Anybody else not want to pump? - Page 2

[hhmomma72]

There's something satisfying to me to pump and actually see how much milk I'm making.  I have to pump so I can work and it's not the most fun thing in the world, but the part of me that likes measurable results gets excited about how many oz I can spit out...

[new2this]

I pumped because I didn't ever want to have to say DD won't take a bottle. So we introduced around 3 weeks. I also do not NIP so I needed to have milk to be able to go out and do things. I didn't really enjoy it but it made life easier for us because I didn't always want to have to sit in a separate room either when we went somewhere to feed her ( i know many don't have issue NIP, I just can't do it). She really only got a bottle a week if that. Sometimes more if we had a busy week. But also while DH bonded with DD in many other ways he did enjoy feeding her and I didn't want to take that away from him when I knew I fed her 98% of the time.

[Monkey pants]

I cant stand pumping. I have a 4 week old and daddy really wants to feed him every once in a while. Also I have to go back to work when baby is 12 weeks. :( so I need a stash. But so far Im only getting about 3oz per pump. Ive been pumping once a day.  I have a brand new PIS and find this low amount annoying. I also have an ISIS hand pump that I use when i just need to pump one side while nursing and I really like it. I get more milk when Im using that. Weird huh? 

[sosurreal09]

Monkey 3 oz is great! Seriously it is. You're LO probably won't take more than that in one feed and a lot of BF babies "hold out" until mama gets home. They tend to snack all day but wait for the main course.

According to kellymom.com depending on home many feeds your LO has in a day, my LO takes in 3oz per feed and she's 17 m/o! Last time I pumped I only got 2 oz.

I have never gotten more than 3 oz.

[Nicole730]

I don't pump unless necessary, which is rare.  But, if DH asked to pump so he could feed the baby, I would.  As long as it wasn't a daily occurrence.  I can imagine my older son asking to feed a new baby someday too.  Now if anyone else asked, NO WAY, so I kind of "get" it.

[brennan]

I never pumped.  It was never necessary for us.  I have no intention of pumping with my next unless absolutely necessary (ie nicu or other major issues).  Are there other ways dh can bond with dd?  Dd snuggled with dh a lot, even without feeding involved.  They bonded tons!  We just found away around having anyone else feed her.  

[Knitting Mama]

If you wonder if your husband and baby can bond without him feeding the baby (which most of you probably don't but just in case), here is an adorable story from today:

My 11 month old has had an explosion of mental leaps this week, from repeating everything we say, to pointing and following my finger when I point, to responding to "what's that?" to everything, to following simple commands like, "hand me the block." Well, today she gave us a new one.

She naps in our bed, and generally I can hear her getting up from her nap over the baby monitor long before she talks-- rustles, sighs, etc. Well, today, there was no indication at all she was awake until she bellowed at the top of her lungs, "DAD!" My husband and I jumped and he laughed and went in to get her. When he got in the room, I heard her over the monitor, and she softly and sweetly sighed, "dada." It was so heartbreakingly adorable! And this is the separation anxiety baby who is hysterical if I try to leave the room, or God forbid, someone tries to take her from me.

[sosurreal09]

yeah my DD is very bonded to daddy as well. She won't go to bed for the night without him.

[Earthy Mama]

I have to pump for work and hate hate hate hate hate hate hate it. I hate pumping. It makes me crazy.

That said, it is nice to have a reprieve and let someone else feed her sometimes. I think once a month I'll let someone else feed her while I'm home.

[new2this]

As far as the bonding. DH and DD bonded tons in many different ways. He did a lot of skin to skin with her. Every night before bed they have a little talk. Now that she responds back its cute and funny. I feel feeding is just one way to bond but also one that I would never take away from DH if he wanted to. For the most part if he was with and she got a bottle he gave it because I didn't like having to do it and he wanted to. 

As far as pumping i only pumped once a day after my supply evened out and would get anywhere from 3 to 4 oz. 

[alegna]

Two kids.  I don't pump.  Neither ever had a bottle.  With DS I did get a hand pump as I had a Christmas party around 5 months where I left him with dh for a few hours.  I left a little bit of milk and sippy cups to use to give it to him.  He wouldn't touch it.

That said- I could have easily hand expressed as much milk as I left him  lol.

-Angela

[Oliver'sMom]

I had to pretty much exclusively pump for ds1 because I worked full time out of the home.  He did not do well with going from breast to bottle, and eventually flat out refused the breast. 

I was determined to not let this happen again.  I've been extremely blessed to not have to go back to work this time around.  Ds2 has never had a bottle and I don't plan on ever giving him one.  I'm just as attached to him as he is to me and I'm not ready at all to leave him with anyone for more than an hour or so.

