Breastfeeding & Pumping?

[Srrme]

I've been skimming this area and notice a lot of women are breastfeeding and expressing. Should I be doing this? I expressed for the first 2 months while my LO was in the NICU but now that he's home, I've only been breastfeeding him.

 

[minties]

You don't need or have to at all, it's generally only for people who need to leave the baby with someone else, i.e for an outing or returning to work.

It can also be useful to help get your supply up I suppose.

I only express on the odd occasion where I need to leave the baby alone with my partner.

 

[vaileasmama]

as above, u dont need to at all.
people do to build their supply up, or if they want to leave their baby with someone to go out or go to work.
i pump and freeze my milk in the hope one day my baby will actually take a bottle! x

 

[Fraggles]

I do both as I want a stock in the freezer and i'm also pumping for my other child too.

 

[peartree]

At the moment I express one bottle so that my DH can feed her after he gives her a bath at night. It's more for daddy time than anything else, as it's more hassle to express than just put her on a boob. Once my thrush clears I hope to be able to build a stock up in the freezer to be able to leave her e eery now and then.

 

[lynnikins]

i express caus i need to be able to leave him with people while i do my street minestry work and im also helping supply another mum with breastmilk while she is working on getting her LO to latch

 

[Ginger1]

I pump just enough to keep a stock in the freezer so I can have time off occasionally to do my photography

 

[kmac625]

Like the others have said, you don't need to pump anymore if you don't want to. Unless you want to get a supply for the freezer there's no need.

I had to pump at first to help my milk to come in (while taking fenugreek and blessed milk thistle) and then I only did it to have some for my dh to feed her if I went out. Then she started to have low weight gain so her pediatrician recommended that I pump daily to give her a topup bottle. That was 2.5 months ago and I still pump several times a day to get enough milk for a topup bottle and to add to her cereal. When she's going through growth spurts and eating constantly and I'm still pumping, I start to feel like a pair of udders.

 

[mystika802]

I also pump, for a few different reasons, to keep a bigger supply going is my main one. Charlie is already 15lbs at 2 months old and during growth spurts I dont have to worry about not producing enough and having to deal while baby cluster feeds to get my supply going again. I have a freezer full and that way once he is on foods, I can mix breast milk in for added nutrients.

 

[deobi]

I replied over in the preemie forum but yes I would still pump once you bring baby home. Unless of course you have been home for a few weeks and all is well.

I had a scare when dean first came home after the first week. My supply dropped off completely because there was such a difference between what I was pumping and what Dean was eating. Dean was eating 2-3oz every 2hrs but in hospital I was pumping another 6-8ozs after his feed. Once home i needed to gradually stop pumping so my body didn't just quit completly. Depending on how long LO was in hospital your milk is still trying to establish its rhythm.

The advice given to me was continue pumping unitl baby's due date gradually reducing the number of pumps over the course of a few weeks. One example given to me was to feed baby off one breast and pump the other. and you can drop the pumping sessions starting with the one in the early evening when your milk is lower anyway and the last pump to go would be the morning when milk is the most.

Not everyone has my problem but I was so scared about maintaining my supply while Dean was in the NICU I pumped every 3hrs religiously for 2months so my supply had been built up to a very impressive level!

I just threw away all the milk i saved from that time (no milk banks here) it filled up and entire garbage can hundreds of ounces, i never used.

 

[Srrme]

I replied over in the preemie forum but yes I would still pump once you bring baby home. Unless of course you have been home for a few weeks and all is well.

I had a scare when dean first came home after the first week. My supply dropped off completely because there was such a difference between what I was pumping and what Dean was eating. Dean was eating 2-3oz every 2hrs but in hospital I was pumping another 6-8ozs after his feed. Once home i needed to gradually stop pumping so my body didn't just quit completly. Depending on how long LO was in hospital your milk is still trying to establish its rhythm.

The advice given to me was continue pumping unitl baby's due date gradually reducing the number of pumps over the course of a few weeks. One example given to me was to feed baby off one breast and pump the other. and you can drop the pumping sessions starting with the one in the early evening when your milk is lower anyway and the last pump to go would be the morning when milk is the most.

Not everyone has my problem but I was so scared about maintaining my supply while Dean was in the NICU I pumped every 3hrs religiously for 2months so my supply had been built up to a very impressive level!

I just threw away all the milk i saved from that time (no milk banks here) it filled up and entire garbage can hundreds of ounces, i never used.

While he was in the NICU (for 2 months) I was also pumping every 3 hours and getting 3-4 ounces each session. In the hospital, Elias was only eating 2 ounces every 3 hours (which is why I have LOADS of milk in the freezer). Now, he eats every 1 1/2 to 2 hours off of both breast, so I'm not sure how I would be able to fit a pumping session in?

 

[deobi]

You could pump both after he feeds. Did you pump after feeds the whole time in hospital? I am sure it will be fine - as you can see from my post I had a huge supply.

As everyone else said wet diapers, content baby are the best ways to tell. We bought a baby scale to have at home to make sure he was gaining. The nurse told me not to get one and I was being neurotic but I only weighed him every second day (not after every feed like in hospital!) this way i knew he was getting bigger and made me feel more secure about what I was doing. Graco makes one for about $60.

Good luck- you will be so happy you are doing even though I know how hard it can be especially with the NICU expereience thrown into the mix.

I have heard preemies can be more difficult becasue their sleep cycles are different etc but the bf'ing and co-sleeping brought me and baby into sync and helped us bond after being semi-seperated for so long. The breast fixed everything, every cry whimper or squeal. After about the first week, Dean didn't cry and was the easiest baby I had ever heard of and still is! I know your experience will be just as wonderful.

 

[Srrme]

You could pump both after he feeds. Did you pump after feeds the whole time in hospital? I am sure it will be fine - as you can see from my post I had a huge supply.

As everyone else said wet diapers, content baby are the best ways to tell. We bought a baby scale to have at home to make sure he was gaining. The nurse told me not to get one and I was being neurotic but I only weighed him every second day (not after every feed like in hospital!) this way i knew he was getting bigger and made me feel more secure about what I was doing. Graco makes one for about $60.

Good luck- you will be so happy you are doing even though I know how hard it can be especially with the NICU expereience thrown into the mix.

I have heard preemies can be more difficult becasue their sleep cycles are different etc but the bf'ing and co-sleeping brought me and baby into sync and helped us bond after being semi-seperated for so long. The breast fixed everything, every cry whimper or squeal. After about the first week, Dean didn't cry and was the easiest baby I had ever heard of and still is! I know your experience will be just as wonderful.

Elias was bottle fed in the NICU, with my expressed breast milk. I only got to breastfeed him 8-10 times while he was in the NICU, so no, I didn't pump after he ate -- I only pumped every 3 hours.

I know Elias is gaining weight, because the HN weighs him twice a week. Elias has multiple wet and dirty diapers a day, and is very content. He never cries, and only fusses as soon as he wakes up because he's hungry.

Ugh. This is so stressful! I'm making enough milk to satisfy him, but I'm still worried my supply will drop for no reason.