Weekly EP Check In

GPeterson24 · July 2010

This is a weekly check-in for women who Exclusively Pump for their babies, whether by choice or by chance. Posts will be every Monday.

No one claims that it?s easy to breastfeed, but women who EP face unique challenges and obstacles. It's nice to know that there are other women dealing with the same situation, and we can learn from and support each other.

Iris made us a badge...Wear it proudly!!

To insert this badge into your signature use this code:
<img src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/3098732308_9aaf36dcb9.jpg?v=0" width="100px">

Looking for the "retired" EP badges? Click Here

Calves (EPing 0 to 3 months)
annamarymoon ? EPing for Graham

CheerChicki ? Eping for Jackson

hellomynameisfabulous ? EPing for Audrey & Violet

alexa2107

Cows (EPing 3 to 6 months)
Dafodils_lament - EPing for Madeline

StephE623

CodyAnn ? EPing for Genevieve

Cellobelle ? EPing for William

potluckbride ? EPing for Mabel

Mrs. Gizzles

Heifers (EPing 6 months or more)
Mrs_D_in_KY

GPeterson24 - EPing for Corin

AMYfromKY ? EPing for H since 8 months

Mrs. R. W.

Heading out to Pasture
Alicia11780 ? EPed for 10 months, enough stash to last until 12 months

QOTW

Instead of a QOTW I thought we could just reintroduce ourselves and how we arrived in our pumping situations.

____________________________________________________________

I breastfed my son "from the tap" for the first 2 weeks but found it extremely painful and I was getting very anxious every time he would need to feed. Even with help from my midwives and LC nothing seemed to improve.

I had a friend that EP'ed so I was familiar with the process and after 2 weeks of crying at every feeding, then finger feeding with an eye dropper for 2 days, I made the switch. I am very happy with my choice to EP, my son has had nothing but BM his entire life. I do think about putting him back on the breast every day since I made the switch and the lactivist part of me wishes I could NIP just to prove a point and help make breastfeeding more accepted in my area but overall EPing works best for our situation.

I have a bit of an oversupply so I have also been able to donate over 700 oz to an adopted baby girl.

Looking forward to get to know everyone again....happy pumping!

dafodils_lament · July 2010

I had a c-section and little miss ended up in specail care for a day and a half. We tried to get her to breast but we had latch issues and I knew that I wanted her to have breastmilk. We did have to supplement with some formula at 1st but she hasn't had a drop of formula since she was 3 weeks old. There were days in the beginning I wanted to give up. I had to rent a hospital grade pump to get my supply up, had to buy bigger flanges to stop the squeeze from the standard size (what a difference 3 mm makes) and just had to keep my determination going. Madeline is growing and thriving and it makes me happy to know that my body has been what has supplied her.

Denesdia · July 2010

Please add me to the Calves. My first DD was born at 25 weeks and spent 96 in the NICU. During this time, I learned to EP out of necessity and the health benefits for my fragile LO. I ended up EP-ing for a year for her, and I was very comfortable with EP-ing, returning to work, and DD's eventual transition to solids and whole milk without any problems. She is now 18 mo. old. My DS was born nearly two weeks ago at 35 weeks and 6 days. He spent 5 days in the Special Care Nursery due to jaundice and feeding issues. I tried to put him to breast for a little while, but quickly returned to my EP-ing ways when I was told that he could not excrete all the Billirubin from his system if he was not having more bowel movements. When the team suggested giving him formula, I nearly flipped out, and got the hospital grade pump. My supply went right back to where it was (since I had only stopped pumping 6 mo. ago). I plan on pumping for a year, again, and I am glad for this check-in. Thanks!

charliebrown · July 2010

Hey everyone. This is my first checkin! I have a 5 week old daughter who i have been EPing for since week 1. I had tried putting her to breast in the hospital abd when we got home but due to inverted nipples and all the biting she was doing, it was just too painful and upsetting. We did have to supplement for the first 4 days or so but that is it. I have a pretty good supply and have about 160oz frozen at this point. DD is gaining weight perfectly and seems very happy! Im not sure if i will keep pumping once i go back to work and she goes to daycare, just have to see how things go!

