pumping/BFing newbie..

[ithappened]

I am about 3 weeks PP.

At 4-5 weeks PP I am going to have to leave my DS for a period of 4-6 hours about 2-3 times a week with a family member. I plan on feeding him right before leaving but assuming he will sometimes want to feed while I am away.

I am wondering how often and when I should start pumping, how much to pump and what is the best way to store the milk in my specific situation?

He has no problems with BFing, latching etc. I also have a pretty bad oversupply problem at the moment and feed 'on demand' (which seems to be every 2-4 hours for him).

[~bookcase~]

you could start expressing now to build up your supply. pick a time of day that will be consistently possible for you to express and then you'll have a routine for your supply to settle into. in the morning is a good time to pump in terms of easy expressing. you may need to express 2/3 times a day depending on how you get on with it. it's normal to express small amounts initially whilst you get used to it, so don't feel discouraged if there's not much. or you might find you get loads!!

freeze the milk now, but you may be able to leave refrigerated milk for your ds once you're in a routine. it's nice to use fresh b'milk over frozen, but have your back-up supply in the freezer

you'll need to express whilst you're away from ds too, to maintain supply.

best wishes

[HoosierDiaperinMama]

I would start pumping and building a stash as soon as you can. Do you have a good ouput with a pump? I guess you probably don't know that if you haven't pumped yet.

I usually use the bm storage bags (Lansinoh or Gerber) and store 4 oz. quantities at a time. I don't have a good ouput with a pump so I generally use the Medela storage bottles that came with my pump until I get 4 oz. and then dump the whole thing in a bm storage bag and pop it into the freezer.

If I'm needing milk for when I'll be away I usually pump 2-4 times a day. I am not a dedicated pumper so I don't pump unless I have to. I almost always pump in the mornings b/c that is when my supply is the strongest and I have the best results.

HTH