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May 2015 Moms
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Risks of exclusively pumping?

ldmwldmw member
in May 2015 Moms
I'm struggling with low milk supply (am trying everything to increase to little avail) and am in a nurse-supplement-pump cycle. I need to drop a step in the process in order to keep my sanity. My LO does not feed well at the breast, as I'm still getting most of what she should get when I pump. I've been dropping the nursing session at night so I can get an hour of sleep in between feedings. I'm thinking of dropping nursing alltogether and just bottle feeding and pumping. If I do this, are there risks of getting her back to the breast if my supply ever improves?
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Re: Risks of exclusively pumping?

  • MrsS728MrsS728 member
    My daughter is 2 weeks old and I am pumping and supplementing/topping up to 2 oz at each feeding. I only nurse when she asks and my supply has actually increased since I've started doing this. There is no nipple confusion for my daughter, but I don't know if that's always the case. Good luck!
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  • CanadaMom17CanadaMom17 member
    Everything my lactation consultant, and prenatal classes said was that your milk will always increase more/come in better exclusively breastfeeding, and to avoid pumps until you have a good supply.  I had a breast reduction years ago, and I've been told to leave the pumps be, and let lo feed exclusively from the breast until we see if I need to supplement (with a cup or spoon, not a bottle).  Perhaps if there's a La Leche League they can offer more advice and support?
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  • sunnyday016sunnyday016 member
    If you want her to go back to nursing, you need to keep putting her to the breast so she remembers how to latch. I would nurse more often, pump less.
    S- March 09 E- Feb 12 L- May 15


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  • nursej519nursej519 member
    I agree with @sunnyday016 . when I went to the LC yesterday, her big concern with me wanting to get back to EBF was that I hadn't been putting LO to breast and that she likely lost that skill (well, she never had it fr day one). LC suggested putting her to breast more, pumping less, even if that meant having her at breast 22 hours a day, for example. Just keep feeding on demand. Just make sure that LO has a good latch though, because if they don't, your milk supply can decrease because you aren't getting the stimulation that you were from the pump.
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  • MrsS728MrsS728 member
    I was also told to steer clear of the pump, bottle, and formula, but I had no choice to start pumping and bottle feeding as my daughter was jaundice and lost 13% of her birth weight at 5 days old. My reality is that I needed to do what was best for my daughter and pumping/bottle feeding is what's best. She no longer has jaundice and has gained back her original birth weight. All of the LC strongly advise against introducing the bottle or even a binky before 3 weeks in order to avoid nipple confusion. My daughter has a bottle and a binky and still wants to nurse at least 4-6 times a day. There is no nipple confusion. 
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  • ldmwldmw member
    @MrsS728 My LC is the one that encouraged us to introduce formula and bottle due to jaundice, weight loss, and my low milk supply. I waited 6 days before introducing paci. Wanted to wait longer but couldn't and it below soothe her so much. LO doesn't show any signs of nipple confusion, but I'm also still using a nipple shield to nurse.
    Are you still pumping and bottle feeding in addition to nursing?

    I stopped nursing this afternoon and have just been pumping and bottle feeding. It's amazing and I'm happy. I get to enjoy time with my baby and still feed her. Nursing sessions would take 30-45 minutes and she's still be starving. So I'd have to bottle feed and then pump. Then I'd literally only get 10-20 minutes as a break before she was ready to start feeding again. I'm going back to my LC tomorrow and will see what she says. Problem with breastfeeding is that we still haven't gotten past using the nipple shield. There are just so many steps in our way before getting to EBF and I want to get there if we can, but I also don't want to kill myself in the process.
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  • nursej519nursej519 member
    @ldmw I am so glad that is working for you. Good luck!
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  • MrsS728MrsS728 member
    @Idmw The problem wasn't the latch (LO does a great job with that), but my lack of supply When our peds doctor first suggested supplementing I literally broke down in the office crying (PS it was also Mother's Day and we had to go back to the hospital b/c of her jaundice). The last thing I wanted to do was to give my LO the bottle or formula. I felt like I wasn't a good mother, that I had already failed my daughter at 5 days old. It would take us 20-30 minutes to wake her up, 40 minutes to nurse her and then 30 minutes to get her down to sleep, only to wake her up 30 minutes later and start the process all over again. After a lot of conversation with my husband I realized that it was better for our LO to have parents who were getting sleep and to have formula supplement than what we were trying to do by EBF.   

