Any other exclusive pumpers in our group?

Stella2008 · January 2014

I'm finally back to bumping! The first week has been great, and our little girl is such a joy and honestly, the easiest of our three babies (so far at least).

I've exclusively pumped since our first daughter was born as she had a poor latch and I had some pretty significant and painful ramifications from that. I also found that with my type A personality, haha, that pumping and feeding was a much better choice for me and my child as I knew how much she was getting each feeding session. With all of my kids, they would nurse for hours and hours, and I found that I just could not handle it, especially with my #2 baby and a toddler running around. Pumping is just so much more efficient to me--I give all you full time nursing moms TONS of credit!

Curious on if anyone else on our January board is an exclusive pumper?

joshsmandy · January 2014

I'm doing a little of both nursing and pumping. I got my pump after she was born and she really doesn't like bottles but I'm going back to work soon so I need her used to them.

bellamatson · January 2014

I am an exclusive pumper. Maddox has issues with latching. It's a lot of work, but worth it. It takes lots of planning ahead of time, but little Maddox seems to enjoy his mummy milk rather than formula.

kteeswei · January 2014

I EP too for a few reasons. Quinn was bottle fed donor milk in the NICU and because he was SGA and hypoglycemic, we needed to continue supplementing like this for a few weeks and it was recommended we don't stop offering the bottle until he's established a few months of good growth. Pumping, bottle feeding and BFing, especially with no help at night, was too hard. I also have a myopathy that causes weakness and makes it very difficult to hold him in position. He was only 4 and 5lbs while nursing and it was hard, even with a boppy. He never spent more than 10 minutes nursing so the few hours I hear about would be impossible for me to support.

EP works for me. I don't hate it but do look forward to establishing my supply so is can go longer between pumps. It's NBD now but would get trickier as we leave the house more later on. My goal is 6 months and ideally up to a year.

Timing my night time pumps with Quinn's bottles at night is critical. I was dying until I managed getting this right. Now when DH is home my pumping is like a mini break

JaneW2 · January 2014

KatiesWei: I also EP my baby, also small for gestational age. (Also half-Chinese?)

He was 37 weeks and just under 5 pounds. His latch wasn't great, my nipples are flat, so he had some feeding issues his first week and wound up getting jaundiced and needing to be readmitted. We did expressed milk and preemie formula until my supply rose to the point where we could do all expressed milk.

It's kind of inconvenient, especially now that he's demanding more food more often, but he's growing. He put on 6 ounces in a week! I think, even if I could get him to latch, I wouldn't be comfortable with direct breastfeeding. I've gotten a bit compulsive about his feeding, and I like to know he's getting enough.

I'm not going to EP forever, I'm not doing this for a full year. But I'd like to get in a couple months at least.

growingmybun · January 2014

Me! Actually pumping right now.

MrsGraham06 · January 2014

I am EP, and hate it. I would so much rather nurse! But, like my other daughter, Scarlett's mouth does not match up with the size of my nipples. It took DD1 about 2 months to latch properly, and a lot of hard nights, sore nipples, and her having problems gaining weight. I'm not going through that crap again (1 hour away from the doctor, had to take her in every 2-4 days the 1st month, and every month until she was 1 year). The LC wouldn't let me leave the hospital without a pump, and I've already vented about her.

Scarlett is doing really well with the bottle, though, and is eating more each time. I think she's starting to sleep longer between feedings (now at 3-3.5 hours instead of 1.5-2 hours). My supply is up enough now, that I'm almost ahead of her eating schedule, though we do have some formula as backup (we've had to use some already).

I'd so much rather be nursing, and hope that I can get off the pump in the next 3-4 weeks. Scarlett started off at 1.5 pounds heavier than DD1, so I'm hoping she grows a little faster and can latch better sooner. She's still interested in nursing, so I'm going to keep hoping.

ach298 · January 2014

I EPd with my first for 7.5 months due to a refusal to latch and am so grateful this LO is a BFing champ and I only have to pump if I want to. I personally hated pumping, since it was all the work of breastfeeding plus having to deal with bottles. I can't imagine finding time to pump 8-12x/day while taking care of an infant and toddler. I had supply issues though and had to supplement often, even after power hours/fenugreek/ and other ways of trying to increase production.

kteeswei · January 2014

@JaneW2 said:
KatiesWei: I also EP my baby, also small for gestational age. (Also half-Chinese?)

