Babies aren't here yet but EPing sounds very appealing to me.
Since the DH will be a SAHD and I will be a WOHM, it sounds like it's in the cards for me. I will BF while I'm on mat leave and see how that goes.
-
A friend of mine did because breastfeeding direct from source just caused her too much pain and anguish.
-
LO had trouble with latching and had to have supplemental formula with every feed for the first month. He developed a wicked bottle preference and by 4 months would scream at every single feeding if I was nursing...so I called it quits and pumped. I don't regret it at all, and on many occasions have considered switching to EPing with baby 2 because I really don't like the uncertainty that comes with nursing.
-
My LO was born with a hematoma on her head and a tight jaw (her pediatrician said those two things go together a lot--from some type of slight birth trauma). She couldn't open her mouth wide at all.
On top of that, she had a tongue and lip tie. And then we discovered she had MSPI.
Let's just say.....feeding her (in any form) was not easy. And BFing was the worst. I had an LC come to my home, went to weekly BF support groups, took LO to therapy for her jaw, and had her lip and tongue ties revised---but finally gave up when Lo was 3 months old and still had the worst, most painful latch in the world.
I EPd after that. Honestly, I really disliked it. But by then, we knew about the MSPI and LO wouldn't take any formula (and could only have the most expensive kind, which would have run me about $450 a month), so I continued until she was 13 months old. She did have a lot of feeding issues as a result of her tumultuous first 3 months. She didn't/couldn't drink a bottle while awake until she was 11 months old (feeding refusal), and had trouble with solids until she was after a year old.
She's doing great now though!
-
Just cause you work and DH is going to stay home doesn't mean that you have to EP.
-
EP'ing is a ton of work. Nursing is so much easier more time efficient than pumping. Pumping during the work day is enough of a pain in the ass. I would keep an open mind towards continuing to nurse outside of working hours even after mat leave. Your husband being a SAHD doesn't really factor in as best as I can tell. Feeding the babies will be the same as it would be if you worked outside the home and sent the kids to daycare.
-
I started at 3 weeks because it would take LO over an hour to feed off of me, another 15 minutes to get him to go back to sleep, and I would be so full that I would have to pump after the feeding. That was another 20 minutes with 10 minutes of washing the parts and putting the milk away. So I was at an hour and 45 minutes. He would be up again about 3 hours after he started eating, and I was exhausted from not getting any sleep at all.
I found that I could feed him from a pumped bottle in 15 minutes. rather than the hour + it was taking him to feed off of me. And to be honest, I loved looking into his eyes when I fed him. I felt a much better bond that way than I did breastfeeding, and my husband was able to take some night feedings for me too when I needed a little extra sleep. We had a nice rhythm going once he went back to work and it really helped to exclusively pump.
-
@Truth Bombs: I just want to say that nursing isn't so much easier or more time efficient for everyone...
-
I think EPing is pretty popular among twin moms. As they get older/bigger, it's often easier to give both a bottle simultaneously than to tandem nurse. (I do tandem nurse my 12 month olds, but it's like nursing acrobatics now with people upside down and feet in each other faces, etc. It's probably not for everyone). In general, I think it's very useful for twins to take bottles well, even right from the beginning, so one can take a bottle while you nurse the other. Or, DH can give them both bottles and you can take a nap!
-
@2PeasinaPod: agreed. I only needed to pump 4 times a day for 20 minutes and feedings took 10 minutes instead of 30-40...and they only happened every 3 hours instead of all the time. EPing was no picnic but sometimes it sounds easier than what I'm dealing with now.
-
I pumped from day 3 ... EP started around 7 months, because my baby wasn't interested in my extremely low supply. Genetic factors meant I never had a full supply ... but the time she was 7 months, she knew that bottles were awesome, and my boobs were sad!
I ended up switching to formula & donated milk around 10 months, because I found pumping (for like 2 ounces a day) was such a PITA. But I imagine if I had a full supply, pumping wouldn't have been such an emotional struggle for me, and I would have happily continued.
I agree that even though pumping was a pain (just washing, etc.), BFing wasn't much easier. At all. It's totally different for everything, and I think it's wonderful that you're considering your options now!!
-
With my first, we had trouble nursing from the start - I started EP at 6 weeks and we were both much happier.
-
@2PeasinaPod: @Mrs. Lion: this was true for me also. 4 pumps x 15 minutes a day ... And I would often have help to feed her the actual bottles (Dh and I, as well as family and friends who stopped by). I never had to deal with cluster feeding which was also a bonus.
