Preemies
Exclusive Pumpers: How do you do it? Intro and Question
Hello Mommies- My name is Sara and my son Benjamin was born on Dec 23rd at 35 weeks 5 days. In the hospital Ben was having some issues with brestfeeding and now that we are home he's just not wanting to nurse at all. Sometimes he's fine and will nurse for a half hour but then sometimes will latch on give a couple of sucks and then start screaming crying. Ben was 5lbs 5oz when he was born and is now down to 4lbs 12oz and we are going to the doctors every 2 days for weight checks. I've been pumping- at first I was barely getting 1oz and now I'm getting around 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 oz. I have 2 questions- How did you get your supply up? and How long until you were pumpers a significant amount of breast milk (5oz or more)? It's such a time consuming and draining thing to pump every 2 hours. My breast are sore and I don't feel like I'm supplying enough for my little guy. Thanks in advance for any advise you can give me.
Wife to K 07/31/2009, Mommy to L 08/26/2010 and received his angel wings on 04/12/2011, our precious RAINBOW baby B 12/23/2011 and due with another miracle June 2015!
BFP #3 12/28/2012 c/p 12/31/2012
BFP #4 2/21/2014 m/c 3/9/2014
BFP #5 9/21/2014 due date 6/4/2014
"Peace is a gift from God, but we prepare ourselves to receive this gift as we pray about everything, cultivate gratitude, and refuse to surrender to worry." - Nancy Guthrie
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Re: Exclusive Pumpers: How do you do it? Intro and Question
First, congratulations on your LO!
Pumping is very hard - it's stressful and painful in the beginning. I EP'ed for four months and I'd say it took 4-6 weeks for my supply to come in with regularity but we were over four weeks earlier than you and I think the amount of preemie-ness can affect your milk timing. I don't know. It's tough, though, and requires a lot of time and devotion. I was on a very strict pumping schedule for a long time. I'm sure someone will explain power pumping and supplements you can take.
Hang in there but don't beat yourself up if you decide pumping isn't for you. Having a preemie is a shock to every part of your mind and body.
Welcome! And congrats on Benjamin's birth!
I didn't EP long term but I wanted to encourage you to not give up hope on breastfeeding if that's what you want to do since its still so early in the journey for you. Many of us have been able to go from EPing to EBF with work. Many others EP so I'm sure they will answer from that perspective too.
It sounds like he is probably getting tired or frustrated which is common with preemies. Have you seen an LC for weighted feedings to see what he's taking in? That might be a good place to start.
Have you read the breastfeeding page on our board's blog? Check out the stories there-there is information on teaching your preemie to BF and how to up your supply among other things.
https://preemiemomblog.blogspot.com/p/all-things-breastmilk.html
Our precious girl, born at 27 weeks.
A couple of things you can try. One thing is to maybe manually pump your breast before breastfeeding to get your milk flowing before he latches. Since he was born early, he needs to work up those muscles to be able to transfer the milk from your breast.
A few things I find helps when I pump:
1) Taking a warm shower before pumping (obviously you can't do that every 2 hours but it can help at least once a day)
2) Keep yourself distracted when you are pumping, cell phone games, tv, computer. The less focused on pumping I am, the more relaxed my body is to release the milk.
3) Pump after you have tried feeding at the breast. I have found that not only do I pump more after a feeding session, I also tend to make more.
If your breasts are hurting when you are pumping, you may want to play with the settings on the pump and/or try a different size shield. I rented a Medela Symphony and that thing tore my nipples up and I couldn't find a good setting. So I wound up having to pull out my pump I had with DS#1. It's a Medela Pump in Style Original and the settings are much better for my breasts, however, Medela doesn't make those pumps anymore and only give you the Symphony like settings on all their pumps.
The 1st week, I pumped every 2 hrs during the day then every 4 hrs at night. Now I am able to pump every 3-5 hours (sometimes still 2 if I get uncomfortable quickly) and have no issue with my supply.
Also drink a lot of water and eat a lot. You need to stay hydrated and also eat well so your body has the fuel to produce milk.
BFP #3 12/28/2012 c/p 12/31/2012
BFP #4 2/21/2014 m/c 3/9/2014
BFP #5 9/21/2014 due date 6/4/2014
Congratulations! I am glad you were able to breastfeed a couple of times! I EP for Landon, and it is definitely not the easiest thing in the world. My best advice is to go with the flow. I was planning on FF prior to delivering at 32 weeks. When the doc said that breast milk would be helpful for my son, I told them to bring on the pump. I was excited when I got 7mls....but within two weeks I started to have much better luck, and now I am on a roll. I always just thought to myself that it is what it is...if I am going to have success great...if not, I tried. Having that relaxed attitude has kept me going. In the beginning I thought I would stop and switch him to formula around February before I head back to work, but now I am thinking that I am going to continue pumping as long as I can for him...
Hang in there...relax and go with the flow!
EP is the hardest part for me. Every day I say this is the last day Im doing this... but I keep going. I started to take fenugreek and think it is helping.. at least it was the 1st day or so...now it seems like Im going back to normal.. which is not THAT much. Also if you LO is able to nurse, even for 10mins it will help your supply come in more.. So I sometimes let my DD nurse 20mins on either side if she lets me
she gets fussy and while she has good latch the bottle has made it hard for her to not just suck my nipples! UG!
for oatmeal it needs to be a non-instant kind (Which no one told me till recently) but I cant eat oatmeal every day.. I get sick of it! haha!
Also drinking at least 5 glasses (or more) of water a day and drinking water WHILE you pump
Try to keep to a 3hr sched. during the day and if you can swing doing it once at night good for you.
My personal piece of advice is; just do what you can.. dont let anyone guilt you into doing this longer then you feel comfortable with.. whatever you give your LO is better then nothing at all.. It is hard and stressful and tiring and to be honest if my LO did not have such a hard time with formula (have yet to find one that sits right with her) I would be done pumping... but the BM is the most helpful for her as of now with spit up and stomach problems (unless I eat something weird)
Just do what you can for as long as you like and that will be enough for your little guy!