He was 37 weeks and just under 5 pounds. His latch wasn't great, my nipples are flat, so he had some feeding issues his first week and wound up getting jaundiced and needing to be readmitted. We did expressed milk and preemie formula until my supply rose to the point where we could do all expressed milk.

It's kind of inconvenient, especially now that he's demanding more food more often, but he's growing. He put on 6 ounces in a week! I think, even if I could get him to latch, I wouldn't be comfortable with direct breastfeeding. I've gotten a bit compulsive about his feeding, and I like to know he's getting enough.

year. But I'd like to getcouple months at least.

Oh wow, Quinn was also born at 37 weeks just at 5lbs but dropped to 4.5 by day 2. And yes- half Chinese (half Irish). He takes small amounts very frequently. .5oz-2oz and it averages to 1/oz a feeding. He takes 21oz/day so he snacks hourly. Does your LO do this?

umma4babes · January 2014

I have been EP since day 2 pp for my 2 week daughter. I had to supplement heavily with formula in the beginning but now my supply is much better. She is getting mostly breast milk. That said, I hate pumping. It is exhausting, and with a 3 year old around, it is really tough. I have to lock my bedroom door while I'm pumping (don't worry, my husband is watching the kids

) and my 3 year old son will burst into tears thinking I'm mad at him! I'm still trying to figure out what to do.
I kind of tried nursing but it still requires me to pump afterwards. So it is double the work and takes what little time I have with my son. I have medela pump in style but thinking of renting the hospital one because it takes more than 20 minutes to get 2-3 oz., and I still feel like my breasts aren't empty - but I can't keep on pumping for longer than that. This is supposed to benefit my daughter, I know, but it breaks my heart that I'm unable to spend much needed quality time with my son during this critical transition period.

JaneW2 · January 2014

KatiesWei said:

KatiesWei: I also EP my baby, also small for gestational age. (Also half-Chinese?)

He was 37 weeks and just under 5 pounds. His latch wasn't great, my nipples are flat, so he had some feeding issues his first week and wound up getting jaundiced and needing to be readmitted. We did expressed milk and preemie formula until my supply rose to the point where we could do all expressed milk.

It's kind of inconvenient, especially now that he's demanding more food more often, but he's growing. He put on 6 ounces in a week! I think, even if I could get him to latch, I wouldn't be comfortable with direct breastfeeding. I've gotten a bit compulsive about his feeding, and I like to know he's getting enough.

year. But I'd like to getcouple months at least.
Oh wow, Quinn was also born at 37 weeks just at 5lbs but dropped to 4.5 by day 2. And yes- half Chinese (half Irish). He takes small amounts very frequently. .5oz-2oz and it averages to 1/oz a feeding. He takes 21oz/day so he snacks hourly. Does your LO do this?

My peanut did great his first couple days, no issues with blood sugar or temperature or anything, got released from the hospital with flying colors, but then on day 4 we took him for a checkup and discovered that he was down to 4 pounds 4 ounces and had a bilirubin level of 21, so off to the NICU we ran! (That was... yeah. Not good. I still think that if they'd checked him more carefully before his first release, we could have avoided that situation.)

For a while, he was very cooperatively eating 8 times a day by the clock, 50 ml at first, building up to 2 ounces. We often had to wake him for meals, to make sure he'd eat enough. I even set my alarm for 3 am every day to wake a sleeping baby and make him eat! Sounds nuts, but it's what he needed.

Now he's hit his 3 week growth spurt and just eats all day and night. Had to give him some formula last night because I had no milk at all left! Well, at least he's growing!

pinkyxboo · January 2014

I am EPing but supplementing with formula as my supply is not great 10 days pp. But in my mind, some BM is better than no BM. It's hard, but my husband is a huge help. Im worried about how everything will work out when he goes back to work.

Gonna have to try to get the hang of feeding baby girl while pumping I suppose.

BettyRu · January 2014

Question - (I still have an inside baby and will be a FTM)... I noticed a lot of you mentioning extra pump parts. Where do I order extra pump parts? I have a Medela... I just don't know what I need yet, but I will be pumping.