Anna&Rich · July 2010

Hi! Can you please add me, i've been EPing evan for 5 months (as of yesterday). He was born 8weeks early, so i started out EPing and just continued to do it that way. I still don't know how comfortable i would have been BFing, so i'm happy w/my choice. I'm really happy he's still getting my milk, but in all honestly, i'm ready to be done w/it. I'd just like to not worry about what i'm eating (i miss strawberries, grapefruit, broccoli...all the stuff that gives him gas), stop worrying about sucking down the ridiculous amounts of water i do daily, have a couple beers and not think twice about it, and lately i've been stressing about my supply. But, i know how good it is that he's getting BM, so really, i can suck it up for now.

NiniJ55 · July 2010

I would like to join the EPing list. Here is my story:

I EPed for my DS for the first 6 weeks of his life. I could not get him to latch on correctly and it was extremely painful for me. At the time EPing worked for us. At 6 weeks on a whim one day I decided to try a nipple shield. It worked like a charm and from that day forth Tristan was nursing like a champ. I returned to work shortly after right before his 4 month birthday. I was pumping at work and nursing at night and on the weekend. Since Tristan still does not STTN we nursed often.

Then slowly he started refusing to nurse in the evening when I would come home from work - but I still had no problems nursing right after bath and then during the night feedings. Then he no longer wanted to nurse in the morning before I left for work. At that point I noticed it became increasingly difficult to nurse him on the weekend or in public. I thought it was because he was just getting distracted. So - I tried nursing him in the bedroom with the door closed and that would work at times. My supply started to take a dip.

Just this past weekend he decided that he was done with nursing and now absolutely refuses to drink from "the tap". He is clearly hungry because he will fuss and cry until I give up and give a bottle. I did not realize that he was weaning himself - I guess I did not see the signs. EPing may work out for us in the end but right now I am not happy about it. It's so hard to find the time to pump. I really need to get back on a routine.

ETA: I don't know if I am a Calf, a cow (or a Heifer since he is almost 6 months old)

AMYfromKY · July 2010

Hi! I EPed for H for the first 7 weeks because I had inverted nipples and the stress was just too high for me. I ended up back in the hospital a few days after getting home and if I hadn't been EPing I am sure we would've turned for formula since H couldn't be with me.

I got H back on the breast at 7 weeks and EBF him (maybe 3 bottles) until 8 months old when he refused to nurse (started at 7 months). I didn't want to have to do formula so I just decided to EP for the remainder of the time I was wanting to nurse him. Originally I said I would go until he was a year (see ticker), but now I think I will drop to two pumping sessions a day at a year so he can have mostly BM until 18 months- 2 years.

Tina272 · July 2010

Please add me to the list. I have been pumping for 6 months as of this past weekend.

DD was a lazy eater and would take 45 minutes to an hour to eat. She ended up losing over a pound in the first 2 weeks so I had to start supplementing. It all got to be too much trying to nurse her, supplement and then pump so I just started pumping. Within a week we were off Formula and much happier. She would finish a bottle in 10 minutes.

In the last few weeks I almost decided I was done pumping but made a few changes to my schedule and am only pumping 4 times a day now. I also bought a second pump to leave at work so I don't have to stand on the train with it anymore. Hopefully these changes will get us to a year.

CupcakeLady041709 · July 2010

I think this is awesome! Please add me to the list. I would love to get to know other EPer's.

William was a breech baby so I had to have a c-section. When we were in the hospital it was a struggle to get him to latch but with some help of the nurses it would work for awhile. The first night we had him home he totally refused to latch. He went seven full hours without eating until I sent my husband to the store to get a manual pump. I knew a bottle at that time wasn't the best idea but my baby wasn't eating. I didn't care what it took at that point.

