Do you plan out a schedule where you feed your LO and then pump afterwards? Do you pump at times when your LO is not eating? I'm wondering how you build up a stash of breast milk for Mom's who will need that - like working Moms.
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I didn't have an oversupply of milk, so I used to pump and save when my LO started sleeping through the night.
Usually moms will feed on one side and pump the other or will pump after feedings. -
I'm curious about this as well because I'm afraid I'd get increased milk supply then get engorged when I stop pumping.
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Good question that I would love to know the answer to. Also, do you have to have a deep freezer to build up a good stash or will my regular freezer do the job?
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Yeah I am curious about this too, I also plan build up a freezer stash for when I go back to work.
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Before I returned to work I would pump everytime my son took a nap. If I was lucky there would be a long enough time maybe twice a day (we didn't introduce bottles at all until 6 weeks pp). Once I returned to work, my son was on a more consistent sleep schedule so I'd get up between night feedings and pump then as well. Once he night weaned I still pumped in the middle of the night because I would get great production then.
If you have someone with you you could always feed baby and then pump while someone else held/burped baby so it will help increase production and you get an extra ounce or two for the freezer. I didn't have that so I couldn't pump after each feeding.
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@plantains: no wisdom here on building up a stash (I'd love to know too!), but I know that a deep freezer will keep breast milk for up to 6-12 months, and a regular freezer from 3 to 6 months. http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/recommendations/handling_breastmilk.htm
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Most of my freezer stash was from pumping in the middle of the night when LO slept through the night at around 3 months. In the beginning though, I pumped when he went through stretches of sleep during his naps and night time sleep. So i was basically either feeding or pumping every 3 hours. Also, whenever LO would fall asleep at the breast (which happened often), I would put him down to sleep and pump out the rest.
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i pumped after i fed olive as often as i could. since she was so small, she was taking tiny bottles so i was able to build up a stash. most of my stash was from olive's first month -- i just cycled through my milk from last november.
i just keep it in a regular freezer, but i cycle through my frozen milk regularly so it doesn't get too old. i freeze whatever olive didn't finish on friday night, and then i defrost 2 bags of my oldest milk on sunday night.
i wouldn't worry too much about oversupply. if you have an oversupply to begin with, you'll be able to pump a lot in a session so you won't have to pump as often. if you have a low supply, pumping will increase your supply, but it doesn't happen over night. it took me at least a month to increase my supply.
just squeeze in pumping whenever you can -- breastfeed on one side and pump on the other or pump both sides after a feeding or pump at night when your lo is sleeping a longer stretch.
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when should you start your stash? also I'm not producing enough milk. I heard if you keep pumping often it helps. I was wondering if folks found that to be true?
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@Clementine: Start your stash ASAP! I recommend to my friends (especially those that are going back to work) that they rent a hospital pump for the first month and start pumping right away.
I got my stash going because LO was not able to get milk from breast feeding, so I was exclusively pumping for a while. I pumped around the clock, even when he started sleeping for longer stretches. I would recommend pumping right after feeding whenever you get a chance, this will help establish an increased supply, too. When I started pumping and was worried that I wasn't producing enough, I put myself on a strict every-2-hours schedule with a couple 3 hour stretches at night. Also, I pumped for at least 5 minutes after milk was no longer coming out. I think this helped give me a good supply and start my freezer stash early on - and I'm grateful because after 8 weeks back at work, I am seeing my supply start to drop again.
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@shellio: so helpful! thank you!
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@Clementine: Yes, pumping more often, even when you really aren't getting much will help but you may not notice it doing any good until you do it for a month or more. Also, when you pump, massage your breasts before and during to help express the milk since a pump isn't nearly as effective as a baby and the more empty you can get your breast is a single for your body to make more. Once you are done pumping, try hand expressing to get even more milk. I could get up to an ounce more sometimes once I started doing this routinely. Some times it was just a tiny bit more but every bit helps.
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