My first baby I did not breastfeed, so this is all pretty new to me. I am planning to nurse our baby this time around, and want it to be as low fuss as possible. A few months back when we were making our purchases, I contemplated a pump and bottle system. But then I thought "Eh, why not just do it the old fashioned way and go straight from the boob" lol. Last night my husband was listing some last minute accessories we need and brought up the breastfeeding kit again. He said "I know you don't think we'll need one, but wouldn't it be better for you to be able to pump bottles so I can feed her sometimes?" They are SO freakin expensive, and we still need it feels like an endless amount of stuff, plus we just paid for DD's summer camp and swimming lessons. So be honest moms, was it necessary to have the pump and bottle kit? Or can I get away with a Boppy pillow, Hooter Hider, and just me?
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I plan on getting a system, just so that I won't be the sole feeder. And for weaning purposes After on. I am looking into seeing if my insurance will cover any of the costs.
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My pump became a necessity around the end of the second week. LO would only nurse from one side so I was able to pump the other side after she was done. And it's nice to have bottles of expressed milk to get a break from being the only one being able to feed her.
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You don't NEED a lot of stuff people tell you you need!
As far as a pump, you can go without but if you don't want to supplement you will need some kind of pump to be able to ever leave your babe for more than a couple of hours. Maybe just a cheap manual! Or, consider renting a pump from the hospital.
You can buy a couple of bottles when/if the time comes.
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Good points so far.... Sounds like I'm just delaying the inevitable here haha! I don't mean it to sound like a pump is going to break the bank or anything, but with 2 kids every purchase now reminds me of everything else we'll be needing this summer... oy!
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I know a few moms that don't really do bottles, but have a manual pump just in case they need to be out for a while. You could also look into a single electic pump rather than a double electric pump; they are much cheaper. Not absolutely necessary, but nice to have.
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I think if pumping is going to be more of an occasional thing for you vs every day, I think you could get by with a manual or single electric pump. One of my friends only had a manual pump until she went back to work when her LO was six months old.
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it really depends on your lifestyle. if you are going to be able to nurse the baby almost all the time, then you can get by with a manual pump. a lot of moms (including mrs yoyo) make this work.
if you want to build up supply, be away from your baby for more than 3 hours regularly, give regular bottles, etc. then an electric pump is going to be a time saver.
you may know what your needs will be until the baby comes, so maybe buy one but don't open it so you can return it if you end up not using it?
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I only have a cheap manual pump. I have only used it a few time. In 7 months my baby has had three or four bottles. Otherwise it's me. It you have trouble with your supply you can borrow a hospital grade one from most hospitals. The only thing with being just you and baby is that you can't be away long. I think the longest I have been away from DD is an hour and a half. But I don't mind so much.
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You don't *need* one...But it can give you a bit of a break every now and then. I never kept a stash of pumped milk but I would pump 1-2 feedings' worth and have someone feed LO while I took a nap...Or had some me time. Also, pumping helps out a lot in the middle of the night when you're engorged.
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I nurse MOST of the time, but being able to have a break has definitely become a necessity to me. Breastfeeding is probably the hardest thing I've ever done & sending DD to stay with grandma so I could catch up on sleep &/or have DH doing the morning feeding so I could rest a bit longer has been LIFE SAVER!!
I didn't get my pump till DD was 4 weeks old though. I wanted my supply well established before introducing pump & it was something that, like you, I didn't initially want to spend money on (I'm a total minimalist when it comes to baby things). Since I knew I wanted it to build a small stash (for overnight stays) & to have an occasional bottle at home or while out I went with the Medela Swing... a single electric pump that was just over $100. I've used a manual pump in the past & hated it so this was middle ground to the way expensive douple pump systems.
It's definitely something you can wait to purchase & just see how you do with the demand of full time nursing though. I myself need a break so the pump ended up being a must.
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I've gotten by with just a manual. I don't use it very often and usually just feed him directly, so spending the money on a fancy electric would have been a waste for us.
