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Breastfeeding
EPers - help a newbie out
For those who exclusively pump, I need your help. This is my first time posting on this board, so apologies if my questions are asked a million times.
What does your daily pumping schedule look like? How do you store your milk - in bottles or in the disposable baggies? Any tips/tricks that you can share with me?
DH is suggesting that I pump more since it seems like DD isn't getting enough to eat when I BF. Plus, it's easier to monitor how many ounces she's getting during the day. We FF at night. Would love any help or advice you ladies can offer.
TIA!
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Re: EPers - help a newbie out
When I first started out, my LO was your LO's age. I pumped 5 times a day. She never was able to properly latch on so she wasn't getting enough BM. She does however nurse in the middle of the night so I never pumped then.
I store my milk in the plastic milk bags. If you start pumping, you will probably be able to build your supply up so that you can just give her BM.
Make sure you are drinking plenty of water.
She has never taken more than 4oz at a time--welll, since she's been around 6 months, she takes between 5 and 6 oz in her bedtime bottle.
I started EP at about 6 weeks because he refused to nurse anymore. After 4 days of struggling, I switched.
I pump 5-6 times a day. Alex is in daycare 2 days a week and home with me the rest. I also don't produce any extra to have a big stash. Mostly, I pump directly into the bottles and store them in the fridge. I divy them up into 5oz bottles. Then he eats from these.
On daycare days, I put 3 bottles into the freezer for the next daycare day.
I've used the medela bags you pump directly into and I like them. But, I don't have a surplus, so directly into the bottles works for me.
When DS was born I was pumping every 3 to 4 hours, around the clock. I always pump for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Now that DS is 4 months old, I now only pump 4 times a day for 15 to 20 minutes still. And I average about 44 oz a day. I have about 1200 oz in the freezer.
I store what I pump each day in storage bottles in the fridge, and use that to feed the next day. Whatever is left over from the day before I freeze each night. I use the lansinoh bags to freeze in. If you have any other questions let me know.
Hi there! Congrats on your LO! I mostly pump due to my work schedule. I only breastfeed in the AM when DD wakes up, she gets BM in bottles during the day and evening. I could BF at nite b4 she goes to sleep but I want to make sure that she gets enough to sleep throughout the nite so, she gets a BM bottle.
I make a good amount of milk so I am able to maintain my supply by only pumping 4 times a day (right after AM BF, around noon, around 5PM & around 9:30PM). But ideally it is usually suggested that you pump at the same time that your LO eats so that your supply & let down are adjusted to her feeding schedule.
I started storing in bottles which was great because there wasn't so much waste (for the environment and my wallet). But I make so much milk that even with buying DD her very own deep freezer we ran out of room to store them in less than 2 months.
So we switched to baggies. They are so darn expensive though. I have found the best ones to be Lansinoh. I have had zero problems with them. Just be sure to get all the air out before freezing and don't over fill. The way I get the air out is by sealing the bag almost completely (room for tip of 1 finger to fit in the corner), hold the lip of the bag with my lips (to keep it upright w/o spilling), then take your middle and pointer fingers (both hands) like scissors just below the milk line & slowly squeeze up until the milk reaches the zipper then just close shut. Works the best for me!
Some of the moms have suggested to only store small amounts (2oz) per baggie but that didn't work for me b/c my DD get 4 out of 5 feeding a day from a bottle so I just fill the bag to 6oz (largest recommended amount) and freeze it. I've never had my milk go bad. Just make sure to rotate properly by numbering them (or whatever system works for you). I made "storage boxes" out of cardboard that fit perfectly in DD's deep freezer, tied string around them (so they're easy to lift for rotation). My DH thinks I'm obsessed about my milk but if he went through as much work as I go through to make it he would too. LOL
Hope this helps and good luck! BTW...if you use Lanolin when you pump be careful not to over due it as it will keep your nips too moist and can cause you to get thrush....and that $^*& is painful!!!! I found that taking a VERY tiny amount, rubbing it on the shields (where my nips rub) only after my AM shower works great and keeps them with just the right amount of moisture to last all day.
I pump about every four hours or so. This works out to about six times btwn. 8 am and 11 pm. I also have a middle of the night pumping session at about 3 or 4. When I first started (when he was born) I pumped at least as often as he ate. This was important to build up my supply. I probably pumped every 2 hours which was more often than he ate. I bought about 10 of the 99cent Gerber bottles. I store the fresh pumped BM in the fridge at first in these bottles and then dump the BM into a Playtex drop-ins bottle. I maintain about 5 bottles of refrigerated milk, any surplus that I accumulate I move to the freezer once a day. I use the Lansinoh freezer bags. I freeze about 6 oz in each bag. Alot of people store less in each bag to avoid waste since you can't refreeze but I would prefer to freeze as much as possible in one bag because the bags are so darn expensive. We have yet to thaw any bags, but once we do we will be able to use the 6 ozs in 24 hours, I will just have to freeze all of that days pumped milk. Freezing them flat takes up less space.
Tips and tricks: Pump at nite. I am sure that you can build up your supply enough to avoid supplementing with formula (unless you choose to do this). Keep a pumping log. This is so useful. It has helped me stay more dedicated to pumping as much and as often as I need to. I can identify any supply problems and fix them before its too late (often this is easily fixed by eating more, sleeping more, and drinking more water). Also, as I started dropping down to fewer sessions, I was able to identify the lower output sessions and drop those rather than the more valuable sessions. I pump more often at night than I do during the afternoon because the afternoon pumps always produced less. Unfortunately, my highest yielding session is my middle of the night pump, so I haven't dropped that pump. Try pumping then. yes, it sucks, but I think it is a time period in which milk production is higher for some reason.
Make sure you have a good and new (IMO) double electric pump. You don't want to end up with a used pump that has a worn out motor. I made the mistake of getting a cheap pump and hoping it would work. I just ordered a freestyle since it can better match my pumping demands. I wish I had invested in this pump from the start and saved some $.
Nurse one side while you pump the other. This is supposed to stimulate let down. Try power pumping.
It might take your body time to respond to the pump. Keep at it. GL.