Please let me know! Thank you ladies.

Hmvbaby14 · January 2014

EP is something I've seriously considered doing and even did so for about 2 days because I was freaking out thinking ds was not getting enough from me. In retrospect I think he was going through a growth spurt. What's the longest you go without pumping? Do you still pump everytime LO eats? How many times a day do you pump?

ac1259 · January 2014

Rinny85 said:

I'm EP due to issues with getting LO to latch since she was premature. I actually really like the control I have over the amounts and the fact that DH can feed her too. I have the Medela PISA and I pumped every two hours round the clock for the first 2-3 weeks to build up a supply and then dropped off sessions one by one every few days and tracked how that affected my supply. Since I have extremely large breasts, they are able to store lots of milk between pumping sessions. I'm now down to 4 pumps a day and averaging 1800+mL per day. Every time I drop a session, my boobs just have twice as much milk the next time I pump so my daily amount is still the same. If I can get to 3 pumps a day and still keep a decent supply, I will be one happy momma. I'm just making sure to keep logging the amounts and checking the charts every day to make sure my supply doesn't drop. I also make sure to massage my breasts while pumping to completely empty them so they know to fully fill with milk again. Carleigh is almost 7 weeks now.

Can I say how seriously jealous I am of how much you get @Rinny85? I've been EPing since DD2 was born at 34 weeks and I've gotten a better supply than I ever did with DD1, but still not enough to cover everything she needs. I was pumping every 2-3 hours for the first 3-4 weeks and hit my breaking point this week because I wasn't really getting sleep between feeding and pumping overnight and had already been through one bout of mastitis:( So I kinda decided to give up since she was getting mostly formula and dropped my overnight pumping and now I'm semi able to keep up with her needs for the daytime and only use formula at night. So she's 5 weeks now and getting maybe 3 bottles of breastmilk a day. I'm not really sure where I'm going from here since EPing is very difficult with a 1 year old who is still pretty needy...but for now I'm pumping about 4-5 times a day and getting maybe 3 bottles a day for LO.

Kbrittonhart · January 2014

I'm exclusively pumping with this LO because she falls asleep on the boob or stops sucking after about 5 minutes so it was becoming frustrating for me. I think its because she was in NICU for two weeks and unable to nurse from the boob. She got accustomed to the ease of using a bottle.

I exclusively breastfed DD1 the first three months then pumped during he day when I returned to work. It was much easier!

iLoveMacaroni · January 2014

Amazon.com - get a second set of valves, membranes and flanges! Oh, and make sure you have enough bottles to pump into, too!

BettyRu said:
Question - (I still have an inside baby and will be a FTM)... I noticed a lot of you mentioning extra pump parts. Where do I order extra pump parts? I have a Medela... I just don't know what I need yet, but I will be pumping.

Please let me know! Thank you ladies.

hurricanekb · January 2014

I'm attempting to EP, but still having to supplement with formula. I have had supply issues, so after meeting with my LC, I'm on Reglan, and made some lactation cookies, and pumping 8 times a day (including right now). I feel I'm fighting an uphill battle with supply, so if it doesnt start increasing soon I will have to switch to just formula. At most (at my 6am pumping session) I get just over an ounce. It goes down from there, to about a half ounce at the end of the night. Which is up from about 10-15 ml tops before reglan.

Stella2008 · January 2014

@BettyRU--Yep, as others have stated, you can order online--I know Amazon and Drugstore.com sell them and I've ordered from both before--or I think you can also find them at Target or BRU. Just make sure you are buying what you need for your specific pump--for instance, the PISA and the Freestyle medela's take completely different parts.

Stella2008 · January 2014

That is so great! I've tried a nipple shield when still trying to nurse (and had horrible cracked/peeled /bleeding issues with my nipples due to a bad latch and what I found out later was an allergy to Lanolin), and it did help. Glad to hear you found something that worked for you!!

