Any EPers?

sasky · June 2014

Just curious if anyone chose to EP, or if certain circumstances led to that. What was your experience? Did you have trouble keeping up your supply? How long did you do it? Any recommendations?

jeephappygirl · June 2014

My twins are just over 7 mo. I have been EPing since day 3. They were born at 36w4d. My water broke at 6am. Had csection at 5pm. Baby a had always been breech. I didn't get to see them until for 3 hrs. Hospital wouldn't bring them into recovery because they didn't have enough nurses on. Then it took forever to get in a room because of shift changes. They were 5 lbs 5 oz & 5 lbs 10 oz. Healthy but little. The first night I had an amazing nurse who had been an LC. She helped me to get them latched. Even did some tandum.

The following nurses were not as helpful or as knowledgeable. The LC was over worked and brought me formula before even attempting to help get them to latch. I was beyond frustrated and hormonal. I asked for a pump & started pumping every 2-3 hrs. I still tried to get them to latch but they weren't taking much.

Around 2 mo I could get them to latch but still felt I had to pump afterwards. I was afraid they weren't emptying me enough and was afraid it would lower my supply. I was pumping just enough for the two of them and freezing a few ounces. I also have a DD who is almost 3. I decided it was easier to EP. Otherwise I was nursing each one for 30 min, then pumping. I only had 20 min before I had to start the cycle all over again.

At 7 mo I am still pumping 4-5 times a day. They haven't had any formula since the day we came home from the hospital. They are doing great at 17 & 18 lbs.

EPing is hard work but its doable. After the first 3 months it gets easier if you can space pumps out. There is a great Facebook group called exclusively pumping group. A good hands free bra is necessary. Also a good pump. I BF'd DD for a full year. Hoping to pump fpr at least 1 yr.

KatieGummow · June 2014

I am over 2 months in and mostly pump. I try to nurse once a day though, just in case I am in a pickle one day.

Baby B had to go to the NICU for blood sugar issues and had to supplement with formula. So I had to pump for him. Got him to latch at 8weeks!!

Advice: water, water, water, food, food, food! I pumped 8 times a day (DH was on paternity for a month) and now 6 times. GL!

KatieGummow · June 2014

I also pump while they eat, like PP said, hands free bra!

whitehousem · June 2014

I EP'd for DD for four months and have been for six weeks with the twins. Both times I tried so hard to BF but was met with one problem after another (mastitis, clogged ducts, nipple trauma that would not/will not heal, tongue tie, pumping OUNCES of blood, weight loss, etc.). I met with a LC with DD and three LCs this time. The pain from infection and raw nipples was unbearable so I decided to pump. I make a ton of milk, but for some reason I feel like my body hates BFing. I am able to pump only four times a day and still keep up supply. I'm actually trying to stop right now and having a hard time getting my milk to stop coming. It's a HUGE commitment. It is definitely like having to feed a

SamanthaJoD · June 2014

It's always amazing to me to see how many other EPing MoMs there are out there! I do as well, my twins are 4 and a half months now. They spent a week in the nicu after they were born becuase they were poor feeders. I pumped and brought milk to the hospital and the nurses fed them via bottle or feeding tube. They didnt want me breastfeeding too much that first week because they wanted the babies to burn as few calories as possible, and I guess breast feeding burns more calories than the other options. Anyway, I got really used to pumping and bottle feeding and just never got the hang of breastfeeding. We tried it but it really felt stressful. I was by myself most of the time and had no one to help with tandum or to comfort one baby while I fed the other. I somtimes wish I had put more effort into it, I feel a little sad looking at my twin breastfeeding pillow that hardly ever got used, but things are working out great with the way we're doing things.

Pumping really is a PITA, but it's totally worth it to me. I keep strict track of how many oz per day I'm pumping and right now I'm up to around 51oz per day. I've had to do some supplementing with formula but I don't beat myself up about it, I'm really proud to be able to feed them as much milk as I am! I also recommend pumping during feeding time and try breast massage during pumping to get more yield. Keeping track of oz pumped has helped me a ton because I can tell if my supply is starting to drop and I can fix it before it's too late. Good luck!

zazu13 · June 2014

I admire you ladies, too. I pumped for my twins for six weeks, but ended up stopping. I had low supply, latch issues, 1 NICU baby and couldnt justify being attached to the pump 4 hrs a day (8 x 30 min) when I was getting less than half what my twins needed while I was slowly losing my sanity due to illness and sleep deprivation. I now try to focus on being proud of what I was able to do although it fell very short of what I had envisioned. I found a picture on our camera the other day of one of my twins BF. They each only latched a few times, but it is a sweet memory and Im so glad my hubby got a picture.

java1982 · June 2014

I've EP since the twins were 2 days old. I had one baby in the NICU over an hour away and was not successful at trying to have the other one latch while I was emotionally drained dealing with a sick son who I wasn't able to be around. They are now just over 6 months old and I am super proud to say that I am still going strong!
After going back to work when the boys were 13 weeks old, I have been able to sustain a good supply only pumping 4 times a day and having some excess to build a freezer stash. Don't get me wrong, it takes a ton of commitment and there are days when I am ready to never see the pump again, but it is absolutely doable!
My best advice would be to stay in a schedule and try not to ever skip a pump once you get in to a routine. Not only is it painful (and you increase your risk of mastitis) but your body will adjust and you risk a drop in your supply. Best of luck!!

frank3jr · June 2014

I EP'd from about a month after my twins were born. I had reapted mastasis 7 times (since week 2 after birth) and I couldn't handle nursing with the pain. I was cringing and feeling like I was going to lose it and so it was a lot easier to handle with the pump than the twins. There was a few times after the mastasis went away that I tried but the twins were not interested and I realized I cared most about the milk they were getting and it was really other moms judging me that is why I was trying to nurse the most.

I just finished about a month ago and I'm happy to say we went just over a year. Once I got into a routine of doing it all, it worked out well. I pumped every 4 hours after I got my supply established. I didn't have trouble with the supply because I was constantly eating snacks and always had a water bottle. Make sure you have a good pump. My pump wasn't very good and it took about a half hour and then after talking to some people I found out they had pumps that only took 15 minutes to empty and were a lot stronger so a friend let me borrow one and it was a huge difference.

As much as I hate the pump, there were some good things with EPing. I was always able to really see how much the twins were getting, other people could feed the twins and they always loved doing such an important job, my husband really bonded a ton with them because he fed them all the time and it was easy to feed them in the car when we had to.

Great job ladies! I had a countdown going and it was always a wonderful day when I was weaning and cutting out pumps and especially when I had my last pump. We had a party and lots of wine. There is nothing like telling the pump no

KatieGummow · June 2014

@frank3jr‌ love your post. And the fact that you threw a party to celebrate your last pump. I will be copying you!

Very inspiring ladies, thanks for sharing! And thanks for posting this Q, OP!

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