[sosurreal09]

When DD was 12 m/o I had to take a mandatory class to keep my drivers license and it was a 9hr class. DH brought her in on our lunch break and I nursed her then, but she had gone nearly 7hrs with no milk! She always nurses every 3-4 hrs even now, so that astonished us both. I did leave milk for her but she didn't want it. So it's not like you can't EBF and have freedom too. A lot of times when you go out the baby just waits for you to come back. If it's only 2hrs or so I wouldn't worry about leaving anything, once they are a few months old...if you left a few month old baby, which I didn't. Even now I don't like to leave her, but I do usually at least once a month even if it's only an hour. I can only really leave her with DH though so it's not often since he works and I need daddy time too lol

[JulieInChicago]

I travel a lot for work and have to pump.  In airport bathrooms, in rental cars, in borrowed offices, where-ever.  I hate it.  BUT it is the few moments I have to myself during the day, so I try to think of it that way-- I get to call my mom, surf the web (hi!), do what I want.  Silver lining.

[elus0814]

I kind of like pumping because I can see what I'm making and I feel reinforced when I see the jar filling up. I've only ever done it a couple times and only two of my four kids have ever had a bottle. It's more to relive engorgement. I make a ton of milk so if I'm feeling really full and uncomfortable I'll sit down and pump 8oz with my little manual avent pump with plenty left for the baby. I give the milk to the next youngest child in a sippy cup. I try to keep a eyedropper and bottle on hand with a small mason jar of expressed milk in the freezer just in case even though it's never been needed. I live on a military base and the gate will sometimes close for what seems like no reason. It can last a couple hours. My concern it that I will run out to do something thinking I'll be back within an hour then I'll get stuck out for a couple hours with a screaming hungry baby at home. I feel calmer on the rare occasion I get to go out alone with that milk there.

[rachael07]

I'm a WOHM who is nearly exclusively BFing an almost 8 month old and has excess lipase (ie, my milk can't be frozen and DS won't take it unless it's very recently pumped)... so I pump 2-5 times per day, depending. No, I don't like pumping -- I hate it actually -- but I need to pump for work, and with the excess lipase issue, I have to pump overtime to keep the milk constantly fresh... that means that DH ends up giving DS a bottle on occasion, even if I'm around to nurse our DS.

Here's what I've found: it is awfully sweet to see DH feed DS. I love watching that moment. When I see him cradling our baby, providing him with nutrition, well, I feel like my heart will burst from the tenderness.

Definitely don't do what you're not comfortable with, but bear in mind that just a few pumping sessions is a very minor inconvenience, and... you may very well enjoy seeing the heartfelt moment between your child and your husband

[Knitting Mama]

rachael07, have you tried scalding your milk for the lipase issue? If what you're doing now works for you, then it's probably not worth it, but if you do want to build a freezer stash, scalding might help!

[bdoody11]

I pumped quite a bit with my first, she wouldn't nurse at the beginning and then I went back to work at 12 weeks. For my second, I didn't pump (I'm a stay at home mom now) until I got mastitis. Both girls would not take bottles and with my first it was not for lack of trying.

If you need to your LO to take a bottle, my advice is to start now. I tried after 6 weeks with both my girls and they wouldn't take it. DD#1 refused from birth (she had feeding issues from the get go) and DD#2 took one at 2 weeks, but wouldn't take it a month later. I agree with the others that if you will only be gone a few hours you can probably get by with using a cup for feeding. I think even by 3 or 4 months I could even nurse DD#2 prior to leaving and when I came back. 

[rachael07]

Thanks for the tip! Yes, I do occasionally scald and it works... the problem is that if I don't scald right away (the same evening), the degraded fats take on a terrible texture in the freezer. It's hard to describe, but the whole milk looks curdled and DS won't take it. Since I found out about the excess lipase two days before going back to work, there hasn't been much opportunity to pump lots of extra for freezing. Anyway, you're absolutely right that excess lipase milk *can* be frozen -- I should have clarified that I've never been organized/speedy enough with the scalding to make it work for us :D

In case anyone else with excess lipase is reading...at first I sort of freaked out, but then I realized that not having a freezer stash has kept my supply up fantastically well. It works kind of like the baby, right? When I don't get enough at work, I pump at night until my supply goes back up. The extra pumping is a huge pain, but I still have an oversupply (after 5 months of being back at my job).

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama 

rachael07, have you tried scalding your milk for the lipase issue? If what you're doing now works for you, then it's probably not worth it, but if you do want to build a freezer stash, scalding might help!