Hellobee Boards

How long have you been pumping? 13 months
For LO #2
EP-er or WOH? WOH
What pump do you use? Medela PISA and Spectra S2
How's pumping going? Going really well! My supply is starting to dip a little bit, but I'm ok with that now that baby is over a year.
What's your goal? Not sure... I am not sure how long I'll pump for, but I would like to breastfeed until my son decides to self wean or until he is 2.5... whatever comes first I guess!

How long have you been pumping? Since December. Before that I pumped a handful of times while on mat leave.

For LO #: One

EP-er or WOH? WOH

What pump do you use? Medela PISA. Occasionally use a manual pump so I can just leave the big one at work. But that is sooooo tedious.

How's pumping going? It's going well, at least in terms of getting milk. I usually pump just enough for the next day. I have a small freezer stash that I can dip into if I'm an ounce or two short. And occasionally I get some extra to add to it. In terms of enjoyment, however....I hate pumping! But I plan to keep going for awhile at least. I appreciate that I have my own office so can just shut the door and do it in there while I work. Pumping right now, actually haha.

What's your goal? A year. If I get that far, I'd like to still nurse in the morning and at night but quit pumping. I'm honestly not sure I'll get that far, but I plan to do it for at least a little longer.

@snowjewelz: I think they're very comparable and I don't really favor one over the other. I don't find that I can pump more milk out of one than the other. I think the Spectra was a little more gentle when I first started, but I don't notice any difference now. I bought some connector pieces for the Spectra so that I can use all of my Medela parts on both.

Thanks! I was told when I was pregnant that I might not be able to breastfeed at all because I was not going to be able to be reunited with baby until many hours after delivery due to medical complications, so I am so happy that we were able to establish a breastfeeding relationship and I've had sufficient milk. I think that went a long way to accepting my medical complications and being at peace with it all. I used to hate pumping with #1, but now I just find it peaceful to take the pumping breaks.

How long have you been pumping? 10.5 months
For LO #... 2
EP-er or WOH? WOH. I started out EP-ing for the first 4 months because my LO was a micro preemie and in the NICU.
What pump do you use? Medela Symphony at first and PISA after I went back to work.
How's pumping going? Ok. Its definitely harder the 2nd time around with work plus coming home to a toddler and the baby. There's alot of days I want to quit but LO enjoys nursing and since his adjusted age is so far behind, he still drinks quite a bit of milk.
What's your goal? Hopefully 1 year actual, then maybe 1 year adjusted? I'm trying to take it one day at a time. If I think of pumping for 5 more months it seems overwhelming.

@snowjewelz: I don't blame you for thinking about it already, pumping is not fun

How long have you been pumping? I have been pumping for about three months.

For LO # 2

EP-er or WOH? I work outside of the home.

What pump do you use? I'm using the Medela PISA.
How's pumping going? My supply has dipped recently, so I had to supplement with a little formula last week. I had previously stayed up through the night trying to pump to produce enough milk, but was barely functional the next day (so I didn't want to do that again). Finding space to pump can also be a bit of a pain, and my nipples are sore from cranking up the pump to try to produce more milk. Otherwise, it's going fine.

What's your goal? I plan to stop pumping as soon as LO can drink cow's milk at a year old. However, I want to continue nursing while we're together (as I did with my first LO).

How long have you been pumping? I started the week she was born because a nipple crack made nursing too painful, kept it up for a stash while on maternity leave, and now am nursing + pumping because I WOH. So, 4.5 months.

For LO #2

EP-er or WOH? WOH!

What pump do you use? Medela PISA. Same as with #1! (And actually, I use both of mine. One at work and one at home.)

How's pumping going? It's good, just SUCH a pain in the neck. I have a great stash built up from pumping so much on maternity leave, but I pump 4x/day on week days because I had such anxiety over not making enough with my oldest that I want to get a huge stash before I stop pumping either before work or before bed.

What's your goal? A year. I'll likely go down to one session at work at a year if we make it that far, and then cut it completely at 13 months. That's similar to what I did with my older daughter, and it worked. If I still have a large stash by 9 - 10 months, I may go to one pump at work sooner.

This is a great thread!!

How long have you been pumping? Almost 5 months! That includes the last month of my three-month maternity leave.

For LO #1

EP-er or WOH? WOH

What pump do you use? Insurance supplied Medela PISA. I just acquired a second one from a friend who had bad luck with nursing.