The next day I went to see an LC who gave me a breastshield and repremanded me for pumping and giving him a bottle. The breastshield helped a little but he really had no interest in my breast. I did what I thought was best and began exclusively pumping. I am so glad I did.

I have been pumping for over three and a half months now. I recently updgraded from the Madela Swing to a PISA and wish I would have made the swith earlier. My output has improved so much.

Looking forward to reading about everyone else's experiences!

StephE623 · July 2010

I had a lot of latching problems in the beginning; DD was getting very frustrated at the breast and I had inverted/flat nipples. The only way I could get DD to successfully latch was when the LC was helping me and then when I used a nipple shield. After a few days DD started fussing with the nipple shield as well. On top of it all, she was jaundiced and losing weight quickly. While getting photo therapy, my feeding time with her was limited to 30 min and if she didn't get enough from me then they would give her formula. I really didn't want her to get formula so I started pumping more (I started pumping after the first few difficult feedings) and I had to give the nurses pumped milk for DD to eat overnight if I wanted her to get bm instead of formula. Pumping was felt more comfortable and it took away some of my worry. I felt like a failure because I couldn't get DD on the breast but at least I was able to give her bm. I feel like I've forgotten exactly why I started pumping but that's it in a nutshell.

norman25 · July 2010

Nolan and I had a horrible hospital stay, which I think is a major reason why we EP. We were able to attempt nursing right after birth. However, he either would not latch or would fall asleep within a few sips. We had a GBS scare, so we were stuck in the hospital for 5 days. Either the nurses wouldn't help us breastfeed or they weren't equipped with resources for us. They basically figured that we would learn how once he was starving and desperate for food. My LO never woke up long enough to nurse a full feeding. Finally, the nurse that we loved became outraged that he hadn't eaten anything substantial for 48 hours and brought us a manual pump so I could give him my colostrum. Our nurses then had a power struggle through us. The older nurse who wanted to starve him was outraged that LO was given a bottle and told us that nursing him would be useless because of nipple confusion. She basically gave up on us and ignored us during her shifts, except to do LOs vitals. Our doctor was fine with us pumping. I was fine with it even though it was very hard work in the beginning. We tried the nipple shield for awhile until I decided that pumping was working. Why fix what isn't broken?

I pump 4-5 times a day, have never fed him formula, and am really pleased with our decision to EP. I don't have to worry about pumping at work, as I can work out my pumping schedule around my shifts. I pump around 40 ozs per day and hope to continue pumping for as long as my supply holds up (haven't had any issues with supply so far).

Mrs. Gizzles · July 2010

I am bumping from my phone, so I apologize for all the typos.
i have been EPing since LO was 2 weeks old. we had latch problems from the start. he was a lazy eater with a bad latch, and i have one flat/inverted nipple. so we were actually syringe feeding colostrum just as we were starting to get into the swing of things, he became jaundiced and the pedi said to supplement with formula. after that my zlO really became a lazy eater and were supplementing after each nursing session. i spent hours working with different LCs. somewhere along the way eithee my supply dipped or i had poor supply all along, so i took Dom Peridone to up my supply. after 2 1/2 weeks of LO and I crying at each feeding, i switched to EPing. it was such a rwlief to not have a baby screaming at my breast and to know exactly how much he is eating. now he is 5 months and i am wondering when i will stop pumping. i know its selfish, but i need a break. every tome i might relax, i need to oump.

kkfeb04 · July 2010

Could I please be added? I'm a cow...

