Starting to pump - need advice

[matokshilli]

Hi!
I am a first time mom and only breastfeeding. My baby boy is just over 3 months and I want to start pumping (not because I'm going to work though) a bit so I can go to the dentist for a major tooth ache... anyways I'd also like his daddy to get some time feeding him, which is such a special time.

I have the medela pump and I must say I am a bit intimited by the whole pumping thing. How do I do it when I am with my little one all day (and night?) His naps aren't that long and he is starting to fall alseep at the same time in the evenings (8-ish) and sleep for about 3 hours- although at this point I am so tired I go to bed too! I suppose I could try to pump at 9 pm?

Any advice is so appreciated! Please tell me how you did it!

[akind1]

you have a couple options: there are moms that pump on one side while nursing on the other (I have never even tried this, though it is supposed to help by taking advantage of the natural let down)

What worked best for me was pumping after a nursing session that didn't quite empty me, or pumping 1/2 way between nursing sessions (if your DC goes about 3 hours between feeds, pump at the 1 1/2 hour mark)

or if your DC starts sleeping through a feeding at night, you can pump this feeding off.

the pump does look intimidating, I admit. but you get used to it, even it does seem like the most unatural thing I've done relating to nursing.

If you are going to pump to be used in the next couple days, I would pump straight into bottles, rather than storage containers (unless you have containers that double as both, or are using wide mouth bottles that don't fit on the medela horns)

If you are going to freeze, I take another MDC mama's suggestion and store the bag lying flat. it stores and thaws much easier than the standing ones. I always freeze in 4 -6 oz increments, b/c that is what DS takes at a time. a good rule of thumb is an oz per hour you'll be away.

HTH!

[Llyra]

I always pumped in the mornings, when I was trying to build a stash. My supply seemed to be most abundant at that time. I would wake up about an hour before I expected the kiddos to wake up, and do it then.

I also had good luck with putting a baby on one breast, and the pump on the other. That's a very helpful technique if you have trouble letting-down for the pump, since baby will elicit the letdown. It's a juggling act, especially with an infant who's too young to have much head support, so it might take practice.

What I have found, though, is that if you build pumping sessions into your day, and make them a routine, your breasts will figure out about the increased demand, and you will start producing that much more, so that you won't feel like baby is doing without in order to feed the pump. So you choose two or three times, and do it then, and if he wants to feed soon after, he may get a little less, and that's fine. He'll want to nurse again sooner, but after a few days of that you'll have the extra supply to meet his needs.

So that's what I'd do-- choose some times, and make it a routine. I wouldn't choose evenings, though. Most mamas find their supply is naturally low at that time anyway, and really, sleep HAS to take precedence. Sleep is everything when you have an infant in the house. I would choose maybe mid-morning and early afternoon, I think, depending of course on how your day looks.

And don't be discouraged if you pump very little after first. It takes time to learn how to let-down for a pump, and it will also take some time for your breasts to figure out the increased demand. Right now you're making just enough for baby, and it'll be a few days or a week before the increased demand establishes a bigger supply.

[jenfl]

Pumping is very intimidating at first! Take your first few times as an experiment -- don't plan to get much of anything. And play around with the pump first, using your hand to feel the suction and how much adjustment you have.

I pumped at work for a few months with DD, but now I'm pumping to build a stash to be able to leave DS occassionally. To do that, I feed DS on only one side all night or nearly all night (he takes 1-3 feedings a night), and then pump the full side in the morning while DH gets DS changed and dressed. Depending on how long I went without feeding on that side and what my supply is doing, I get 2 to 5 ounces. I do that every morning DH is home (4 mornings a week), and I've built up quite a stash!