- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Breastfeeding
How do you nurse and pump?
I nursed DD for the first 6 weeks, and then switched to EP'ing, so I've never juggled both. I want to start nursing some again at home, but I'm not sure how to go about it.
I was able to get her to nurse (with a shield) for one feed on Saturday, but then I didn't know what to do. I normally pump both sides every 3 hours. When she nursed, she only ate from one side. So I pumped the other. I'd rather not have to do that, but I'm confused about it. If I only nurse from one side and don't pump the other, won't my supply decrease? I can't let that happen, I pump just enough as it is.
So if you nurse at home and pump at work, how does that work? Are you able to pump enough during the day? I normally get 3-4 oz per pump, but have a big morning pump that makes up the difference so I don't have to supplement. DD is taking 5 oz per feed. I was so confused, I didn't try to nurse her yesterday 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: How do you nurse and pump?
I only nurse on one side per feeding and my supply has regulated to meet those needs/keep up with DD. If she's hungry and takes both sides, that's fine too - I've never had an issue. I don't think my supply has decreased in doing this. The only time I nurse on one side and pump the other is my first session of the day on the weekends. If I don't have time for it, o well, but if I am able to, I pump. Even though my body isn't used to being emptied at the same time, I still get a pretty good output.
For me, I don't pump enough at work to keep up with the demands of my daughter during the day. She takes 19 oz while she's away from me and I was always short. When I first went back to work I would wake up in the middle of the night around 2am and pump and that combined with what I got during the day was about 5 more oz than I needed so I was able to keep up that way. I would also try and pump at least once a day on the weekends to help keep up and would just rotate my stash in the fridge much like people do with their freezer stash.
DD lately has been waking up in the middle of the night to nurse which doesn't allow me time to pump. My supply has started to regulate and without my 2am pump, I am getting more than I was before during the day, but it's still not enough to keep up with DD. It's close, but not quite enough.
Because I am leaving my job on Wednesday to be a SAHM (holla!!) I've just been using my freezer stash to cover the gap - it's usually only about 3-4 oz.
Congrats on the new job status! That's awesome!
The part about getting up to pump in the middle of the night, um yeah no, that's not going to happen
But that does answer my question about how other people do it. I've just now gotten to the point, thanks to Reglan, of being able to pump as much as she eats. So I'm really trying to avoid supplementing again if I can, and having to get up at night.
It's crazy to me that I'm doing good EP'ing, but if I start nursing some I might have to supplement again. Seems counterintuitive. But I suppose feeding on one side and pumping the other would take care of that, just more work. I'm trying to avoid that too
I wonder though, if I still pump first thing in the am instead of nursing, if that will be enough to cover the gap. My other problem is that I kinda want to pump sometimes still, so I'm afraid I'm just going to confuse my body. Pump sometimes, nurse others. So if my supply regulates to nursing just one side, if I decide to pump instead, I won't get much. IDK, I'm sure I'm overthinking it. It just seems like I'm better off continuing to EP sometimes.
I am a first time mom, but i think you may be overthinking it. :-) Someone else may chime in differently. I have been pumping somewhat and nursing since i came home with DS. Not back to work yet so i am still trying to figure out how to pump more and build stash, but my experience so far may reassure you.
My LO generally only nurses on one side. When he is really hungry he will nurse on both. I almost always pump first thing in the morning beause that is when I have the most milk. I pump both sides an hour after he does his first morning feed. Generally he won't have nursed on both sides. So one side is getting pumped after a nurse and the other side is getting pump with no nursing. I also will pump a couple of times a day after he nurses. I generally pump the side he didn't nurse on right away. If he nursed both sides then i'll pump both sides. My supply has regulated and i seem to produce just enough for him. As i am increasing my pumping my supply seems to be going up to match the pumping. So i think to build a stash i'll have to pump a little more, will produce more, and then i'll have to go through a little engorgement once i know longer need that much.
Try reading on Kelly Mom about supply and demand. There are a number of good articles that gave me much more confidnece that my body was going to do the right thing and to figure out pumping with nursing.
Good luck...for me its been interesting because the pumping made me over think things. Since you can see how much you get etc. when i just nurse the baby on demand i didn't worry as long as he was pooping, peeing and the weight gain at one month was great.
I use a hands free pumping bra and pull it down on the side DD is nursing on. It's a GIANT pain in the butt and I only do it if she starts screaming after I've already set up. It sucks because I can't kick back and relax on the sofa if I'm nursing and pumping at the same time. The only benefit is my output is insane if I'm nursing and pumping at the same time.
I always assumed that when moms mentioned nursing on one side and pumping the other, they nursed, then pumped.
Trust your body. I'm a FTM and DD is only 4 months old, but for me, my body does ok with going back and forth between DD nursing and the pump. When DD was just over 2 months old, I went out to a football game and pumped when I would have been nursing her. I was all paranoid, but when I pumped to replace a feeding I had a great output.
If you don't want to get up in the middle of the night and pump (I can't imagine why??
) - it does suck - I would suggest pumping on the weekends at least once or twice a day like early in the morning or after your LO goes to bed. For me, when I cut out my middle of the night pump, during the day I'm only short a few ounces. If I pump on the weekends and say I get 10 oz a day, that more than enough covers that gap throughout the week.
I put those round little yard sale stickers on the tops of my bottles and line them up in the fridge with the oldest milk in the front and as I make bottles for daycare I just rotate through that milk.
Only advice I have is if you do an early morning pump, pay attention to the consistency of your milk. At my first pump of the day, my milk is incredibly thin and almost all foremilk. I try and keep an eye on the bottle (it's easy for me to tell now) or put a little F on the sticker so it stands out. I'll mix that milk in with other milk so it has more fat in it so it's more balanced for DD.