Hi, would this be the right place to come for exclusively pumping questions?
for personal reasons, mainly being uncomfrotable, I am not breast feeding, but I want my daughter to reap the health benefits of getting breast milk... So, I plan to exclusively pump from the beginning. I know lots of women do it for whatever reason, so I knowi t's not impossible.. but when I spoke with the lactation consultant at work it was really discouraged and she told me when the baby is born I "need" her to come in the room and help get us off to a good start to build up supply... So I guess I am looking for help on that. Advice. choosing a pump. Pumping. Storage. . Etc. as I am unable to get support for that here.
I have FF 2 other babies and am not opposed, but I dont want to again if I dont have to.
Thanks, and hopefully someone can relate and help!
I think it is great that you want to try to get your next baby as much breastmilk as possible.
Yes, exclusively expressing is possible, but I won't lie. It is the absolute hardest route to go.
It is much harder than BFing and much harder than FFing. So, make sure you know what you are up against before you make any final decisions. I would encourage you to at least be open to the idea of directly breastfeeding as much as possible.
However, if that simply isn't an option for you, then you can try pumping. There is a thread in the breastfeeding section for exclusive pumpers. Check there. But I will give you what information I can:
Supplies:You will need a really good, double electric pump. I have an Ameda Purely Yours and like it. The Medela is also very popular.
I would also recommend bottles that are for breastfed babies. BreastFlow are my favorite.
Get good storage bags or bottles. If you are going to be EEing, you probably won't have to freeze loads, but will keep most of it in the fridge and use it quickly. I would have several (6-12) bottles for collection (at least a few will come with the pump you choose and you can buy more). If you want bags for storage, my favorite are by Lanisnoh.
Get a spare parts kit for your pump.
ALWAYS always always have at least one extra part for everything (valves, tubing, etc.). This will be critical if you are EEing. If something breaks or stops working, not pumping while you wait for a replacement part could be big trouble for your supply.
For sterilization, I would suggest just washing things in warm, soapy water, then boiling them in water for 2-5 minutes, and then air drying.
You will need to start pumping as soon after the birth as possible. Normally a baby would be put to breast within about 30 minutes. You should pump immediately and then feed baby the colustrum. You should pump for 20 minutes minimum every 2 hours, around the clock. Count from the start of pumping... so you will actually only have about 1-1.5 hours between pumping.
Storage:
Milk is good for about:
a few hours at room temp
5-10 days (depending on what source you read) in the refrigerator.
4 months in a freezer that is separate from a fridge
6 months in a deep freezer
NEVER re-heat breastmilk in a microwave. Place bottle or container of milk in a bath of warm water to reheat it. This may take some time if it is frozen or very cold.
Once breastmilk has been thawed or taken from the fridge and heated, it is good for 1 hour. Discard any unused portion after that.
Once baby has drunk from a bottle of breastmilk, discard whatever they do not finish within an hour.
NEVER re-freeze or re-chill breastmilk.
Keeping up supply:
This is the tricky part if you are EEing. You will need to pump (as mentioned) every 2 hours, around the clock, probably for 3 or more months. After 3 months, if things are still going well, you might be able to space that out to 3-4 hours around the clock. No sleeping through the night and skipping pumping if you want to keep baby on breastmilk only.
You will need to watch for growth spurts in the baby, usually indicated by an increased desire to feed more frequently and in larger amounts. When you see a growth spurt, you will have to pump more often and for longer in order to stimulate your breasts to increase production. Some BFed babies will want to feed every hour in a growth spurt and that might last for 3-5 days. So, you will be pumping loads.
Make sure and do LOTS of skin to skin contact with baby. This will help keep your supply up. Warm baths together is a great way to do that.
Breastfed babies usually cluster feed in the evenings. That means they will want to eat more often, gearing up for night.
Your milk changes throughout the day, so make sure to make note of what time you pumped the milk (when you store it) and try to feed what you pumped at a similar time of the day. As the day goes on, evening progresses into night, your milk changes in such a way to help baby sleep better. That is part of the reason they cluster feed in the evening, they are getting ready for sleep.
I hate to be discouraging... but you may have figured out from reading this why EEing is so hard. I've seen VERY VERY few moms manage it. That is probably why your mw was so adament that you should feed directly. The only ladies that are successful are usually SUPER committed to breastfeeding and for some reason couldn't feed directly after trying (baby wouldn't latch or some thing similar). TBH, I've never seen a lady that was open to FFing manage to EE instead.
It is so hard that they usually give up and go to FF very fast.
Based on the time, you can see that by the time you get your supplies set up, pump, store, clean up, feed the baby, wind baby, change baby, put baby to sleep, it is time to pump again.
There is very little left over time for just snuggles, cuddles, or enjoyment. Let alone time for you to sleep.
Of those that I've seen power through it and make it work, they usually end up drying up and loosing their supply. Formula usually has to be introduced for top ups after a few months, with most drying up completely between 5 and 7 months. Pumps don't do as good a job as a baby does, so it is just the nature of EEing.
All of that is why I would encourage you to be open to at least trying to BF directly. If you try and find you simply cannot, then try to EE as much as you can for as long as you can.
Ask away if you have more questions!
I'm so glad you are open to at least trying to BF directly. 
Since I have been nursing for so long, I have grown accustomed to my breasts being more of a biological utility -- something there to provide my babies with food, comfort, and nourishment. 
) and got her to sleep as much as I possibly could, and she's a different baby today. All her feeds yesterday were great, and today she seems much happier. So it seems all she really needed was sleep, and was getting extremely tired before! I'm being much more proactive with winding now too, just in case.