How's pumping going? Pretty great aside from finding it a pain. I'm pumping just enough for what is needed the next day - sometimes an extra ounce (which I use to make the bottles a little bigger). I don't really pump at any consistent times during the work day. I have my own office so its convenient, but I sometimes have to work outside of my office. This last monday, I pumped three times in the car while driving on the freeway. I've also pumped while standing up in an unlocked utility closet and also in the handicapped stall of a fairly public restroom that required a token to access. Anything to feed my baby!

What's your goal? 1 year unless something like painful biting from teeth interfere. (no teeth yet at 6.5 months. phew) It was a painful start and now that my baby and I are in a nice groove, I don't want to stop. I will only be stopping because I want to try to get pregnant again. I needed IVF for this baby and feel I will be headed in that direction again. But I'd like to try on my own first for maybe 6 months after my period comes back. I will be sad though. I'd love to nurse my baby forever!

@agold: I wish I had a second pump. If I did I'd leave the rubes and power cord at work and bring the flanges, connector, valve, and bottles back and forth because I don't have a place to wash & dry at work. I'm curious what the other ladies do

@agold: Well, technically I take it all home every night because I pump a shared space (that's used for stuff other than pumping) at the office. HOWEVER...I never have to take the pump, plug, or tubes out of my bag. In other words, the only stuff that ever comes out of my bag at home is what needs to be washed. And I know that sounds like not a huge deal, ha! But because I pump at home in the morning and at night, it actually IS huge not to have to unpack and re-pack multiple times. I feel much less rushed and am less likely to forget something.

@MrsSCB: I pump in the car on the way to work every morning (have since August). It took a little getting used to, but now I don't even notice once I'm set up. I always drape a swaddle blanket over everything once I get started, and even go through the drive through while pumping when I need a coffee in the morning.

@lady baltimore: I love that you go through the drive-thru, that's awesome.

@snowjewelz: Omg, I can't believe the son walked in! My boss told me to pump in our board chairman's office once (my office is in a different building). She was like, "It's fine, he's never here." But there was no lock on the door and I was at that building all day. So all three times I was so nervous he would suddenly show up. Although he has kids...I think even great-grandkids at this point, so...he's probably seen it all haha.

How long have you been pumping? about 5 months lo is 6 months. i started before i went back to work

For LO #2

EP-er or WOH? woh

What pump do you use? medela freestyle and its totally changed my pumping experience from lo1.

How's pumping going? for a while i was pumping LOTS of extra milk. But now I am only pumping twice a day at work and making only a little extra. LO is also reverse cycling a bit and I need to start to feed him bigger bottles during the day. Mom has to sleep...

I pump at my desk at work in a shared open plan office under a cover. I also pump sometimes while working in other situations with people around. My field is unique in a lot of ways making me more comfortable. But I also am trying really hard to not make it a big deal. The battery operated pump has really helped the easy of pumping as have bras that i can wear all day that have slits for pump parts.

What's your goal? A year of mostly breast milk in bottles and nursing mornings and evenings as long as it feels right. I wont stress some formula once he starts eating more food. but i also have a huge freezer stash so maybe I wont need it.

How long have you been pumping? about 8 months, plus once a day during most of maternity leave.
For LO #...1
EP-er or WOH? WOH
What pump do you use? Spectra S2
How's pumping going? Great! Much better than I expected and could have ever hoped for.
What's your goal? To not have to buy formula.

I built a little stash before going back to work, then started out pumping one side in the morning, and both sides twice during work. I was lucky enough to have a little over-supply and those pumps built up a huge stash in those first two months back to work. Cut out one of the at-work pumps when LO was 5 months, and cut out the morning pump at 7.5 months. I was still getting almost enough for daycare from just one pump during the day and my plan was to supplement from my stash to get to one year. But over the last couple months she has started to eat more solids and is less interested in bottles so what I'm pumping is enough again. She's almost 11 months, and I plan to quit pumping soon and just nurse morning and nights for at least another 6 months if possible. I could quit pumping at work now and have enough frozen to make it to a year, but I'm going on a 4-day work trip in a couple weeks and I'm nervous about killing my supply if I cut out a pump AND am away from baby for 4 days at about the same time, so I'll wait til after then.

@snowjewelz: Thanks! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I am sooooo over pumping.

@agold: I leave a pump at work too. I have a Sarah Wells Pumparoo bag (https://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Wells-Pumparoo-Breast-Staging/dp/B011M7MIRW?th=1) and I bring that home with the pump parts and then the Medela cooler bag with full bottles. I pack up empty bottles and clean parts into the bag when I head to work in the morning.