Pumping question

Country Girl in the City · October 2012

I am going back to work after 3 months so as long as I am able to breast feed, I plan on pumping. Can I buy any kind of bottles or do I need to get something that matches my pump? I feel like I should start buying this stuff now so I don't have to buy everything in February right before she gets here.

danieleandwayne · October 2012

A coworker of mine recommended this: buy a medela (however that brand name is spelled) and the bottles that go with them. Then you can pump into those bottles and then pour the milk into whatever bottles you end up using for your baby. One of the other nurses had a crazy supply and would pump an entire Nalgene bottle's worth from each breast at each pumping session. So she would bring 4 Nalgene bottles to work and fill them during the two pumping sessions she could fit in during a 12 hour shift. And she'd store them in the fridge with the lids taped down (to avoid anyone tampering without her noticing) until it was time to go home.

The coworker telling me all this, though, had a very limited supply, so she didn't need to supplement the types of bottles she used-- she just pumped into the ones she got with her pump.

I know most of my friends end up finding the best bottle/nipple combination after their babies were born-- because you don't know how the baby is going to nurse and what kind of nipple the baby will respond to until you actually start to BF.

I hope this helps!

mama2many · October 2012

danieleandwayne:
A coworker of mine recommended this: buy a medela (however that brand name is spelled) and the bottles that go with them. Then you can pump into those bottles and then pour the milk into whatever bottles you end up using for your baby. One of the other nurses had a crazy supply and would pump an entire Nalgene bottle's worth from each breast at each pumping session. So she would bring 4 Nalgene bottles to work and fill them during the two pumping sessions she could fit in during a 12 hour shift. And she'd store them in the fridge with the lids taped down (to avoid anyone tampering without her noticing) until it was time to go home.
The coworker telling me all this, though, had a very limited supply, so she didn't need to supplement the types of bottles she used-- she just pumped into the ones she got with her pump.
I know most of my friends end up finding the best bottle/nipple combination after their babies were born-- because you don't know how the baby is going to nurse and what kind of nipple the baby will respond to until you actually start to BF.
I hope this helps!

RE: your friend with the amazing milk supply - I'm SO jealous!! I've NEVER been able to pump much at all - to the point that, by 4th baby, since I became a SAHM after her I just go ahead and quit torturing myself to get 2-3 oz total, regardless of whether I've nursed or not, and started using formula for the 1-2 bottles a week that I'm away from baby.

Yes, it's true, I have breast milk envy. Flame if you must.

kat1221 · October 2012

danieleandwayne:
A coworker of mine recommended this: buy a medela (however that brand name is spelled) and the bottles that go with them. Then you can pump into those bottles and then pour the milk into whatever bottles you end up using for your baby. One of the other nurses had a crazy supply and would pump an entire Nalgene bottle's worth from each breast at each pumping session. So she would bring 4 Nalgene bottles to work and fill them during the two pumping sessions she could fit in during a 12 hour shift. And she'd store them in the fridge with the lids taped down (to avoid anyone tampering without her noticing) until it was time to go home.
The coworker telling me all this, though, had a very limited supply, so she didn't need to supplement the types of bottles she used-- she just pumped into the ones she got with her pump.
I know most of my friends end up finding the best bottle/nipple combination after their babies were born-- because you don't know how the baby is going to nurse and what kind of nipple the baby will respond to until you actually start to BF.
I hope this helps!

This is what I did and it worked great!

Good Luck and good for you:)

benoitfan · October 2012

Your pump should come with a collection bottle or two. I plan on using them only for collection, then using a different kind of bottle. The bottles that came with my medela pump are super small and would be ok to feed with early on, but in no time baby is going to need a bigger bottle. You can probably buy larger bottles for your pump, but they are likely more pricey than other bottles. I didn't pump much with DS#1 and he really loved bornfree bottles, so that's what I plan on using with #2.

stever · October 2012

Buy a Medela pump, pump into the freezer bags(way easier than storing in a bottle), then use whatever bottle you want.

SouthernMom70 · October 2012

stever:
Buy a Medela pump, pump into the freezer bags(way easier than storing in a bottle), then use whatever bottle you want.

The freezer bags are much easier to store - they don't take up nearly as much room. Whatever pump you buy should come with some bottles. I used a Medela with my first - I just pumped into the collection bottles, then transferred the milk either to a freezer bag for storage or a different bottle for feeding.

Country Girl in the City · October 2012

Thanks ladies.

mbw410 · October 2012

And don't forget the Affordable Health Care Act forces the insurance companies to provide breast feeding support in terms of supplies and services from a lactation consultant.

Animeg2+1 · October 2012

mama2many:
RE: your friend with the amazing milk supply - I'm SO jealous!! I've NEVER been able to pump much at all - to the point that, by 4th baby, since I became a SAHM after her I just go ahead and quit torturing myself to get 2-3 oz total, regardless of whether I've nursed or not, and started using formula for the 1-2 bottles a week that I'm away from baby.
Yes, it's true, I have breast milk envy. Flame if you must.

Totally with you on that, Mama! I had to stop after 3 months because I wasn't even producing enough to properly feed DD. That and we'd had to supplement with formula anyway, since I had to go back to work after 6 weeks.

dodo1202 · October 2012

Like PP said, the lactation director of my MFM also recommend Medela.

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