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August 2015 Moms
ashlisears
member
For the exclusive pumpers
ashlisears
member
Well my LO is having a very hard time transferring milk from my breast. We have been seeing an LC for about 5 weeks (she will be 7 weeks Thursday). When at the LC she consistently only transfers about 1 oz, and we we having weight gain issues that causes us to have to supplement formula.
With that being said, I can pump way more than the oz she's eating and I wanted to see if any of you have any tips for exclusively pumping? Anything to make it more efficient, keep supply up, etc- I will take any and all info that you think would be helpful
With that being said, I can pump way more than the oz she's eating and I wanted to see if any of you have any tips for exclusively pumping? Anything to make it more efficient, keep supply up, etc- I will take any and all info that you think would be helpful
Re: For the exclusive pumpers
Totally not discouraging it, but EP sucks the big one. It's stressful, you can end up measuring yourself worth by the ounces you pump. I also felt like I missed out a lot being so attached to the pump. Now with #2 I came out of the starting gate with a low supply (lymph node issue). I nurse, pump once or twice a day and then she gets formula because I just don't want to be attached to the pump. My best advice is to not stress about it and know as long as she is fed, you're doing your job.
If you'd like more in depth advice please feel free to ask me any questions.
It sucks and I have no idea how long I will last. At least it's better now that I've removed the frustrating 15 minutes I spent per daytime feed trying to get him to latch and him screaming at me.
It's much easier on the weekend because I can pump while my H feeds him a bottle rather than 15-20 minutes for the bottle then 15-20 minutes for pumping, at which point I've missed most of his happy awake time which totally kills my will.
BFP #2 4/13/10. Bridget born 12/28/10
BFP #3 Finn born 8/11/15
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I like EP'ing. It works for me as I stay home. She's 5 weeks old now & she eats plenty. I usually pump every 2-4 hours depending on the day & what I have going on.
She does latch on to my breast if I use a nipple shield but I don't care for it as I feel the milk comes out too fast now & she east much slower.
I do eat steel cut oatmeal, take calcium pills & drink tons of water & fluids but I really don't think it's hard.
Good luck!
As for keeping supply up, the biggest thing I've found is to make sure I'm super hydrated. Drinking a bottle if Gatorade every day really helps.
Hands free bra is a must! At least you can pick up the baby - 15 minutes is a long time listening to a griZling baby so if you can have two hands spare while pumping it is a godsend.
It takes a while to work out what regime you need to do to keep up your supply. I have a notebook that I write down volumes pumped and eaten, which has enabled me to easily see what I need to do to produce enough each day for DS to eat. I found I needed to pump once for every bottle, plus one more, in a 24 hour period to produce enough. My supply fluctuated a lot in the very beginning so I ended up taking motilium to keep my supply up.
Lactation smoothies also seem to have an effect on supply (with ingredients as mentioned by PPs).
It's a total pain in the butt having to express. I really hope I'm able to return to EBFing in the next few months, as it's a million times easier. Good luck!
I pump after feeding her to make up for the part of my stash she just drank. Meaning I pump every 3 hours during the day. I don't get up to pump at night because sleep is more important to me. Being consistent is probably the #1 way to keep your supply up in addition to staying SUPER hydrated. When I get sick of water I switch to Gatorade.