DS was a big boy, 10 lbs 22" at birth and was a lazy nurser. He loves to fall asleep on the boob and I kept telling him that later in life that he would get popped for falling asleep on the boob (then I would tell him that's the last I will speak of that). While I was home on ML, I would breastfeed him for however long and pump for 20 min. Well my supply is more than his intake and I would always need to pump. Once I went back to work it made it even worse that he wouldn't empty so I decided to skip the "middle man" and just pump and then use the milk in the fridge. I went back to work with one day in the freezer and now I have well over a month and a half in there now. Now I've been exclusively pumping for the past 12 weeks, it's better than nursing and still pumping afterwards. (I had to do both since I had multiple factors that put me at risk for not being able to produce). My goal would be to go to the year mark, DH would prefer I make it to 6 months so one of us could sleep through the night. Wink

mdmquinn · July 2010

hi, can i be added as well. here is my story:

i breast fed my son for 15 months until i became pregnant with my daughter. when she was born i was trying to breast feed in the hospital but did not feel like she was latched correctly. when she was 24 hr old we found out she has a cleft in her soft palate. she was transferred to the special care nursery for a few days and then we had her transferred to the local children's hospital. it took us a while to find the nipple that worked for her and she was supplemented via an ng tube. we did have to supplement with formula in the beginning until my milk came in. i am now pumping using a rental pump (i get my better output then with my pisa). i have tried getting her on the breast, but because of the cleft she cannot effectively latch to my breast. so far, it is going well and hopefully i will be able to pump for her first year.

Mrs_D_in_KY · July 2010

How I arrived at EPing I call the "perfect storm," everything that could stop me from directly BFing did.

I had very inverted nipples which led me to pumping in order to bring them out right after delivering DS. DS was born at 36w, 4d at only 5 lbs 9 oz; so his pedi told us to supplement so his weight didn't drop too much. Formula was given, which led DS to have a preference to the bottle. I was then on a regimen where I would pump to bring out my nipples, put on a nipple shield, try to feed DS and then finally pump to empty my breasts.

After a lot of frustration between DS & I, I resorted to just bottle feeding the BM that I was pumping. At times I feel bad because I never got the BF experience that I dreamed about, but I'm just glad DS is getting the BM he likes so much.

My supply barely kept pace with DS until I hit the 2 month mark. Now I have close to 600 oz in our deep freezer with 2 days worth of milk in the refrigerator. I never took the herbs or medicines, just kept on pumping and saw my supply increase over time.

alexa2107 · July 2010

Well LO came via Emergency C-Section @ 35 weeks. So she was taken straight to the NICU. By the time I got to her it had already been about 2 1/2 hours, and I was out of it from the meds they gave me. So I didn't try BF till the next day. I had started pumping over the night tho. She wouldn't latch very well at all. I kept pumping. 15 min every 3 hours. Once my milk came in I just kept at it. We tried BF every time she fed once we were home. It was just too frustrating for the both of us. So I just kept pumping. Needless to say my supply is about 3x what she eats. So we just pump and bottle feed. It's working well for us. Especially since I am going back to work in a week so I'll be pumping anyways.

budgirl007 · July 2010

Please add me to the calves!!

My DS had a hard time latching due to my flat nipples and his small mouth. After many failed attempts taking up to an hour at a time, sore nipples and a weight loss of almost 1lb in his first 2 weeks I have been EP for the past week. At his appt today he went from 7lb3oz last Tuesday to 8lb4oz! I felt like a failure when he kept losing weight and now I feel so great that my body is providing him with the nourishment he needs to grow into a healthy baby boy! I am nervous that my supply won't be enough once he gets a little bigger, I have pumped just enough for him each day for the past week, about 23-25oz. At this rate I don't think I'll ever have enough to get any kind of stash started, I'm hoping to keep working on my supply so I can at least get 30oz/day. I am going to try nursing him again when he's about 6 weeks old but if he won't latch on I plan on continuing to EP until at least 6 months and maybe even a year if I can get my supply up and only need to pump 3-4 times per day.

Wonderful to hear stories that don't make me feel so alone! Lets just hope our pumps don't burn out on us!

Want a personalized experience?

Weekly EP Check In

Re: Weekly EP Check In

2012 Reading Challenge

Choose Another Board

Search Boards