I was a SAHM with my first child, so it didn't matter much but she would never take a bottle (or Nuk) and when I would try to pump I would struggle to get even 2oz total from both breasts. I know I made enough milk, as she was over 11lbs at birth and had nothing but mamas milk to help her grow. But my body wasn't very good at producing for the pump.
With this new baby, I will be a full time working Mom. Supporting our nursing relationship is number one priority and I am very nervous about it working out for us. I am hoping some experienced pumping mamas might be able to help me.
What double electric pump is the BEST for frequent pumping? How early should I start pumping, and how early should I introduce the bottle? With my daughter I didn't do either until well into the 7-8 week as I didn't want to jeopardize our nursing relationship. I'm very scared to wait too long this time as my daughter at that point wanted nothing to do with an artificial nipple. I don't want to have to worry about that with this baby.
Great questions! Here is the link to the Kellymom page on pumping. They have lots of good info. You should also look on there for info on bottlefeeding. You will want to make sure your daycare provider knows how to bottlefeed a breastfed baby. They should eat slowly and not finish a bottle if they don't want to. Baby will use a slow flow nipple and will not need to ever eat more than 4 ounces at a time. BM gets more concentrated as baby grows so they don't need bigger bottles like they do with formula.
I really liked my Medela pump in style advanced. You should check with your insurance to see if it covers a double electric pump for you to rent or keep. The affordable care act says they have to offer some kind of pump. If they do cover it, they will have certain ones you can choose between. You will also want a comfortable hands free bra for pumping. I use a Simple Wishes. It goes on over my regular nursing bra when I am ready to pump. I would recommend practicing with your whole set up so you have the hang of it before you go to work.
I waited a month to introduce the bottle and it took a couple weeks for DS to get it. We tried different kinds of nipples and ended up leaving him with friends so they could give him a bottle. That was what finally did the trick. There are lots of tips on how to get a baby to take a bottle. Once you get the baby to take one be sure to practice every day or every other day. There's no set rule on when to start pumping. You will want some freezer stash ready before you go back to work. If you are going to build a stash, try to pump at the same time every day so your body knows when to have the milk ready. Morning is good because you have more milk then. I was nervous about going back to work too but after a week I felt like I was used to it and things were going well.
You can look at videos or pictures of your baby while you are pumping to help with your letdown. Pumping is a learned skill so don't be hard on yourself if it doesn't work perfectly right away. Your baby will need 1 to 1.25 ounces of milk for every hour you are apart, and getting 2 ounces in one session is within the range of normal.
Make sure you're using the right size shields, it makes a big difference. I got the suggestion to start pumping with baby on one side, pump on the other, to kind "train" yourself to let down for the pump.
start pumping from the beginning at the end of each nursing session so you can freeze your milk! i waited two weeks to introduce the bottle and it worked.:laugh:
I was a SAHM with my first child, so it didn't matter much but she would never take a bottle (or Nuk) and when I would try to pump I would struggle to get even 2oz total from both breasts. I know I made enough milk, as she was over 11lbs at birth and had nothing but mamas milk to help her grow. But my body wasn't very good at producing for the pump.
With this new baby, I will be a full time working Mom. Supporting our nursing relationship is number one priority and I am very nervous about it working out for us. I am hoping some experienced pumping mamas might be able to help me.
What double electric pump is the BEST for frequent pumping? How early should I start pumping, and how early should I introduce the bottle? With my daughter I didn't do either until well into the 7-8 week as I didn't want to jeopardize our nursing relationship. I'm very scared to wait too long this time as my daughter at that point wanted nothing to do with an artificial nipple. I don't want to have to worry about that with this baby.
Start very early with a specific time of day.. Pump ten minutes in the early morning Take a shower. Pump ten minutes. Make it routine. Make it the same time. Your baby will help your body adjust. You might need to nurse more frequently around the time you pump but is going to be fine. Pumping after nursing is a waste of time for many people. You need to do a session when you have milk to get used to the pump and make your baby work a bit. Baby is much better than pump for extra work. Repeat before you go to bed. Making your body have an oversupply is awesome for freezer milk (many women cannot keep up) and protests your supply when you go back to work.
I've used Medela pis. Lansinoh bags. Extra standalone freezer is awesome and worth the money.
Also, if you have the option at all don't bottle feed your LO ever. You are the nursing one. You are the pumping one. You should always nurse your LO by choice. Give someone else that role and struggle. Partner/nanny/whomever. Leave the house. Take a nap. Be away. And don't confuse the two things. (I find it much easier emotionally. )
I personally have found my Hygeia EnJoy Pump to be AMAZING!! I've been using it for 8 1/2 months and have no complaints. I had a Medela PIS with my DD and was never able to get much with pumping (only 1-2 ounces even when separated from her for lengthy periods of time at 4-5 months of age) and I found it very uncomfortable. Maybe I am just more experienced, maybe less anxious, but this time it has been quite different. The Hygeia pump has two control settings, one to regulate speed and one to regulate the strength of suction. I find this infinitely more comfortable. It also has a rechargeable battery (like a cell phone) so I only need to plug it in to charge once a week or so. And my insurance covered all but the $30 shipping (which is awesome!). I called my insurance ahead of time. They told me they only allowed a credit of $179 toward a single electric breast pump, I would have to cover anything additional. But when I placed my order for my pump, through a durable medical goods company, they billed my insurance directly and it covered it all. I went through Superior Medical Services, as they were willing to ship out of state http://www.superiormedicalservices.com/products-services/breast-feeding-support/#breastpumps The contact there (Jenna) was great and super helpful.
As for a plan, I waited to introduce my DD to a bottle until she was 6 weeks old and I too think this was too late. She never wanted anything to do with anything artificial, she only wanted the real deal. She never would take a bottle, despite persistent efforts. With my DS, we introduced a bottle at 3 weeks old and then maybe once a week after that until I returned to work. He's always done well with the bottle and I have had no issues with supply. I also began pumping at a specific time of day, every day, to increase my supply for my freezer stash and not take away from my LO. It took a LONG time to build up. I think I had maybe 8 - 4oz bottles when I went back to work (and that was after using bottles for a weekly reminder and a few bottles for a few "test runs" the two weeks before I returned to work). I was worried before returning to work how much I would need to satisfy DS. I had a rather small freezer stash, but it worked out.
Also, I found that my LO needed many more bottles that first week or two after I returned to work than he did after we settled into a routine, as in he needed more than I produced during our time apart. I was SUPER worried I wouldn't be able to meet his demand, even pumping at night after he fell asleep and on the weekends to try to get ahead. But it evened out.
Try not to stress too much, though I know that is SO hard! Big hugs mama!!
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