Milk Supply and Pumping

[honeybunny65]

My DD is 3 weeks old & I have been exclusivly breastfeeding the entire time w/ her. I have had 2 LC appt. in the hospital and yesterday I paid for a one hour one on one LC as well to help deal w/ my nipple pain issues. I have still been in tears over the pain, cracking, frustration, etc.

I have not found bfing to be enjoyable or relaxing. I find myself dreading w/ anxiety for over 2 hrs until the next feeding is upon us. I am then in pain the entire feeding. This is not good for me physically or emotionally, or my daughter.

I have decided to pump my milk and feed by bottle. I started last night and so far its been awesome! She is finally having uniterrupted feedings, is eating about 3 oz. (avg.) each feeding and resting MUCH better.

My plan is to pump on both sides every 3 hrs for 10+ min on each breast. I want to make sure that this will keep my supply up? I think it will, but I'm not sure? Also, other than bonding is there anything else that she is missing out on by not taking milk directly from my breast?

TIA~HB

[sahmmie]

I had to pump and feed all three of my babies, so I've been there! It's not an easy road to travel. As for supply, all women are different. For me 10 minutes every three hours would not have sufficed. I had to pump 10 times per day minimally in order to keep my supply up, but I did have enough to freeze some each day for the longed for day when I'd give up pumping.

The best thing to do is to keep track of your output each day and if you see a decrease quickly increase your pumping to increase your supply. Some tricks I read about and used successfully when my supply was going down...

1. Pump in the wee hours of the morning when supply is highest. (I always pumped at 3-4 am and then again at 6 am).

2. Continue pumping for about 5 minutes after your flow stops. This tells your body that the baby is not getting enough and your body will respond by producing more. Also, when you continue to pump those 5 extra minutes you will often tap into some reserve milk that you didn't know you had.

3. Cluster pumping. Whenever my supply started to dwindle I'd cluster pump for a week and it would almost always increase my supply. This means that you pump several times in a short period of time and it works really well if you do it in the morning. I'd pump every 1 to 2 hours for the first few hours each morning. A week or two of this would do wonders for my supply

All women are different though and you may not have to work as hard as I did. Good luck. It's not easy but your determination and love for your baby will get you through.

[Vegan Princess]

I just wanted to offer some sympathy and to encourage you to try to keep nursing, if even only a few times/day. I had horrible pain and scabs on my nipple until 6 weeks pp. I pumped a lot and almost gave up bfing but I got sick of pumping and trying to care for and feed a newborn and went back to nursing. As bad as it feels now, I promise you it will feel normal and fine in a month or so! I just would hate for you to regret your choice and end up with your baby not latching. EPing is a tough road to commit to for the duration. Hang in there momma!! I know it's awful in the beginning.

Cindy

[guestmama9971]

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[emilysmama]

I too found that every three hours was not often enough. I had to do every 2.0-2.5 hours, and I had to set the alarm clock to pump round the clock even in the dead of night. So for my body, anyway, I had to pump more often than my child would have nursed, in order to build up and maintain my supply. But I did it, my baby didn't have to have formula supplement because I pumped enough for three months.

I think it's fantastic that you are so dedicated to give your child breastmilk. Just the way you endured the pain and the feelings of dread is something that I admire. I pumped the first three months of my baby's life, and then from 3 months-3 years, I nursed her. If I had/wanted to, I could have pumped for a long time after 3 months, but instead I ended up nursing and just pumping for work after 3 months.

For me, pumping was much more difficult than nursing, so I really admire you for making the choice to pump just so that your baby can have breastmilk.

Oh, maybe every three hours will be fine for you after all. My daughter has a friend, and her mother pumped exclusively for a year just because she didn't want to nurse. This mother must have had a wonderful supply, because I think she was somehow able to pump all that her daughter needed with just a few pumping sessions per day. So every mother is different.

[pbjmama]

I hope it is still going well.
Since your supply is still getting established and you will be only pumping, I would use a hospital grade pump. A regular double pump will not stimulate the breasts like a newborn. A regular double pump is only meant to replace some nursing sessions for moms who can't be with their babies for some hours during the day.