Stella2008 · January 2014

Rinny85 said:

I'm now down to 4 pumps a day and averaging 1800+mL per day. Every time I drop a session, my boobs just have twice as much milk the next time I pump so my daily amount is still the same. If I can get to 3 pumps a day and still keep a decent supply, I will be one happy momma. I'm just making sure to keep logging the amounts and checking the charts every day to make sure my supply doesn't drop. I also make sure to massage my breasts while pumping to completely empty them so they know to fully fill with milk again. Carleigh is almost 7 weeks now.

Wow--that is amazing! I'm 1.5 weeks in, pumping 8 times per day (usually go 5-6 hours in between at night since baby is sleeping that long) and have just passed the 30 oz mark per day yesterday. My supply keeps climbing and so I'm able to freeze some milk every day, but nothing close to you. Way to go, mama!

Stella2008 · January 2014

Hmvbaby14 said:

EP is something I've seriously considered doing and even did so for about 2 days because I was freaking out thinking ds was not getting enough from me. In retrospect I think he was going through a growth spurt. What's the longest you go without pumping? Do you still pump everytime LO eats? How many times a day do you pump?

So my routine since day 2 has been that I pump 8 times per day--usually ever 2-2.5 hours during the day. My schedule over the last 4 days has roughly been 5am, 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4:30pm, 8:00pm, and 11pm (some of this is dictated by the fact that I have two other kids that I need to get up, ready for school/daycare, and picked up and played with in the later afternoon evening). It seems to work for me. My longest "break" is at night because right now, my LO is sleeping from 11:30pm-5:00pm most nights, so I don't wake up in the middle to pump either unless I'm up with her already.

Our LO usually has eight 2.5 oz bottles a day, spaced roughly the same as my pumping sessions. I know she is gaining weight well (I have a baby scale) and so I'm not concerned about her long nighttime sleep or feeding less than the recommended 10-12 times per day.

Hmvbaby14 · January 2014

@stella2008 Thank you! I'm mobile so I can't see- how old is LO? Also, I really want to invest in a baby scale, but I'm scared it'll make me more neurotic than I already am being!

Fifer8082 · January 2014

I EP also due to poor latch. I keep trying with and without a shield but at 5 weeks it's not getting better. LO was born 3.5 weeks early so I thought as he got older it would get better but it hasn't. Luckily my supply is pretty good with pumping and have a good stash going. Will have to try to start dropping pumps soon as I head back to work in a few weeks so hopefully my supply won't suffer too much.

JaneW2 · January 2014

Interesting. It seems like an awful lot of us have preemies, low birth weight babies, and/or babies who had medical problems during their first few days.

Which makes sense. All those things would make it harder for a baby to latch. If a baby needs special care, he might be separated from you at times, which would also interfere with initiating breastfeeding. And a small or sick baby lacks the reserves to get through a few days of breastfeeding difficulties.

Of course, having a baby who starts off a bit more fragile might also be part of the reason why we decided to persist with EP rather that just switching straight to formula when it became clear that direct breastfeeding wasn't going to work out like we'd hoped.

For my SGA baby, I'm trying to feed him breast milk for a month. That'll be good enough for me, since the breast milk advantage is biggest for the youngest babies, but becomes less important as they grow older.

twobluelines · January 2014

I am having to pump due to latching issues as well and then supplement with formula because I am not making enough milk yet. We see lactation consultants every the days and although they can occasionally get her to latch she doesn't actually get any milk at all during weighed feeds. She had a slight tongue tie andweare finger feeding her still but I am at my wits end. I hate pumping because I feel like it Is so much time away from my baby. And my husband is doing so much of her feedings that I feel jealous. I am on all the supplements and just hoping that I can at least get my milk supply up while we continue to struggle with a latch. Nipple shield isn't working and I swear the child screams like a banshee if you try to put that thing in her mouth.

cpm1223 · January 2014

@Kaleigh1289 you and I are facing very similar issues...I'm also on Reglan, eating those damn cookies and pumping a million times per day. It sucks but just know that you're not alone and I hope things get easier for both of us!

growingmybun · January 2014

Should we do a weekly check in or Q&A? It's helpful to hear what's working for others.

hurricanekb · January 2014

@cpm1223 thanks I hope so too for both of us!

umma4babes · January 2014

STM+, how are you scheduling your pumping sessions while taking care of older children? My supply was going up, but now it's dwindling since I can only pump 6x a day max. My 3 year goes to a full day preschool 3x a week. I can pump at least 8x on those days, but the rest of the days, it's extremely frustrating to find the time to pump. My husband often has meetings on weekends so I'm going to be left alone with the kids. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle since I can't get my supply up due to lack of pumping sessions.

