Transitioning from pumping to EBF, repost from breastfeeding
tigerlily46
member
Hi everyone! I am the proud mama of a 35 week preemie. We were in the NICU for 8 days, and had some trouble with getting breastfeeding going. Aidan didn't have a lot of stamina at the breast, and had some trouble with the suck-swallow-breathe sequence. So, we ended up pumping and offering the breast a couple of times per day, just to keep him interested. Well, Aidan is now at 38 weeks gestational age, and he has really started picking up the breastfeeding. We're still using a nipple shield intermittantly since he had some artifical nipple feedings so that we could get home. He will latch without it sometimes, usually after we do some skin to skin time. Anyway, I feel like we're on the cusp of going to breast and phasing out bottles completely. I just don't know what to do about pumping. I have good supply, and usually am able to pump 2x what he would take in a feeding. How to I gradually phase out the pump? I was pumping 8 times per day before, and today I have done about 3 pumps. I have been uncomfortable, though. Does anyone have any experience with this? I was thinking about maybe doing one good morning pump after he eats, and then just pumping about 5-10 minutes after each feeding just to keep from getting too full to try to prevent plugged ducts. I am concerned that he's not emptying my breasts well just yet, since my supply is still greater than his demand so to speak. I don't want to end up with supply that is too low, though. I wonder if other preemie moms run into this problem. We're so frantic about keeping our supply up that it's tough to let go of the pump! I'm also concerned that if I pump too much there won't be much left for Aidan if he suddenly decides he wants to eat again after I have just pumped.
Any insights?
Re: Transitioning from pumping to EBF, repost from breastfeeding
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I think your plan sounds good (pumping after each nursing session). I definitely wouldn't cut way back on pumping until he's doing a good job at nursing. How long are your pumping sessions?
DD started kicking butt at nursing around her due date, so give it some more time! She also started rejecting bottles around 3 months, so starting on a paci/bottle didn't affect her at all! She's still nursing now and she'll be 2 in April.
BFP(4) DD2 born 2.14.13 @ 35w5d due to pPROM
Oh, and for the last part, I wouldn't worry too much. I found that when DD wanted to nurse soon after eating, it was just to suckle and fall asleep. It wound up being better for spitting up if I gave her the emptier breast!
You can always give him a bottle if he REALLY wants food, you know?
BFP(4) DD2 born 2.14.13 @ 35w5d due to pPROM
I tried like crazy to research this when I brought my guy home and didn't find anything reliable. I was pumping close to 40oz/day at one point. While he was still in the NICU I was BF for 5 feeds a day and then they would offer the bottle for 3. I choose to pump 1st, so he wouldn't drown with my let down and so he would have access to the fattier hind milk for weight gain.
When we came home I was still pumping 4-5 times a day and getting 10-15oz more than he was taking per day. I was exhausted and miserable and HATED the pump, so I decided to risk it. I quit pumping almost cold turkey. I started block feed in 4 hr block then increased it to 6 hours. I got super engorged but would only hand express off enough to just relieve the pressure, usually less than an ounce. It took about 6 days for my supply to regulate and there were definitely green poops from all the fore milk he was getting.
You could definitely be easier on yourself and be more gradual, dropping a pump a day, for example. I wouldn't worry about your supply though. Some will tell you if it drops you won't get it back, but that really doesn't make much sense. If you nurse on demand, your body will make more milk when it's needed. I still have oversupply issues though and feed only one side each feed or sometimes even 2 feeds in a row.
Hope that helps!
BFP#2 3/16/11, beta 138; 4/12 Baby/HB DS born 9/10/11 at 29w4d due to partial abruption and PTL
BFP#3 8/19/13 Another boy! 17P, modified bedrest and Nifedipine helped us have a termie! DS2 born 4/19/14 at 38w5d.
I dropped pumps gradually after she got better with nursing after her due date. I dropped one each 2-3 days starting with my evening pumps because she nursed more (cluster feeding) and I naturally produced less at that time of day. I work full time now but even on the weekends/days off, I still nurse one side and pump the other for my stash.
Good luck!
Thank you for your replies! I have been doing a lot of research on this as well, and there aren't great guidelines of how to make this transition. The most helpful thing is to hear about it from moms who have been there, so thank you. It's so nice to hear success stories! We had a bit of a setback yesterday. I think I encouraged breastfeeding too much and my baby was just tired and sleepy at the breast the next day. So, I switched to every other feedings alternating breast and bottle, and he's much better today. I think I got excited because we went to see the lactation consultant a few days ago, and Aidan nursed like a champ. So, she told me to bf every feeding, and he got too tired. We had the same experience in the NICU when I tried to encourage him at the breast too much. So, the new game plan is to BF every other feed, and any time he would like a snack in between his usual feeding times. It's not my goal to keep him on a feeding schedule by any means, but he seems to want to eat every 2-3 hours, so if only an hour has passed, I call it a "snack." If he doesn't latch within a reasonable amout of time for a regular meal, I'm not pushing him.
As far as pumping goes, I'm usually able to empty both breasts in about 15-20 minutes with my hospital grade pump, and I usually get 5 ounces during the day and about 7-8 ounces for my first morning pump. I'm still pumping after each feed briefly if I feel he hasn't drained the breast, and especially if he only goes to one breast. I'm also pumping during the bottle feeds. I have an enormous freezer stockpile, and I'll need it when I go back to work in June. I'm watching Aidan for green poops, so I know if my mad pumping is causing him any problems, and I have not see thant yet. I also tend to give him some of my later evening pumps for his bottle feeds, since they supposedly have more "hindmilk," so I can support him a little better during this transition.
I'm anxious to get him to breast entirely, but I recognize that this has to be done on Aidan's terms. I'm sure some people would disagree with me about giving him bottles, but that was started in the NICU, and I really do think he needs those easier feeds. I hope this works! I would rather not exclusively pump. It's exhausting to feed him, then pump, then wash the parts. I'm working my ass off!
I had a hard time transitioning as well. I had a huge freezer stash and was making almost enough milk for twins when our LO came home.
I would strongly suggest not pumping after feedings. This is way more work and more importantly it will be a vicious cycle that will keep up your supply and maybe increase since your LO will start eating more and more. What I found worked for me is called block feeding. You nurse on only one breast for a block of time such as 3 hours then switch to the next breast. (https://www.mother-2-mother.com/blockfeeding.htm) This slowly decreased my supply and I would pump just a tad to release pressure.We nursed exclusively soon after he came.
Also a way to avoid clogged ducts is by taking lecithin. It was recommended on kellymom.com. Worked like a charm for me.
One thing I have to warn you against is using too much of the freezer supply. I used too much too soon and my supply dropped dramatically. Be careful!