be room temp then? Or will it need to be chilled still? Or should we just run warm water over bag until thawed out & give it to her? 

5. Just a random question... When you first started pumping were any of you nervous that your supply would drop? I know probably weird to ask but I just feel like everything so far breastfeeding wise has been great & I fear that pumping is going to mess it up. I'm nervous to start something new I guess. I just want it to keep going great & EBF as long as I can. I know it's probably a wait & see game  

TIA everyone!! I don't post a lot on here but look on the board daily to get advice I hope everything makes sense LOL

sdo_082989

amberncarl:

I EP so our situations are different but I will answer what I can.  

1. How did you start your pumping routine? Did you just start after feeding LO one time? My LO right now is on each breast from 8-12 mins each feeding (except early morning feeding) so should I just start pumping after she is done with both? I just didn't know when to start. When DD was still nursing I would pump after her feeding to get my stash built up. I wouldn't pump more than 10-15 minutes because I didn't want to deal with oversupply and have a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. You can pump after every feeding, just 1 feeding, or every other feeding, it's whatever works best for you. Most women get more after the morning feeding

2. I have a  Medela freestyle & I bought storage bags that you can pump right into. Do I put what I get straight into the freezer? Can I put in fridge for say the next feeding so DH can feed LO? How long can I keep that in the fridge until its not good anymore? If I did that should I just pump into the bottle they give you instead of storage bag? You can pump into the bag and put it in the fridge. I personally wouldn't waste a bag if DH was goin to feed LO the next round, so I would just pump into a bottle. I don't know if you can go straight to the freezer with it, I want to say I read it should be chilled in the fridge before frozen. I could be totally wrong though so don't take that too seriously. I have heard so many different things about how long it is good for in the fridge. I've heard up to 8 days and then I hear on 2-4 days. I try to use all the older stuff first and freeze the new stuff if I am ahead of DD sometimes.

3. I need to start working on my freezer stash for DC. How many oz should I send with LO to DC? Right now she eats every 3-4 1/2 hours. Also, in the mornings when i drop LO off at DC should all the storage bags be frozen? Or should they all be thawed out for the day? (might be a silly question) I would give LO a bottle like once a day or so and see how many ounces they take on average. I freeze in 6 oz increments but my DD eats like a pig and takes 5-7 ounces every 3-4 hours. As far as having them thawed out I have no clue, but I would say yes probably. Once a bag of milk is COMPLETELY thawed it needs to be used in 24 hours is what I was told.

4. When you thaw out a storage bag & put in bottle for LO... Should it be room temp then? Or will it need to be chilled still? Or should we just run warm water over bag until thawed out & give it to her? The room temp thing is personal choice. Some LO's will take it straight out of the fridge. I always have to warm mine up in warm water because DD won't take anything at room temperature. I always take my bag(s) out of the freezer and put them in the fridge to thaw. It takes about 12 hours.

5. Just a random question... When you first started pumping were any of you nervous that your supply would drop? I have been EPing for almost 3 weeks now and haven't had any problems with supply. I just wouldn't go over 3 hours without pumping until you are regulated really well. I was a little nervous but supply can drop at anytime for any different reason even if you baby is nursing only. Stressing will make your supply drop, I learned that the hard way but I got it back without any problems. Just try to relax and not worry about your supply. Drink A LOT of water and eat really good! HTH!

MamaAllison

1. To start I would add a pumping session after your morning feed. This is when your milk supply is the highest. I know some women who would get up an hour or two before their LOs did and pump then. Eventually if you want and it works out you can add another session at night after LO goes to bed.

2. I pump directly into the bottles and then pour it into a storage bag but that is just me. I am a SAHM but I pump every am for comfort and to have a small supply built up in case of emergencies. This is what I do: pump into bottles each morning, combine two bottles into one, and put in the fridge. If I haven't used the milk in 3-4 days I put the milk in a storage bag in the freezer. I always have 2-3 bottles in the fridge, ready to go. Milk can stay in the fridge for a week and can be frozen for three months. Thawed milk must be used within 24 hours of defrosting.

3. I would pull the bags out of the freezer the night before daycare and send them defrosted. Your LO might take them cool or daycare might have to warm them up for you. I'd send 4 oz for each feeding you anticipate her needing, and you might want to send an extra frozen bag or two just in case for them to keep.

4. Depending on how your LO takes her bottle... You can defrost in the fridge over night or in a cup of warm water which takes about 10 minutes.

5. I think most likely adding a pumping session will increase your supplyas long as you are still nursing for every feed until you go back to work! 

amberncarl

Thank you soooo much for your help!!! I'm trying to work on the stress level!! I think too much into things!!

cottonlily84

1.  DD only nursed one side in the beginning so I pumped the other.  After she started doing both I would pump both or wait maybe an hour and pump both. 

2. I only use storage bags in the freezer and now that I'm at work and DD bottle feeds mostly I rarely freeze anything.  Fresh milk will keep in the fridge for a week and thawed has to be used within 24 hours. 

3.  DD ate 2.5 oz 4x a day when I first went to work and now get 3 oz that often with the sitter.  I only send fresh milk though so I would ask the DC how they want to handle frozen milk.  Some may want it already thawed as that wouldn't take as long.  It thaws surprisingly fast though. 

4. You can thaw completely in the fridge overnight and pour in a bottle when you're ready to warm it.  The couple times I've used frozen milk I thaw the bags in the hot water I normally warm her milk with and just leave it in longer.  Then I pour into the bottle and feed her. 

5.  I worried my supply would drop with pumping because DD was already not gaining weight or doing well BF.  I wouldn't even take my BCP til I started back and could see a pattern of ounces.  Actually my supply has increased with pumping and while I'm not pouring milk I make more now 2 months after going back than I did when I started. 

blu-eyedwife

1. How did you start your pumping routine? I started pumping after his first morning feed.  I'd put him back to sleep and pump out an ounce or two at first, it's increased over time.  Once DH went back to work around 6 weeks we introduced a nightly bottle (as part of their daddy/son nighttime routine).  At that time I added a second pumping session to replace that feeding.

2. I have a  Medela freestyle & I bought storage bags that you can pump right into. Do I put what I get straight into the freezer? Can I put in fridge for say the next feeding so DH can feed LO? You can put it in the fridge or the freezer - whichever you prefer.  I always keep a bottle in the fridge "just in case."  How long can I keep that in the fridge until its not good anymore?  Milk stays good in the fridge for 5 days.  If I did that should I just pump into the bottle they give you instead of storage bag? I usually pump into bottles not bags, so I can't help you there.

4. When you thaw out a storage bag & put in bottle for LO... Should it be room temp then? Or will it need to be chilled still? Or should we just run warm water over bag until thawed out & give it to her? I don't use the storage bags - I freeze in 1 ounce sticks.  So when I defrost, I put the sticks directly in the bottle and let them defrost there.  We give the bottles straight from the fridge - a tip my breastfeeding class taught us (warm from mom, cold from dad) so we never have to worry about where we are when/if he needs a bottle.

5. Just a random question... When you first started pumping were any of you nervous that your supply would drop? I wasn't nervous about my supply dropping, but I was nervous about pumping in general.  I feel like there is far more information and support about breastfeeding than there is about pumping and I felt a little overwhelmed and underprepared.