    I am pumping every 3 hours and giving LO the bottle when she asks (read: does her hungry cry) which is anywhere between 2 1/2 to 4 hours. I originally was nursing  2 or 3 times a day (20 minutes each side) and then giving her an ounce of formula after, but we found that wasn't working, so now I'm pumping every 3 hours and topping off whatever I get to 2 ounces with formula. If I get a full 2 ounces we split it into 2 separate bottles as she does best with a 50-50 or 75-25 (breast to formula) mix. 100% formula or 100% breast milk gives her a tummy ache. I also nurse on demand, which she usually asks for 4-6 times a day. We look at nursing as a "snack" and not her scheduled feedings. She lost almost a full pound her first 5 days of life and finally at 2 weeks has regained her birth weight. The catalyst for this whole thing was her weight loss and jaundice (she just barely passed in the hospital). Her pediatrician is very happy with her progress. She has absolutely no sign of jaundice and she is gaining appropriately. We also now allow her to let us know when she's hungry. She's even sleeping 3-4 hours at a time (last night we got almost 5 hours and I had to wake her up to eat). Overall, all four of us (mommy, daddy, baby, and puppy) are happier and healthier. The puppy wasn't dealing well, and refusing to eat because she was SO worried over baby.
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  • ldmwldmw member
    Thanks @MrsS728 for your detailed reply. We're supplementing also due to my low supply. I've tried almost every single thing to increase and I'm not getting there. I'm sorry you're struggling through this also, but I'm glad to hear someone else's success in pumping and bottle feeding with supplement. This seems like my saving grace in what has been a never ending nurse/bottle/pump cycle. My LO doesn't have a problem with latch, but she's a flow feeder so she's not getting enough at the breast since my supply is low.

    I'll see what LC says tomorrow, but I'm really hoping I can exclusively pump and bottle feed with what's needed as a supplement. It's not what I had planned, but it feels doable to me and something I can happily manage.
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  • blairdavis99blairdavis99 member
    I exclusively pump for twins but put them each to my breast for 10 min a day just so they don't forget how. The babies are 5 weeks old so I don't know the long term effects of this but it seems to be working so far.!
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  • jessi2030jessi2030 member
    My son is 1 week old and I'm pumping too. I mix 1 part breast milk to 1 part formula. So I can have back up bottles in the fridge and freezer in case we're out and about or something.
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  • MrsS728MrsS728 member
    @Idmw The mother of a friend of mine is an LC and she recommended adding brewer's yeast, oats, and milled flax seed to smoothies, pancakes, etc (there's also lactation cookie recipes online) because those three ingredients are supposed to help increase supply. I've been doing this for about a week now and my supply has noticeably increased. While it's still not a whole lot, it is an increase. I also have the Medela PISA and I've found that if I double pump for 20-30 minutes and then single pump both sides for an additional 3-5 minutes a piece I can get an extra half ounce or so. My husband has been home for 2 1/2 weeks now and we've found that if he feeds LO while I pump, I usually get more. I've read that it's something psychological about looking at your LO will help you pump more.

    @jessi2030 I'm doing the same with my daughter a 50-50 ratio. When I get an extra bottle worth of breast milk I've just been using it. I didn't even think to save it to freeze. I'm going to start today!!! Thanks for the idea. 
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  • ldmwldmw member
    Thanks for the tips. I've tried all of those foods plus more. Nothing is making a big difference. I'll try your pumping tips. I met with my LC this morning and she agreed with my decision to stop nursing. So for now I pump and bottle feed what I pump and supplement the rest. Seems doable for me now and I'm happy, which is what matters most.
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