Pumping from the start... advise tips?

[StarAngel]

So I have decided to pump from the beginning so my hubby can be involved. Is there anything I need to know? Any of you moms out there pump from the start?

 

[Fizzyfefe]

I started pumping in the hospital and am still doing it.

There is a very helpful sticky thread that I recommend you should read. Lots of good tips for you. https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/breastfeeding/129033-ins-outs-exclusively-expressing.html

Are you in the UK or US, or somewhere else?

 

[StarAngel]

I am actually in Ireland, is the website available here?

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Oh, awesome! The reason I ask is because I'm not sure how health care works in Ireland. I'm in the US and my insurance covered a double electric pump in full.

Yes, I put a link to the thread in my last post for the sticky thread. It's called "the ins and outs of exclusively expressing."

Do you plan on breastfeeding as well?

 

[BlingyGal]

Yup I pumped from the start and I'm still going at 11 weeks. My daughter gets one bottle of Breastmilk a day but there are days where she doesn't even take it as she's starting to sleep longer so my huusband's shift with the baby ends up not requiring a feeding. We are, however, going on our first date night tonight and I'll be bringing some milk over to the grandparents. Pumping allows more freedom from baby if you want it. My freezer is full of milk that won't all get used. Luckily I can give it to a friend who is having supply issues.

 

[StarAngel]

No I hadn't planned on breast feeding as well, I am in college from Sept (every 2nd weekend) and I am due in October so I would need a bit of freedom to be able to go. Thanks a million for that link. Am so clueless to all this. Do you get much milk from the start? How long does it take for it to really come in? And how did you LO cope first few days?

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Quite honestly, no, I didn't get a lot at the beginning. I could only manually express drops of colostrum, and when my milk came in, I was getting less than 10 mL a day for the longest time. Even now, five months later, I only get 9 to 10 oz a day. My supply is, and has always been, critically low, and is not the norm.

Milk usually comes in between two and five days after birth, although it may take longer for some.

www.kellymom.com is also an excellent resource.

I wouldn't take my experience as normal, because it definitely wasn't. Not only do I have a low supply, but I also have flat nipples, and my son had a terrible latch (he would chew my breast instead of suck, and he would never flange his lips, which prevented a good seal around my nipple).

Here are some of my own personal tips:

-Make sure you keep a water bottle with you at all times.
-Set an alarm to pump every two to three hours, or write down what time you started. At the beginning, I was so exhausted that I wouldn't have remembered if I hadn't written it down. I downloaded the Similac StrongMoms app, and still use it to this day to log my pumping sessions.
-You will get multiple let-downs during your session. When I was pumping in the hospital, the lactation consultants told me that I only needed to pump for 10 - 20 minutes at a time. I wish I would've known that, had I pumped for 30 minutes, I would have had two additional let-downs.
-Try Fenugreek and/or mother's milk tea to increase your supply if needed. Oatmeal is great because it boosts supply. I also made oatmeal lactation cookies.
-You don't have to wash your pump parts after every session. You can store them in the refrigerator between sessions. Just make sure they aren't cold when you start pumping.

I can't think of anything else at the moment! My baby was up six times last night, so I'm a little out of it.

 

[apple_20]

I pumped with my first this was after 7 days of bf. I really think the week of bf helped me to get a good supply started. It would be hard to mimic that about of nursing with a pump. It might be worth considering bf just for a few days. If not try and replicate frequency,

I used to get loads of milk and I was able to cut my pumping sessions down gradually to every 4 hours which is less intrusive in your day.

It's really important to pump at night. My oh used to feed my baby the bottle of milk if pumped before bed whilst u pumped for the next feed.

Get a decent pump! I would advise a double electric one for speed and a Manual one incase the electric breaks/ to pop in your bag on days out.

It is very doable but just like bf takes a lot if hard work to begin with,

Look into how long you can store milk in fridge/freezer/cool bag/ room temp then you can plan your days without wasting milk,

Good luck x