When do I start pumping?

starrysmile18 · July 2012

I am sorry if this had been posted before. I am planning on bf'ing and am taking a 6 wk maternity leave. Baby will have to rely on bottles in daycare. So when should I start?

Holly_1007 · July 2012

since your ML is only 6 weeks I would establish pumping right away. in order to not take away from your supply, pump after your first AM feeding every day and store the milk in the freezer. DON'T use it to supplement later in the day (without pumping at this time as well), as this will mess with your supply. This should give you a decent freezer stash before returning to work, and you will be comfortable enough with a pump to be able to do it at work.

*doesn't have to be this time, just pick A time and stick to it every day, you typically make the most milk in the morning that's why I suggested this time.

dmfan897 · July 2012

I plan to start around 1 month old. With DD2 I started pumping at 2 weeks and I think it really screwed things up for us. I think I've read that as long as you start a bottle between 4-6 weeks, the baby will be okay taking it. More experienced BFers should definetely correct me if I am wrong.

ETA: I'm talking about pumping only to get the baby used to a bottle. I am taking 10 weeks so I don't need to start a freezer stash early. Did you XP this to the BFing board?

rach7883 · July 2012

I would wait to start until your LO is about week old so you have time to adjust with BF and kinda get yourself comfortable and make sure your supply has fully come in, then begin pumping. I would start off pumping after your first BF of the day, that is usually when you have your bigger supply. Once you see how that goes you can if need be start maybe doing a pump session before you go sleep at night to help build your stash.

Keep in mind this is coming from someone who had to exclusively pumped for 10 months due to latch/breast issues with DD1. I am really hoping to be able to just BF this time around with a pump session once a day so Daddy can have some bonding time once we establish a good rhythm in BF.

HTH

watercolor5 · July 2012

The breastfeeding class I went to also said not to introduce a bottle to your LO until 4-6 weeks. The lactation consultant said that if you have to go back to work at 6 weeks, introducing the bottle at about 4 weeks should be enough time to get your baby used to it. I would guess that how early you start pumping would depend on how much of a stash you want built up before you go back, but I would kind of like a week or two to adjust to BF before I start to pump, if possible. I'm a FTM though, so I'll be playing it by ear...

KarBear · July 2012

I started right away with DD mostly because we had latching problems. Once we got it figured out, she had no problems going between the boob and bottle, so I don't buy into the whole "nipple confusion" thing. If BFing is working great for you from the start, I'd give it a week or two then start pumping.

MeNV · July 2012

I started pumping the day we came home from the hospital. He had both bottle and breast during our two day stay and did great with both. I don't know if I'll get so lucky this time around. Other than a few high calorie bottles during his first week he was exclusively breastfed until I went back to work at 12 weeks and then it was boob or pumped milk.

I pumped like a demon in those 12 weeks because my supply was never that great. I tried every trick in the book to get it up but without the supply I built up on leave I don't know if we would have made it a full year. I didn't mind breastfeeding but I am not looking forward to becoming reacquainted with the friggen pump.

herlysgirly · July 2012

I started pumping at four weeks and had plenty by the time I went back at six weeks. That is still early enough that your supply adjusts very quickly to the extra "feeding" session (with the pump), yet late enough that you have had time to establish a great nursing relationship with the baby, and your boobs have calmed down soreness-wise.

Some people like to pump earlier to help with engorgement, but my DD nursed frequently enough that I only felt like the engorgement was a problem that first day my milk came in. It was just an overwhelmingly full sensation, and then by the next day I was fine. BIG still, but fine.

I pumped at work until she was fourteen months, then we went down to just nursing only after I got off work and on weekends, and she either had frozen BM, or cow milk during the day. Oh, and I also had enough freezer stock of BM to help my sister out when she was hospitalized, and had to take a medicine that you couldn't nurse while taking. So to wrap up my novel here... Smile in my case, starting to pump at four weeks was perfect.

Demedoll · July 2012

You should start pumping immediately. I started pumping in the hospital to get an early start on ramping up my milk supply. Once I was home from the hospital that extra milk I pumped went straight into milk bags and were labeled and frozen.

I would feed the baby then use the double electric pump after the baby was done to get out whatever was left, if any. Then I would pump about an hour later for 15 minutes. My DD was on about a 2 hour schedule so I was pumping or feeding every hour. It was completely exhausting but I only had 6 weeks to train my body to make a good amount of milk. We started feeding her some of it from a bottle at 2 weeks to get her trained on the bottle and give my DH more bonding time. For the most part though we stuck to BFing the majority of the time and pumping in between.

Make sure you are consuming enough protein calories and like a gallon of water each day because you can't make milk from nothing. A lot of new moms make the mistake of not eating enough or exercising too much without ramping up their calories then they wonder why they aren't producing milk. Trash in, trash out, good stuff in, good stuff out Smile Eat all throughout the day and make sure you are getting your protein. This size has a formula for calculating your protein needs. As a BFing mother you need the higher end not the lower end of the calculation range. And I found that animal proteins produced more milk than vegetable proteins for me.

https://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/protein_2.htm

If you really want to BF, do not worry about dropping the baby weight. Put off any new exercise regimens or diets for a few months after the baby until after your milk supply and schedule is established. Everyone is different but I started dropping the weight just from feeding.

You can also get more tips and specifics on the breastfeeding board on here and from your lactation consultant at the hospital. Make sure you ask for one to come visit you, they are free. Some of them are a little too BF crazy and say not to use a pump but that is not practical for working moms.

Good luck!

terri_doula2010 · July 2012

KarBear:
I started right away with DD mostly because we had latching problems. Once we got it figured out, she had no problems going between the boob and bottle, so I don't buy into the whole "nipple confusion" thing. If BFing is working great for you from the start, I'd give it a week or two then start pumping.

Just because you didn't have problems with nipple confusion doesn't mean it never happens or it is BS. It is still something everyone needs to be aware of because you don't know whether it will be a problem until it is...and it sucks.

ckred27 · July 2012

They had me start 6 hours after the baby was born, the first couple days was light, just maybe 15 mls of colustrum but today (day 3) wabam, milk and up to 40 mls a pumping session, so if you dont get a lot the first couple days, dont feel discouraged, its a comin! Warning, when I pump is when my cramps really kick in, just a heads up!

erikaluna01 · July 2012

Thank you for asking this question. And thank you ladies for all of your insight!

melody921 · July 2012

With DS, I started the first week, mainly bc I had an oversupply. But, LC told me not to pump too much that early on or my body would get used to it and I'd continue to produce more than I needed. So I didn't pump in earnest for a few more weeks. This time though, I think I want to build a supply earlier bc DS ended up not being a great nurser, which meant I had to pump and give him a bottle, and my supply tanked at that point, so it would have been nice to have some extra milk.

kvickery · July 2012

I started right away. DS was in the NICU so we had to supplement for a few days until I was able to feed him but in the meantime, I pumped. When we got home I would pump after atleast 2 feedings. I would feed him and them pump. He was a little guy and never ate that much at first and I always still felt full after he ate so pumping gave me some relief and it helped start my stash. When I went back to work at 8 weeks I had plenty in the freezer for him.

Want a personalized experience?

When do I start pumping?

Re: When do I start pumping?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards