OK - explain pumping and bottles PLEASE?!

[whozeyermamma]

So DD never took a bottle (weaned at 18 mo) although we never really tried all that hard.

This time I would love to have DS occasionally take a bottle so I can go out for a few hours, perhaps sleep a bit at night, etc. But I'm completely baffled by how to do it. (I WAH so I don't need to get pumping to go back to work.) I have a single electric pump and I'm getting a hand me down double electric.

What time of day should I pump? DS likes to cluster nurse in the AM and evening - then generally goes 2 to 4 hrs during the day. (Rarely the 4 hr stretch, usually 2 hrs.) I feel like any time I would pump I'd be taking the milk he's going to want a minute later.

How many times a day would I pump? I've seen things about women pumping 6 to 8 times a day?? WTF? How could I do that and nurse every 2 hrs?

Could I pump, say in the AM on the day that I know I want to go away and get enough for one feeding? How much should I have in a bottle to satisfy him? Could I mix formula and BM - say especially for that evening feeding after he's done his massive cluster nursing sessions?

(On the plus side - I don't get engorged this time so I can go a few hours between feedings if I'm out.)

Reccommendations on bottles? Nipples? What is this I hear about nipple hole size???

Seriously - I have no idea how the formula feeders do it - it seems so damned complicated compared to - "Baby crying? Pop on boob. Eat till full."



Sorry for all the questions ....

[Buzzer Beater]

I haven't got the hang of this yet either. I was trying to pump once a day, and was getting an ounce or two each time. That's not a very fast way to build up a store in my freezer, but I don't think I need tons. It's hard to decide when to pump because we aren't on any feeding schedule. What if I pump and then she wants to nurse?

Right now we're really messed up because Georgia has had surgery on her feet twice in ten days, and between the pain/codeine/over sleeping/messed up nights she is not nursing well. I'm trying to pump to keep up with what she would normally nurse, but I'm not sure what that is- how do you tell how much a baby is eating? I only know/care she is growing.

Anyway, I've got several bottles in the freezer now in case we need them. She has only taken one once and refused other times. If she would take a bottle with DH I guess I would pump then.

[Tiffanoodle]

Well, I'm definitely not an authority on this subject. But I have pumped a lot to try to help build up my supply (I have had low supply with all of my kids), have some extra on hand, and with ds I was going to a class for a few hours a day so he needed it at the sitter. I actually scored a second Medela PIS pump at the thrift store for $15 a few months ago.

My biggest problem is actually just taking the time to do it. I end up pumping in the car a LOT. If dh and I are out running errands, I'll take the opportunity to pump for awhile. Also, if I'm hanging out around the house and it's been awhile since she's nursed, I'll pump. A couple times she's woken up right after I pumped. In that case, I let her nurse until I'm completely empty. If she's still hungry (which she usually is after just sucking a bit of hind milk) I'll give her the bottle I just pumped. I'm not really building any storage, but there have been times that she hasn't woken up like I expected her to and I get to save that then. I've also fed her on one side and pumped on the other side if I know they're not going to eat on both sides. You can feed and then pump afterward (you probably won't get much more, but I've had another letdown. Again, I do this to try to help build my supply)

I actually only have 6 ounces saved up right now, at 3 weeks. 3 in the freezer and 3 in the fridge. I have been really really bad about pumping. Days like today, the kids are being beastly and waking Lauren up whenever she dozes off. Which leads to way too much boob time and no time to pump. I like to have at least a feeding or 2 on hand. Like the other night, I ran off to the store and she was hungry while I was gone. Dh could probably have pacified her for a few minutes until I got home, but he gave her a bottle I had and I was able to finish up what I was doing instead of rushing home. When I got home I pumped and then had her nurse a bit more to make sure my breasts were completely empty and that she was full.

I don't think I'd mix the formula and bm. You could have some formula on hand so if he's still really hungry afterward, he could be given a little extra. For me, I would try to pump while I was gone, too. Again, though, I have supply issues and missing a feeding could cause a drop in my supply. I think the amount that they eat varies. I've got friends who pump 8 ounces. I've only ever pumped 4 ounces at a time. That was when ds was 5 months old. Right now, dd only eats 2 ounces. She will actually stop eating from a bottle before she gets to 2 ounces, so I know she doesn't eat more. I've been told it could be that I just produce more "rich" breastmilk.

Bottles. There's a reason there's tons of them for sale. I think everyone has different preferences. We've always done the Playtex VentAir. Many people love the Avent. I must be inept because every time I've tried to use one, it's leaked. The Dr. Brown's are okay, but I hated cleaning all the little parts. There are usually slow flowing nipples and fast flow. I'd definitely start with slow flowing, especially since I know that one of the problems is that some babies prefer drinking from a bottle becasue it's easier than the breast. Plus, eating quicker could cause more upset tummies.

Sorry this is scattered. My kids have been interrupting me. Hope it helps a little.

[jdg]

I had to start pumping early because Francesca wouldn't/couldn't latch for a while when she was a few days old, and then I just kept pumping to build up a stash since I'll be returning to work full time. So, it's not like I have tons of experience, just the 8 weeks since she's been born, but here's what I've figured out so far...


Timing: When I wake up in the morning is when I produce the most, so that's when I pump. Likely because she doesn't nurse so much overnight. If she's awake, I feed her, then shower, then pump. If she's not awake, I pump, then shower, then feed her. It doesn't matter how much I take out with the pump, I've still been able to nurse after, probably because my body is built to respond to her more than the pump. There was one day when she woke and wanted to nurse just as I was finishing pumping - I had to nurse on both sides that feeding (normally I just nurse on one side per feeding) but she still got enough to be satisfied.

Frequency: As for how much you'll get in a pumping session, you'll just have to try and see. For a lot of women, two pumping sessions equals one meal. I have an oversupply and respond fairly well to the pump, so I get substantially more than that. I'm guessing that the women pumping 6-8 times a day are doing so because they get little at a time and WOH full time.

Amount: From 1-6 months old, babies eat an average of 25 oz per day of breastmilk. Count how many feedings your baby has in one day. 25 oz divided by the number of feedings equals the average size meal. That will tell you how much you need. Don't mix formula in with breastmilk. If you can avoid the formula, I would just not use it at all. Keep some extra BM in the freezer and it can be quick-thawed under warm running water if it's needed.

Bottles: Don't make this harder than it is. It is true that some babies are picky, but many just take any bottle. There were probably some that came with the pump, those are what we have been using. Buy slow-flow nipples (might also be labeled as "newborn nipples") and you can likely use that at all ages that your baby takes a bottle. These are still going to put the milk into your baby faster than your boob does, so there's never a reason to change out to the faster nipples that formula-fed babies use.

"The window": Several experts recommend that if you are going to bottle-feed, that you first offer a bottle between four and six weeks old, and then continue to offer a bottle at least once every few days after that. Before that can lead to nipple confusion and after that might have the baby so preferring your boob that they refuse the bottle.

We were pretty lucky. Francesca figured out the bottle pretty quickly once we shook a couple drops out of it into her mouth and she knew what was in it. She'll happily take BM this way from my husband when I'm gone, or when I'm trying to catch up on some lost sleep.

[KatieBonita]

nak

I have more milk in the morning so I try and pump them. I need to pump 2-3x/day as LO gets 1-2 bottles/day. The amount you get varies, I can get 1-4oz depending on the time of day.

If your LO needs milk and you've pumped, your body will make more. it might not have much volume though. Like a slow tap.

You don't say how old you LO is... there are newborn teats which work for all ages but older ones may want more holes to get the milk faster. The amount of milk they need varies by age and by baby. My 6w DD needs about 3oz/feed.

DD likes avent bottles, so I have an avent isis pump

[whozeyermamma]

Thanks all! Going to give it a shot this week - DS is in his 4th week.

I think I'll pump after his first AM feed and see how it goes.

[lichenNH]

Knowing how much to give

Hello,

Yesterday BabyFit featured an article about pumping and knowing how much to give baby from a bottle. [Am I totally square that I don't know all the abbreviations?] Here's a link: http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=429

Good luck!
Lichen

[SeattleRain]

Originally Posted by Tiffanoodle

Well, I'm definitely not an authority on this subject. But I have pumped a lot to try to help build up my supply (I have had low supply with all of my kids), have some extra on hand, and with ds I was going to a class for a few hours a day so he needed it at the sitter. I actually scored a second Medela PIS pump at the thrift store for $15 a few months ago.

My biggest problem is actually just taking the time to do it. I end up pumping in the car a LOT. If dh and I are out running errands, I'll take the opportunity to pump for awhile. Also, if I'm hanging out around the house and it's been awhile since she's nursed, I'll pump. A couple times she's woken up right after I pumped. In that case, I let her nurse until I'm completely empty. If she's still hungry (which she usually is after just sucking a bit of hind milk) I'll give her the bottle I just pumped. I'm not really building any storage, but there have been times that she hasn't woken up like I expected her to and I get to save that then. I've also fed her on one side and pumped on the other side if I know they're not going to eat on both sides. You can feed and then pump afterward (you probably won't get much more, but I've had another letdown. Again, I do this to try to help build my supply)

I actually only have 6 ounces saved up right now, at 3 weeks. 3 in the freezer and 3 in the fridge. I have been really really bad about pumping. Days like today, the kids are being beastly and waking Lauren up whenever she dozes off. Which leads to way too much boob time and no time to pump. I like to have at least a feeding or 2 on hand. Like the other night, I ran off to the store and she was hungry while I was gone. Dh could probably have pacified her for a few minutes until I got home, but he gave her a bottle I had and I was able to finish up what I was doing instead of rushing home. When I got home I pumped and then had her nurse a bit more to make sure my breasts were completely empty and that she was full.

I don't think I'd mix the formula and bm. You could have some formula on hand so if he's still really hungry afterward, he could be given a little extra. For me, I would try to pump while I was gone, too. Again, though, I have supply issues and missing a feeding could cause a drop in my supply. I think the amount that they eat varies. I've got friends who pump 8 ounces. I've only ever pumped 4 ounces at a time. That was when ds was 5 months old. Right now, dd only eats 2 ounces. She will actually stop eating from a bottle before she gets to 2 ounces, so I know she doesn't eat more. I've been told it could be that I just produce more "rich" breastmilk.

Bottles. There's a reason there's tons of them for sale. I think everyone has different preferences. We've always done the Playtex VentAir. Many people love the Avent. I must be inept because every time I've tried to use one, it's leaked. The Dr. Brown's are okay, but I hated cleaning all the little parts. There are usually slow flowing nipples and fast flow. I'd definitely start with slow flowing, especially since I know that one of the problems is that some babies prefer drinking from a bottle becasue it's easier than the breast. Plus, eating quicker could cause more upset tummies.

Sorry this is scattered. My kids have been interrupting me. Hope it helps a little.

I bottlefeed and I use the Dr. Browns bottles. We REALLY like them. The parts aren't THAT bad, I just keep a dishpan with soapy water in it and all day long I keep adding bottles and pieces to it. At the end of the day, I rinse them all out and put them back together. The process takes me about 5 minutes. For what its worth, a friend who was breastfeeding twins and supplementing with pumped bottles just to make like easier gave them to me and said her lactation consultant gave them to her.

[whozeyermamma]

Well, this AM even though DS cluster nursed at 3 am, 4 am, 5 am and 6 am, and my breasts felt totally soft, I got 2 oz in about 10 minutes.

I only did 5 min per side to ramp up and used a pretty basic single electric pump. Got a "tommee tippee" bottle.

Now just need to decide when to have DH give it a shot. I've heard some people say to start off at a time of day when you know baby is usually in a good mood. But of course the feeding I really want him to take is the evening one, when DS is a crabby pants.

Should I make myself scarce when he tries to give the bottle? I don't know if DS really can tell I'm in the room or not yet.

Thoughts?

[Hannah32]

I got serious about pumping every day at the beginning of this week. I'm not going back to work for awhile, but frankly, I need some sustained sleep. It took me from Mon to Wed to get 3 oz for a nighttime bottle. Today,I pumped 3 1/4 oz in two ten minute sessions. I was thrilled! Hubby and I are going to leave the baby with my mom for a few hours this weekend so we can have a date. I'll pump more tomorrow so the baby can feed while we're gone.

I've pumped right before I've nursed and the baby doesn't seem upset by it at all. There's still milk. Of course, he loves to nurse and nurse and nurse, so he must be used to variations in flow.

I got some lovely babylife weego glass bottles at my shower and we're using those to feed. No gas issues after the bottle feeding last night.

My baby is a month old. Pumping didn't work for me when I tried it earlier, but I feel about about twenty days of frequent nursing that my supply is in a very different and good place.

[whozeyermamma]

Glad to hear it's working out for others too!

So DH gave the little guy a bottle this afternoon - he only drank about an oz, but he wasn't starving so I'm not surprised. But he took it! That's the important thing, right? Then, when I got back he actually finished the rest of the bottle with me.

I'm going to try to pump every other AM - I've done it now twice after his feeding around 7 or 8 (he usually takes a nap then for a few hrs - giving me time to fill back up again before he wants more.)

Oh man, if this works it would save my freakin' life ... with DD I didn't get to go more than 2 hrs away from her for more than a year ...

Another question if anyone else experienced is still reading - can I dump a few more oz on top of a bottle that I've already got in the fridge?

[Tiffanoodle]

Originally Posted by whozeyermamma

Another question if anyone else experienced is still reading - can I dump a few more oz on top of a bottle that I've already got in the fridge?

Yep! This page has a lot of good info on it about storage times and such: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t026900.asp

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by whozeyermamma

Should I make myself scarce when he tries to give the bottle? I don't know if DS really can tell I'm in the room or not yet.

Thoughts?

Yes. Baby should associate your smell with the boob, and not with a bottle.