We're going away for Christmas and I'd love to start pumping enough to have 2-3 bottles worth of breast milk on hand when/if we need them. I'm just so confused about how to get started! My little one nurses on one side per feeding and is eating about 8-10 times a day. Should I start by pumping the opposite side about 30 minutes after her morning feeding? Then, which side would I feed her from at the next feeding? Sorry, these might be really stupid questions. I'm so lost when it comes to pumping 
How did you start the pumping process? Any tips?
You might also enjoy...
-
Xander always ate from both sides, so when I started pumping, I pumped both sides. After nursing, I'd pump 30 minutes - 1 hour after he nursed (after he started nursing, it may have only been 5 minutes after he finished) and pump each side for 5-10 minutes. In the beginning, I barely got any out, but eventually I got about 0.5 oz per side.
-
If your LO only nurses one side, I would try to pump the other side while nursing (if possible). Otherwise I'd pump the other side immediately after nursing. Then offer the side you pumped to your LO the next time you nurse since your pump won't do as good of a job getting the breast empty as your LO will.
-
My LO also always only nursed on one side (still does). I would pump both sides about 30 mins after eating, for maybe 15 mins. As long as about 90 mins passed after pumping before she needed to eat again, I was golden!
-
I'd try what the PP suggested - either pump the other side while LO eats, or pump after the morning feed. I also had luck pumping before I went to bed, once I was confident she was doing a somewhat longer stretch of sleep to start the night.
-
If your LO only eats from one side, you are in an ideal position to pump extra. I would do exactly what @Adira: said. Pump from the opposite side immediately after nursing, and then start your LO on the pumped side at the next feeding (so, basically, don't change which side you would feed from next). Beware that you may stimulate oversupply with this method - if you only want enough for 2-3 bottles, I would only pump 1-2x/day to avoid overrsupply. You will get the most milk first thing in the morning, so I would pump then. You will likely only need to pump 1x/day for the next 2-3 days to get the milk you want.
-
Thanks so much! This is so helpful!
-
I agree with the other posters. And if you can manage pumping one side while nursing on the other it is so much more effective. But it can be hard to juggle baby plus pump. If you go that route, have everything set up ahead of time. I built up a nice stash pumping 1x in the morning at same time as baby was nursing.
-
My LO only nurses from one side as well. I pump the side she doesn't nurse on first thing in the morning. And I only pump once a day to avoid oversupply.
-
LO only fed on one side at a time and I was able to build a massive stash by just pumping twice a day.
After the first feed, I'd pump from the side LO didn't feed from. Once LO started STTN, I'd pump on both sides (but obviously got more from the side LO didn't feed from before bed).
If LO isn't STTN, you could pump the other side after you're last nursing session of the day before LO's longest stretch of sleep.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
9 comments