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March 2016 Moms
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Expressing while breastfeeding?

clairemwalkerclairemwalker member
in March 2016 Moms
Hi ladies, please lay your advice on me! I plan on bfing, but would really like to try pumping as well. I think it would be nice for DH to get to feed baby, and i would like a freezer stock for when i go back to work. My question is, how do you start? When would you pump? If you pumped all your milk, what would baby do at the next feed? FTM, so this could be a stupid question. I know its supply and demand, so you would (theoreticly) produce enough to feed and pump, but what about when you first start?  Totally confused and none of my sisters pumped so my usual source of advice is totally tapped out. Thanks guys!
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Re: Expressing while breastfeeding?

  • diablessediablesse member
    Lactation consultants usually recommend you wait for a couple weeks before you start pumping and bottle feeding to avoid nipple confusion.

    Dont worry about running out of milk. Your body will produce as needed. Even if you think you've pumped it all out and you can't get any more, your baby will be able to get what he needs.

    When your milk first comes in, there's a lot of it. That's why you get warned about your milk coming in and engorgement. 

    This is is all assuming all goes well. I had a champion feeder and breastfeeding went really well for us. I know that others struggle so their experience might be different. This was just based off of how it went for me.
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  • levibrianalevibriana member
    I BF'd both my daughters until 15 months and seemed to always have a good supply in the freezer, I know they say not to pump the first few weeks but I get so engorged the first week I used my pump quite a few times for the relief and it was a lifesaver. Once you get a good schedule down as to when your baby eats, you can either add a pumping session or pump after you nurse. 
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  • levibrianalevibriana member
    My comment accidentally posted too soon ;) 
    you can try adding a pumping session maybe after baby goes to sleep, say if you know he sleeps from 8-2am, and pump around 10... That worked well for me. Just be careful if you pump too much your body will produce more and more milk then if you cut your pumping you could get engorged. 
    The gel heating packs are my best friend when pumping, they help with let down so much! Good luck! 
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  • jenniferamcooperjenniferamcooper member
    Other PPs advice is great. My LO slept very short intervals and I still pumped around 9-10pm. Just to let you know most supplies take a nose dive that time of night and early morning 4-6am is apparently the best time to pump but I wasn't functional enough at the time to do that. I need my sleep!
    I had a supply on the low-ish side so my best tips would be to drink a couple cups of water before you pump and possibly if you're into nighttime snacks make oatmeal a part of your snack routine. If you have a good supply I wouldn't bother (although water is always good) but I only used to get 1-2oz per session. That seems discouraging but if I did it daily that's all I needed for my weekly "mom gets to sleep all night while dad feeds" and "wine night freezer stash".
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  • skruhminskruhmin member
    Yup wait until 2-4 weeks PP to start pumping so you just focus on establishing that nursing relationship with your LO.  The best way I've found to start is to throw in a session right after the first morning feed because you will have the most milk.  Always pump for 15 minutes minimum, even if nothing is coming out.  Are you planning on working or are you staying home and just building a stash for times when you need a break? 
    DS1 - 9/21/11
    DS2 - 7/4/14
    DS3 - 2/21/16
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Our family of 5 is complete!!  Love our boys!

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  • irenewsleeirenewslee member
    I did breastfeed/pump for about 7 mos with DD and plan to try a little harder this time.  I didn't produce enough once I went back to work and the stress really got to me.  With that said though, while I was at home on mat leave, I would BF for the most part and pump at least once or twice a day to build a small stash.  I pumped once right after her morning feed, and then once more in the afternoon while she napped.  A lot of times it's not much (maybe 2-3oz max), but anything is better than nothing.  I also pumped once before bed time and had DH do the feeding.  That's mommy's time to take a hot shower and relax, and also then we know how much she drank for her "last feeding".
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  • ClaireBear90ClaireBear90 member
    Be very careful about pumping in the beginning. In addition to breastfeeding, I pumped to do finger feedings from the day DD was born because our first pediatrician insisted that I needed to. I ended up with HORRIBLE oversupply and it led to other issues as well. Pumping in moderation is fine, but don't overdo it. I'd wait at least two weeks before you start trying bottles. Just focus on breastfeeding and don't worry about supply or building a freezer stash . . . life during those first two weeks will be challenging enough. ;) On the other hand, I wouldn't wait too long. I think I waited 4-5 weeks with DS and he would not take a bottle. It took several weeks to get him to take one and even then it was questionable whether or not he'd accept it, which was stressful even as SAHM. It's good to be able to get out once in a while and know that your baby will eat!
    It's a boy! Born 42 weeks, 2 days.
    Pregnancy Ticker
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  • clairemwalkerclairemwalker member
    Thanks for your advice ladies! I will definitely give myself 2 or so weeks before i start, i was just totally confused about how to get started, so your comments have been very helpful. At the beginning i plan to pump just to have a break and get some DH bonding in with baby so that i can nap through an evening feed or something. I will be going back to work around 4 months (New Zealand is awesome we get paid for 16 weeks) and would like to have a freezer stash for then, also pump at work so LO will need to be used to bottle and ive heard that waiting too long can cause non acceptance issues
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  • cosmobellacosmobella member
    Lurking from April 16:
    I started pumping about a month before returning to work to build up my freezer stash. By then, we had established a rhythm and my milk supply had normalized. Both of my boys nursed on only one side per feeding so I'd just pump the other when I nursed during the daytime. It worked out really well for me and I made it past a year nursing both times.
    BabyFruit Ticker
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  • ClaireBear90ClaireBear90 member
    clairemwalker said:
    Thanks for your advice ladies! I will definitely give myself 2 or so weeks before i start, i was just totally confused about how to get started, so your comments have been very helpful. At the beginning i plan to pump just to have a break and get some DH bonding in with baby so that i can nap through an evening feed or something. I will be going back to work around 4 months (New Zealand is awesome we get paid for 16 weeks) and would like to have a freezer stash for then, also pump at work so LO will need to be used to bottle and ive heard that waiting too long can cause non acceptance issues
    Just keep in mind that if you "skip" a feeding to get a nap and let DH bond with baby, you're going to feel very, very uncomfortable. ;) I've never been able to skip feedings . . . if someone is giving my baby a bottle, you better believe I'm still pumping then so I don't die from engorgement haha. I'm glad that you have 4 months, that's really awesome and will help take some of the pressure off of you to pump a lot in the beginning!
    It's a boy! Born 42 weeks, 2 days.
    Pregnancy Ticker
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