I EPed because of supply issues, but to be honest BFing was never up my ally so I didn't try too hard. I liked the freedom of having DH or others help with feedings and from the get go I got a good amount of sleep - I would do 8pm, Dh would do the 12am feeding, and I would do 4am - so I felt like a functioning adult with 8 full hours of sleep even in the newborn days.
I know a lot of people prefer BFing, and that's great too, but EPing is a viable option. I plan on EPing Lo #2 even if theoretically I don't have supply issues. It was much less stressful for me and I still found it to be a great bonding experience.
The PITA part is bottle washing but if you have a dishwasher , I didn't find it to be a huge deal -
@bluestripedbee: I agree with @twodoghouse that things are a bit different with twins. I EBF my son but trying to tandem breastfeed twins is really difficult. My twins also caught colds right after birth and that paired with small latch issues made trying to EBF really hard. I did it for about a week or so and then switched to EP. It takes more time (aka you bottle feed each baby and then pump for another 20-30 mins) but it's much nicer for me to have help with feedings and to give the twins a bottle if we're out. I'm a WOHM so I'd be pumping part of the day anyway. We supplement with formula on occasion too if the need arises. I read in a twin book that multiples are the exception where you dont have to feel guilty about whether you EBF or not - keeping your sanity and ensuring they're both healthy and happy are all that matters! Best of luck on whichever method you choose.
-
@marionberry: Twins are definitely more challenging (seriously, twin moms amaze me!) but I don't think ANY mom should feel guilty about not being able to (or wanting to) exclusively breastfeed
-
I started pumping at the hospital because LO wouldn't latch on (they said it might have been because she was born early and they thought it would get better with time). By the time I got her to latch on she was about 3 weeks old. But then whenever she did (which wasn't everytime) she would BF for 30 minutes and then still want a bottle afterwards, so it seemed like she wasn't getting very much. That got to be frustrating, so eventually I stopped trying to BF and just stuck to pumping.
-
I had the exact same thought that EP is easy before I gave birth. But EP really is a ton of work too. For one, if I'm home alone with DD, when she was younger I didn't know whether I could pump when she naps since I didn't know how long she could nap for reliably. And when she's up it's scary to be attached to the pump and not really be able to pick her up, etc if she gets cranky doing whatever. It is also stressful to be calculating at all times how many oz I'm getting, if it's enough, washing stuff, storing stuff...
-
E wouldn't stay latched and spent a week in the NICU. despite numerous visits with LC's, it wasn't happening, so i pumped. It was a freaking nightmare. Such a hassle to do so many times during the day. It got to he point where I could do one of two things: Soothe my crying baby or pump. Not both. So E ended up on mostly formula. It just wasn't worth the effort to me for the 5-7 ounces a day I was getting. Plus it really sucks to use up all your "free time" to pump. Like hey, it'd be nice to make a sandwich or take a shower. But no, gotta stay hooked up to a machine. I was pumping for 30-40 min, though, so it was an extremely inefficient process for me. i could also never get a proper supply established off pumping alone.
Needless to say, such a negative experience has led me to the path of "breastfeed or formula". I can say with 100% certainty that I will not be EPing with #2.
-
DD absolutely refused to BF once I went back to work full time. I would try to BF at home in the mornings/evenings but she would scream, arch her back, do anything she could to get the heck off me. Which obviously made me feel horrible and unloved and it wasn't nice for either of us. I started EPing and did it until about 7 months. It's a lot of work, but both of us were much happier with that arrangement.
-
My DS did not get anything from the boob despite being full term and seeming to latch right on like a pro. So I pumped for the first 4 mos although I would put him to the breast (at the LC recommendation) when I was home. It did relieve some of the pressure of being immediately available for feeds whenever I wasn't working. As a side note my hubby is a SAHD too and I couldn't have done it without having him there, even for a singleton, I'm so glad he will be home with you for your maternity leave.
-
I thought about doing this a few times considering how tough we had it BFing, but I hate every minute with the pump, and there was no way I was doing it in the middle of the night (but I do BF at night). It's different if you go away to work and need to pump anyway, but being home I'd rather spend the time with DS than find a safe place to put him and pump.
-
She was biting and had a shitty latch. We held out for 8 months but after that I pumped exclusively until she turned one. I am a WOHM also.
-
@snowjewelz: This. I have experienced these troubles with EP for sure.
-
I think at 5 or 6 months out I was pretty much EP. My husband is a SAHD too and at first I would BF before work, after work, MOTN but it seemed like my LO preferred a bottle and it is nice to know how many ounces he is taking in. There are pros and cons to BF, pumping, formula, etc - what's best is different for every family and you figure it out along the way.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite1
23 comments