Hey STM's! Question about BFing

Erikahenderson1 · March 2014

I plan to BF. Do you think it necessary to still get a breast pump? If so, scale of 1-10 of importance. Those things are expensive.

Erikahenderson1 · March 2014

**Removed at OP's request**

cwm11985 · March 2014

I think you will definitely want one. At some point you're going to be away from the baby-haircut, dr appts, etc or you may want your husband to have the chance to feed her/him.

ModishMom · March 2014

I'd say you definitely need a manual at the least. The first day you need it you'll be super thankful to have it.

ksulli · March 2014

I want to say yes too, although if you SAHM a single manual may do it. DD got sick at 7w and refused to nurse for a full day- I had to pump to relieve engorgement and keep up my supply. She would take some milk cold through a dropper (she had sores in her mouth/throat, so nursing hurt, but the cold felt alright). Also, if you plan on an evening out, or weekend away while LO is still nursing, you'll need something.

KHendy27 · March 2014

I agree with the others. If you can get a free one through insurance, take it. If not, get a manual from Walmart/target/wherever.They're about $30-$40. I have a double electric and sometimes I prefer the simplicity of my manual. The manual you can easily throw in your bag if you'll be away for a few hours and need to pump real quick.

MamaFantastic · March 2014

oh yes, absolutely!! if you ever want to be apart from the baby for any length of time longer than 2-3 hours (for a wedding, a party, romantic overnight, heck... even a "get me OUT of this house by myself!!" afternoon of adult aloneness) you'll want to have a bottle of your breastmilk available for whoever is caring for baby at home.

i was a SAHM for the first 4 months and we used the pump quite a bit. when my son was 4 months old we had plans to go visit my inlaws, and i came down with a really bad cold the day we were supposed to leave. he just packed up 2 days' worth of frozen milk bags and i stayed at home and pumped to replace them while he took the baby for a solo visit. it was nice to have the option to do that.

momofmanyinthemitten · March 2014

I'm a SAHM and I just have a $25 manual one. It does the job for me. Neither of my kids ever really took to the bottle, but it was nice to have the pump to get milk for mixing in with cereal or the rare times I knew I'd be away for longer than a couple hours and had to leave a bottle for the sitter.

LittleLady77 · March 2014

Yes, you want one. You might need it to establish your supply and you will want to pump a few times to have a back up stash if you have yo leave the house and someone else needs to feed the baby.

Sarahjess06 · March 2014

It's nice to have for sure.

Ashleypixie · March 2014

I just have a simple Avent single pump thing. I rarely ever needed it but it was nice to have for those times I was super engorged and had to just get it out of me. Then I'd have backup when I needed it.

RedDawnsRevenge · March 2014

I couldn't have lived without it. I will be a SAHM this time but will still pump religiously to donate.

JoelleOK · March 2014

Something else to consider is if you get a blocked milk duct a pump can help fix the problem. I've had 3-4 in 26 months of nursing. My son was better than my cheap single electric pump at getting the clog but one time the clogged duct was in a weird place and DS wouldn't nurse in a strange position to get the clog out.

flywithdee@yahoo.com · March 2014

It was definitely a must with my first. I always nursed but my husband and mom got to feed him from a bottle. This time I got a manual as well as my electric one I used last time. I'll probably use the manual more than the electric.

LindsayB0505 · March 2014

I'd say at minimum you will want a manual one (they are fairly cheap) so that you can take the edge off it you get too engorged. It's nice to be able to pump a bottle for DH to help out or if you go out for an evening even if you are a SAHM.

jennypenny1014 · March 2014

AmyG* said:

Check and see if your medical insurance company covers a breastpump. most do. a pump is not necessary but it can be very convenient to have even if a sahm.

And you are....???

jennypenny1014 · March 2014

kcp913 said:

Edit to fix image

I PPH you.

Bluebird2318 · March 2014

If you are talking about EBF (meaning you only want baby to receive breast milk), then I would say the following:

If you plan on going back to work, it's absolutely necessary (from a realistic perspective). It allows you to maintain your supply while you're away and gives you a way to leave breast milk at home/daycare for the baby's daytime caregiver. Technically speaking you could hand express into a bowl, but I highly doubt that anyone would choose that over buying a cheap manual pump. For working moms I would suggest getting an electric pump though, because you will be spending a lot of time pumping.

If you plan on staying at home until baby is weaned is it absolutely 100% necessary? Possibly not depending upon your lifestyle, but it's going to make your life a heck of a lot easier. Even SAHMs are away from their babies sometimes and the benefits I mentioned for working moms still apply. A SAHM could probably get away with just a manual pump more easily since they won't need to be away from their babies quite as often, but electric ones are still so much more convenient that I would say they are worth the money.

pineconey · March 2014

AmyG* said:
Check and see if your medical insurance company covers a breastpump. most do. a pump is not necessary but it can be very convenient to have even if a sahm.

We've been warned about you.
Just leave now and things won't get ugly. Maybe May14 wants you....

pearlinprogress · March 2014

10 on the importance scale, but not necessarily right away. Sometimes things come up and you need one. (My pump has been invaluable when I got clogged ducts, needed to up my supply, or just wanted a few extra minutes of sleep one night while DH fed the LO.) You don't necessarily NEED a pump, but I thank God for mine.

J&NL · March 2014

My insurance doesn't cover one for me so I got the medella swing. I'm a SAHM so the single pump is enough for me and it's way cheaper than a double. I would say they're good to have if you plan to go somewhere without the baby and you need to leave some milk.

bacorrea · March 2014

I am a FTM and will be a SAHM hoping to EBF. I got a breast pump. After talking to my mom she reminded me if I left the baby with a sitter to go out with DH etc. I would need to pump. Also I hope to EBF for at least a year. I can't imagine not having to be anywhere during feeding time for a whole year; therefore, I got a pump!

Erikahenderson1 · March 2014

All great points, thanks. To those asking questions I'm just a curious FTM and I want to be fully prepared, and know what I need when I need it. I don't want to go over board though, especially with the expenses.

So next question, how long can I keep frozen breast milk for? Also I had a friend who was BFing that said she was producing too much milk because she was pumping to relieve her engorged breasts, so how much is too much? Or will this be something that I'll figure out naturally as I go?

J&NL · March 2014

Look on kellymom.com

A website full of BF information. There is a chart on there that tells you all of that info.

J&NL · March 2014

https://kellymom.com/category/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/

ksulli · March 2014

It stays good for 6mos in the freezer, or 12 mos in a deep freeze (if you have a freezer chest). Fresh milk has a shelf life (refrigerated) of 3-7 days. Defrosted is good for 1 day, so only defrost what you need.

If you pump to relieve engorgement too early (generally it takes 4w for your supply to regulate) you'll set yourself up for an over supply. After that you should pretty much only pump of you miss a feeding. If you pump regularly in addition to full-time nursing, your body will think that's how much baby is eating, and continue to produce in excess.

If you want to establish a bit of a freezer stash, what worked best for me (based on advice from kellymom.com & the BF board) was to pump ~1hr after DD's first daytime nursing session. Then I kept that one up until returning to work. The slight oversupply that created kept me over producing when I pumped at work for a bit which was nice to have some extra on hand.

Hey STM's! Question about BFing

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