Breastfeeding
Happy2BPregnant
member
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Breast Pumps
Happy2BPregnant
member
I am due any day now and have yet to purchase a breast pump. I called my insurance company to see if they cover one and they do not with my plan. I will be staying at home with my little man.
Do I NEED to get a breast pump? Should I wait and see? Is there a place that you would recommend purchasing a pump that is cheaper? What model should I get? Basically, what would you do if you were me?
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Re: Breast Pumps
If this is your first baby and you really want to make breastfeeding work, I would get one. If you start off pumping in the beginning 6 weeks, you will increase your supply. You might run into leaking problems from creating a larger supply, but pumping after feeding will help ensure you make enough milk. Heck, just pumping once a day will be good for making a stash.
My LC told me not to pump this time until after 6-8 weeks and I didn't. I don't have the leaking that I had with my first, but I also had a tough time making milk for my stash for going back to work. I would say it's a wash. I have been spending 35 a week on fenugreek, blessed thistle, and mothers lact tonic tinctures (exactly the amount of a can of formula LOL)
I say buy a pump. I have the Medela freestyle with a hands free bra. I pump and drive. It's pretty awesome.
Good luck on your BF journey. I have found it soooo rewarding and special.
This is probably not the best advice.
If I were in your shoes - and I was, except for the SAH part
I would wait.
If there is not a medical reason to, you should avoid pumping during the first six weeks. Breastfeeding often increases your supply more than a pump ever could. And if you pump too often you will have far more issues than leaking. If you create an "oversupply" it's not "yay more milk!" it's "crap, I'm making too much milk with not enough fat and my baby is fussing, crying, and in pain because it's shooting through her digestive system too fast." And it takes work and time to correct that.
If there is a medical reason to pump in the beginning, you're not going to want a pump from the store, you're going to want a hospital-grade pump, which most hospitals will rent to you and often insurance will cover that if there's a medical necessity.
I'm not sure where you're located, but for me, my insurance covered a breastfeeding class. When I attended that class, they gave me a 20% discount coupon to use at the lactation boutique at the hospital I was giving birth at. After I gave birth, I used that coupon to purchase the pump and it ended up being less expensive than any of the retail stores/Amazon.
I have just an Avent single electric. It works just fine. What I really like about it is all of their stuff works together. I can pump directly into a bottle, then give it to my baby. I know a lot of pumps/bottles do that, but this one is one of the more affordable ones. Its around $100.00 bucks. I use mine when I'm at work, and then also at night after K has gone to bed since he hardly wakes up for night feedings now. It prevents a missed feeding and it helps me store milk for when I'm at work.