I totally did not intend to EP. I nursed the first two days just fine in the hospital- around the clock on demand- everything was fine. I was like, 'ok this is good.'
we get home, my milk comes in and all went south. She wouldn't latch, i had a severe overactive letdown where it would spray her in the face etc. I tried all the tricks and saw four LC's to help getting her to latch. I tried for two months with latching each session for more than 15 min. It just wasn't worth it. So I found myself EPing. I have never heard of EPing and thank wonderful ladies on the nest for their support and great advice..
I had a Medela PISA. Since i was going to SAH- before baby was born i assumed i wouldn't need a super duper pump. I was wrong.
I pumped every two hours around the clock for the first 3 months. getting up even if she was sleeping sucked- but i never had low supply problems. In fact I had the direct opposite.
I never looked on the BF'ing site on the nest because i didn't feel 'welcome' because i guess i just didn't accept that i couldn't BF. Something that i thought was supposed to be sooo natural. I felt like a big failure. So I didn't realize the amount of milk i was pumping was RIDICULOUS too much. When i was pumping the first 3 months- i was getting 90+ oz a day. I bagged and froze ALOT of milk- and I donated a TON of milk to milk banks. I will never forget the morning that i pumped close to 20oz for the first pump- it was then that i knew i needed to slowly get this in check.
After finding a GREAT site for EPing ladies on iVilliage- i found ways to decrease my oversupply and get things in check. I tried several times even when she was a little older to get her to latch. But the milk was just too much- my letdowns would literally output 6ozs each letdown FAST. It only took me 10 minutes to pump 6oz each side. It wasn't until she was 8 months old that i was producing only what she needed (45oz a day)-
During that time- i learned how to best space out the pumps to best meet my needs. Plus pumping months into it was so much harder than the beginning. Due to a very curious crawler- etc. But i made it work.
I pumped for a full year. But she got BM for another 3 months from the saved milk
Again- it wasn't my choice. I really really wanted to BF but you are given a circumstance and you have to work with it. It was an eye opener- i wasn't the 'boss' and i couldn't call all the shots. I had to work with what i had and if she was to get BM- i needed to pump. I am scared to think what is going to happen with DC#2 when that comes. I do NOT want to pump again with a toddler running around and a newborn- but probablly would if i HAD to.
The whole thing really made me more interested and i took the exam to become a lactation consultant and i am now doing my clinical hours under a licensed LC.
Turns out the more I learned about it- all pointed to the my culprit of having PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)--
Sorry if that was way too much info- I have a TON of EP'ing and BF'ing resources/websites in a lot of different areas (oversupply, pumping, latch problems, herbal suppliments etc)
if you have any questions- feel free to ask anything. GL with your decision.
I stand by my thought- that EPing was seriously 10x harder than straight BF'ing. and me personally i would rather BF any second of the day- however you work with the challenges you are given.
little_mrs
member
Re: ***Stacyc625**
yuppers- still sitting in class.
how much does that suck? What's up?
Can I ask you about exclusively pumping?
Did you plan to EP or did it just happen through circumstances?
What pump did you use?
How often did you pump?
Did you use anything to help with you supply? Anything like fenugreek, mother's milk tea, etc?
Sure no prob.
I totally did not intend to EP. I nursed the first two days just fine in the hospital- around the clock on demand- everything was fine. I was like, 'ok this is good.'
we get home, my milk comes in and all went south. She wouldn't latch, i had a severe overactive letdown where it would spray her in the face etc. I tried all the tricks and saw four LC's to help getting her to latch. I tried for two months with latching each session for more than 15 min. It just wasn't worth it. So I found myself EPing. I have never heard of EPing and thank wonderful ladies on the nest for their support and great advice..
I had a Medela PISA. Since i was going to SAH- before baby was born i assumed i wouldn't need a super duper pump. I was wrong.
I pumped every two hours around the clock for the first 3 months. getting up even if she was sleeping sucked- but i never had low supply problems. In fact I had the direct opposite.
I never looked on the BF'ing site on the nest because i didn't feel 'welcome' because i guess i just didn't accept that i couldn't BF. Something that i thought was supposed to be sooo natural. I felt like a big failure. So I didn't realize the amount of milk i was pumping was RIDICULOUS too much. When i was pumping the first 3 months- i was getting 90+ oz a day. I bagged and froze ALOT of milk- and I donated a TON of milk to milk banks. I will never forget the morning that i pumped close to 20oz for the first pump- it was then that i knew i needed to slowly get this in check.
After finding a GREAT site for EPing ladies on iVilliage- i found ways to decrease my oversupply and get things in check. I tried several times even when she was a little older to get her to latch. But the milk was just too much- my letdowns would literally output 6ozs each letdown FAST. It only took me 10 minutes to pump 6oz each side. It wasn't until she was 8 months old that i was producing only what she needed (45oz a day)-
During that time- i learned how to best space out the pumps to best meet my needs. Plus pumping months into it was so much harder than the beginning. Due to a very curious crawler- etc. But i made it work.
I pumped for a full year. But she got BM for another 3 months from the saved milk
Again- it wasn't my choice. I really really wanted to BF but you are given a circumstance and you have to work with it. It was an eye opener- i wasn't the 'boss' and i couldn't call all the shots. I had to work with what i had and if she was to get BM- i needed to pump. I am scared to think what is going to happen with DC#2 when that comes. I do NOT want to pump again with a toddler running around and a newborn- but probablly would if i HAD to.
The whole thing really made me more interested and i took the exam to become a lactation consultant and i am now doing my clinical hours under a licensed LC.
Turns out the more I learned about it- all pointed to the my culprit of having PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)--
Sorry if that was way too much info- I have a TON of EP'ing and BF'ing resources/websites in a lot of different areas (oversupply, pumping, latch problems, herbal suppliments etc)
if you have any questions- feel free to ask anything. GL with your decision.
I stand by my thought- that EPing was seriously 10x harder than straight BF'ing. and me personally i would rather BF any second of the day- however you work with the challenges you are given.