LabPupLuv · January 2014

@kaleigh1289 Except for the Reglan (what is that and how do I get it?!?) your post described me. I have such a small supply issue after my c/s and his early tongue tie, that I make next to nothing... Now I think I have infection in my left nipple and can't even stand to nurse on it anymore. I am switching to EP and keeping up with the formula supplements. I'd hate to quit pumping but after waking up to nurse/pump every 2-3 hours since his birth two and a half weeks ago and not seeing any increase in milk, I'm about to just do formula only.

hurricanekb · January 2014

@LabPupLuv My LC prescribed me Reglan. It's supposed to help increase prolactiv in your brain which can increase your milk supply. Though I've noticed an increase, it's still not enough so that I can give up on formula as well. For example, I used to get maybe 2oz per day, where now I've pumped 5 times today and have about 4.5oz (obviously still extremely low)

JaneW2 · January 2014

About the Reglan: It can help with supply, but it has a black-box warning for a neurological side effect. Ask your own doctor AND your baby's pediatrician if it's a good choice for you before using it to increase milk supply.

I tried it for a digestive problem years ago, didn't help but did make me short of breath all the time.

hurricanekb · January 2014

@janew2 we did look at all side effects before resorting to taking it. I've been on it for 1 week and luckily haven't noticed anything at all.

BShreeve · January 2014

Kaleigh1289 said:
I'm attempting to EP, but still having to supplement with formula. I have had supply issues, so after meeting with my LC, I'm on Reglan, and made some lactation cookies, and pumping 8 times a day (including right now). I feel I'm fighting an uphill battle with supply, so if it doesnt start increasing soon I will have to switch to just formula. At most (at my 6am pumping session) I get just over an ounce. It goes down from there, to about a half ounce at the end of the night. Which is up from about 10-15 ml tops before reglan.

This is me.

Except I'm probably only producing about 15 ml with each pumping. I met with a LC and have been taking her advice on supplements, diet etc but nothing seems to be working. I may not be pumping enough but I'm just too tired to deal with it in the early hours.

JaneW2 · January 2014

@BShreeve: Some women just have low supply (primary insufficiency). It's a real problem, and it's more common than many people realize. It can be hormonal, and it's more common among women who suffered certain complications during pregnancy.

If your baby is over 2 weeks old and you've been really working at your milk supply for at least a week, if your breasts feel soft and drained after each pumping session, it may be your body just can't produce enough milk. (if your breasts don't feel soft and drained, you may benefit from a change in pumping technique.)

I can see you're trying hard, if it doesn't work it doesn't work. What really matters is that the baby gets fed.

LabPupLuv · January 2014

@AmyG* I am pumping every 2 to 3 hours, even if baby doesn't wake up, to trigger my body to make more supply. I pump for 5 minutes or more after the milk stops flowing to signal that more is needed. I also turned down the volume setting so my nipples are not pulled as hard as I had it set for originally. I thought the stronger the pull, the more milk would be produced when in reality, it was blocking them from emptying. I try to drain my breasts as much as possible by massaging them while breastfeeding (hard to do with flanges when pumping). I am also renting a hospital grade pump to grow supply during the crucial first few weeks. I am still taking/eating allllll the supplements!

Hmvbaby14 · January 2014

What bottles/nipples are you ladies using? I'm still trying to figure what I like best but, I've mostly been using the medela bottles/nipples because that's what I have the most of.

kteeswei · January 2014

@Hmvbaby14 said:
What bottles/nipples are you ladies using? I'm still trying to figure what I like best but, I've mostly been using the medela bottles/nipples because that's what I have the most of.

Dr. Browns to try and help with gas- it's our favorite so far.

JaneW2 · January 2014

I use the Medela bottles, because they are breeding like rabbits all over my house, but the Dr. Browns nipples because they do seem to reduce spitup issues.

Want a personalized experience?

Any other exclusive pumpers in our group?

Re: Any other exclusive pumpers in our group?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards