BTDT Moms - how often did you pump?

alexandra1818 · February 2013

Was talking to my doula this weekend, about the wide range of breast pumps that are available. She mentioned that there are manual ones - for those that don't expect to pump very much - middle of the way ones, and then the more hard-core medical grade ones.

How do you know how much you're going to pump?

I'm planning to breastfeed for 1 year, and will be a stay-at-home-mom. Both of our families are fairly close, and I'm sure would be wanting to spend a few hours alone with baby... though I have no idea (this will be my parents' first grandchild).

Any suggestions?

I'm sort of leaning towards a middle of the road one: https://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/145/swing-breastpump

Bkuhman · February 2013

Well I plan to pump just for the convenience that if I'm too exhausted my DH can get the baby and feed it. Or when someone watches the baby. I am going to he a sahm but I do plan to go grocery shopping when DH is off work

pantsarella · February 2013

I think the general rule is if you're staying home/not planning to pump a lot, a manual one will do fine. If you're going back to work, get an electric one. Not sure on the medical grade ones.

I'm going back to work at 6 or 8 weeks depending on delivery, so I got the Medela Pump in Style dual electric pump.

Bkuhman · February 2013

Or something so I plan to pump a good bit

solsburyhill · February 2013

I BF for 13 months. I also was a PT working mom. I pumped for every missed feeding, so 3x a work day, 9am, noon, and 3pm. I have the double pump Medela PISA. I pumped 20 minutes per session and the nice double pump (with a hands free bra) was an absolute MUST.

I also have the swing that you are looking at. It's a single pump but that might work for a SAHM.

On my 3 month maternity leave, I got the hang of pumping and built up a freezer stash using my Swing pump. A few days a week, during the first feeding of the morning, I nursed one side will pumping the other side. The Swing was perfect for this! It takes coordination : ) The first time I did it, DH looked at me and said Holy HeII!! Now, I nursed both sides for each feeding where some moms only nurse one side per feeding, so that's just the method that worked well for me. Because it was the first morning session, we had all day ahead of us to make up for what he might have missed on the 2nd side.

(I hope that made sense!)

PrimRoseMama · February 2013

I like medela, but I don't have a double pump. So I just feed baby and then pump afterward. That was until my supply went to heck.

Basically, there is no way for us to know how often you will have to pump yourself. Some women need to be attached to the pump (when they aren't feeding LO) pretty constantly to maintain supply. Mine still tanked even though I nursed and pumped around the clock.

So, you'll have to kind of go with the flow when you get there. I believe in the beginning the general rule is feed baby and pump every 2 hours.

solsburyhill · February 2013

Also - the swing is electric, not manual. I think electric is the way to go, it will save you time. I just think you could get away with a single pump vs. a double if you are a SAHM.

But check with insurance, maybe you can get a free or at least a discount on an awesome double?

missyjg · February 2013

I bought a manual pump and then an electric pump (forgive me I can't remember the brand) that cost less than 70$. I was so frustrated with pumping. I ended up getting a medela pump and loved it. For me, it was worth the money. I work FT so I was planning on pumping at work but I was home with DD for 6 months and BF just didn't work out for several reasons. But as for the pump, the medela worked well for us. I won't try anything different with this baby. Good luck!

Melgor78 · February 2013

I have the medela pump in style. I pumped every time I fed dd in the begining. I think it depends are u going to bf and pump? I EP so I wanted to build a good stash. If your only going to pump occasionally a manual would work. I also have a medela manual one for when I was out.

themargo · February 2013

I am a sahm and nursed my son for almost 15 months. I pumped probably every other day to build up a freezer supply for times when I needed it out of the house or babysitter and to mix with food. I had an ameda purely yours paid by insurance and a 20 hand pump.

I liked the hand pump because I wasn't tied down to an electric cord and could walk around. Also if I was out away from my son I could pump to keep my supply up. I would get both kinds.

pepomntpat · February 2013

Probably once a week or so. If I knew a date night was coming up, I'd pump a little more often to make sure I had enough milk to leave. I was never very regular about it. I had no desire to have a huge stash. I probably had 20 ounces on hand at all times and that was it (that's about 4-5 bottles depending on the baby).

solsburyhill · February 2013

I wanted to add this too - I know some people who SAH and simply never pumped. That would NOT have worked for me. I craved the freedom pumping brought me in the beginning. The minute I had my first 4oz pumped we got my mom to babysit and went out for dinner. I think DS was 3 weeks? I can't tell you the wonders it did for my mental state to get that little break even if it was for just 2 hours! For me it was 100% worth the money to have a good pump that allowed me to get away.

bunnie712 · February 2013

I went into things planning to BF some, but I knew a lot of people did formula. It wasn't until I started doing more research and BFing that I decided to keep it up as long as possible. I BF exclusively for DD until she was 10 months, before supplementing.

I went back to work after 12 weeks. But during those 12 weeks at home, it was useful to be able to pump. If I wanted to go to the gym or stop to grocery shop on the way home from the gym, I may not time things to get back to the baby for feeding. Even having some pumped milk available, I felt like I could neve be "free" sometimes. If you and DH want to go to dinner/movie, you may need to pump ahead of time. Or if you plan to have a glass or two of wine, it may be nice to pump ahead of time. It's stressful on DH to hold a crying baby while he waits for you to get back to the house to feed the baby (spoken from personal experience).

Also since your families are close, I'm guessing they will want to spend time with the baby. MIL was obsessive about it and would hold the baby despite me saying DD needed to eat (this was during their visit the day my milk came in, which meant the baby should be nursing almost constantly that day - I was furious). I would go into the family things expecting the worst and you may be pleasently surprised - with that said, plan to have a pumped bottle ready for when visitors arrive. Certain generations have a very hard time with the concept of BFing. And most older folks (even parents of kids that are over age 5) forget how often a newborn eats.

It also depends on the type of eater your baby is. DD was a slow eater, so if I didn't pump, the longest I could leave the house is 1.5 hours in the begining. And while you will want to spend a lot of time with your new baby, don't forget to take some time to yourself. Sitting on the couch nursing all day can get frustrating (for me at least).

Consider this - A middle of the road double electric pump is about $200. It doesn't take long for that to pay for itself if you had to supplement with formula. Unless you are really short on cash, I would spend the extra money for a middle of the road electric pump.

mittensonkittens · February 2013

Manual pumps are good for pumping an oz here and there for mixing up some baby cereal, but you'll want an electric pump if you want to give baby a bottle more than once or twice. You can get away with a single electric pump if you're SAH, but working moms will want a good double electric.

CarlaAndJames · February 2013

I work full time, so I pumped 4x a day on the weekdays and 1x/day on the weekends.

alexandra1818 · February 2013

Wow, this is really helping, thanks all!

While the manual pump does sound more convenient (not being tied to a wall-plug), from what you guys have said an electric one may mean I use it more... and would then feel less "tied to the house".

:-)

And thanks especially to the person that brought up the money thing. I guess I was unconsciously leaning towards the manual one because it was cheaper, but we're not strapped for cash, so if the electric one is faster and less work, it may help me feel happier and less trapped, then that's the one I should consider.

kathleen02 · February 2013

I got a manual and a regular medela and I got NOTHING out of the manual. Waste of money except for some parts I could reuse on the regular pump. That's me though.

je2161 · February 2013

I did fine on a single electric pump. I'm a SAHM. I had such a breastmilk oversupply so I wound up pumping a lot more (to relieve pressure) than I originally intended. A manual pump could work if you want to save some money and don't plan on doing much pumping at all. However, even if you SAH, if you plan on leaving your LO with a family member for several hours (or especially overnight), you will need to pump to keep up your supply and relieve pressure. If you end up needing to pump even a few times a week, I'd say an electric pump is the way to go. From my experience, the single electric was adequate for occasional use.

KERJF · February 2013

I'm SAHM an having an electric po was really nice even though I mostly nursed. I have the freestyle but would have gotten the next one down swing maybe? had I not found it new for 70

MrsChamp11 · February 2013

Most insurance companies now pay for double electric pumps. Even if I stayed home I would have a double electric. Manuals are a pain in the butt and a single electric takes twice the time to pump. Hands down a double electric. Check your insurance but it should be free.

alexandra1818 · February 2013

MrsChamp11:
Most insurance companies now pay for double electric pumps. Even if I stayed home I would have a double electric. Manuals are a pain in the butt and a single electric takes twice the time to pump. Hands down a double electric. Check your insurance but it should be free.

Sadly, I'm Canadian, and my insurance doesn't cover anything like this at all.

BlueJewelM · February 2013

Lurking from August

I was a SAHM and used the swing pump. I LOVED IT. I felt it was much more efficient than a manual. I also got a simple wishes pumping bra and you can put batteries in the swing pump and clip it to your jeans, so I could move around the house or check email, whatever.

I didn't pump to keep much of a stash. I always had about 100 oz frozen because I do work about 12 hours a week so DH could feed when I was gone.

If someone was buying a pump for me, is go for the PISA. But the price of the swing was just right and it was very simple and portable.

Gl!

luvmyducks · February 2013

I'm a SAHM and have a Medela PISA. I didn't pump a ton. When I knew I would need to leave DD for my sister's bachelorette party and wedding, I started pumping a few hours after she went to bed when she was about 4m old. In a couple months I had over 200oz stashed and stopped pumping. Pretty much after that I hardly ever pumped except for when I was away from her, which wasn't very often. I still would have hated having a manual one though.

JTJB2008 · February 2013

I'm a sahm and bf for 9 months. I did pump after most feedings so if I needed a break or ds needed more at a certain time we had it on hand. I also had date nights and a weekend away I was stashing for. I have the Medela freestyle and even though it is expensive it worked really well and I would highly recommend it. I pumped 1520 minutes after I fed my ds and if I pumped in place of a feeding it was more like 2530 minutes. I can't imagine doing that only one side at a time, thus doubling the time I'd be on the pump. Good luck in your decision making!

oh_maria · February 2013

You will know very quickly by LO's signals (and how fast your breasts fill!). For the first few weeks, expect to keep a pump nearby all the time, especially if you're working to get your supply up/keep it up (bfing is all about demand creating the supply).

You can look at some "schedules" that people have for babies to get an idea of intervals, but keep in mind that BF babies eat more frequently than FF because of the difference in the milk/formula.

I pumped like a boss since I went to work, but I had a manual just in case. I had the Medela manual and I was pleased with it because it did mimic that two way suction that I liked on the electric pumps. I will say though, if you pump more than once or twice a day, consider getting a single breast electric. Manual pumps are better than hand expression... but not by much. If you have the electric, you can do hands free and not be stuck manually expressing.

My SIL was a SAHM and she barely ever pumped, so manual worked for her just fine (and she had no supply issues). A gf of mine had supply issues and had to pump after feedings to keep it up, so a single electric worked for her.

Perhaps get a manual and then see if you need to move to the electric, but having a manual no matter way is always a safe better because hand expression is just... not the most fun.

Want a personalized experience?

BTDT Moms - how often did you pump?

Re: BTDT Moms - how often did you pump?

LFAF Summer 2016 Awards:

Choose Another Board

Search Boards