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Remember that you can rent a hospital grade pump through your hospital or elsewhere for a while and see if it is something that works for you guys to see if you want to buy a personal pump later on.
We planned on buying a month or two after our son was born since our budget could handle it better later on. You don't necessarily need to start it right away either. We needed to due to some issues, so we rented for the first month, and ended up buying a setup the next month since it was working so well.
That being said, I don't know how the ladies above can do a manual pump often (I'm not worthy!), it is very time consuming and tiring. I love my double electric pump, it makes life so easy!
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I worked so a pump was mandatory. If you are staying home I got a good single electric pump from Walmart for $40 that would allow you some time etc.
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I didn't bf my first for very long. my second... we are nursing still at almost 11 months. she refused bottles at 2 months though and man, is it hard with two kids and one who doesn't take bottles and just nurses. I mean, at first, it was nice not to pump and just nurse all the time.. But it's hard now because I need a break! I can be away from her for longer though now that she takes solids and a sippy cup (a little bit), but I would be so thankful if she took a bottle. I believe a baby who takes both breast and bottle is a wonderful thing... gives you the most flexibility.
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Like @Mrs. Bee said, I got by with a manual working PT in the office a few minutes away, and PT at home. Baby Y only had to take a bottle a couple of times a week. But I would at least have a manual on hand. Some women don't respond to them as well as an electric pump, though, fyi. Even if you don't often give a bottle, you would want the option in case something happens -- super sore nipples/engorgement/a nasty bite from a teething baby ... etc.
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Thanks for all the responses so far! I'm liking the $40-$100 range options, that doesn't sound *so* bad as some of the $300-400 units I'm seeing out there. Yikes! I really think it would be nice for DH and DD to be able to help feed her as well maybe right around a month or so. I don't want to be alone on Breastfeeding Island all the time. I'm a SAHM so I had kind of thought that only the working girls had to pump, but I was definitely wrong, and am kicking myself for not getting this figured out earlier!
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I have leakage from the idle nipple when I'm bfing one of the babas, so it seems like it would make sense to pump the side you're not using at any given feed. You'd probably be fine getting one a few weeks after delivery anyway as you probably won't leave baby a whole lot before that? I'm kind of half and half boob/bottle right now, and I pray to god they never decide to refuse the bottle, I'd go nuts! Midwife suggested giving an ounce by bottle when baby is quite hungry to calm them and then move to the boob, it can help reduce some of the biting / poor latch stuff.
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I got a $25 manual pump and have been nursing for a year with no problems. I was mainly a SAHM so I didn't have to pump regularly, though last semester I did work one day a week away from the house and it worked out fine.. For the first couple months my husband would give baby one bottle of pumped milk a day. It never took me that long to pump a bottle of milk and it's really was never a big deal to pour the milk from the bottle attached to the pump into a freezer bag or one of our bottles.
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It depends. When my milk came in, having a pump to relieve even a little bit of the pain from engorgement was a lifesaver. Now, LO is 3 months old but I love having it so I can leave him with DH for a few hours to have me time (hair, nails, shopping, errands etc), or for dates. If I didn't have a pump, I would never be able to leave LO for more than 2-3 hours. I'm a SAHM so I don't pump a lot, but it's nice to have the option. In the early months I also made a lot of excess milk which I pumped so I could have a freezer stash early on. That has been really nice! Then if we plan a date last-minute, I have enough milk already and don't have to stress about it.
Also, when I got a bad cold, DH was able to take over night feedings for 7 hours so I could sleep and get better, I couldn't have done that without a pump.
But if money is tight, you may be able to hold off on it until you find out what your true needs are. We've done that with a few baby items. We purchased an arms reach co sleeper, but no crib til we found our groove with LO and figured what we'd need. At 3 months, we now decide to buy a crib and I'm glad we waited because we didn't know if we'd use/need it for not. Just an example but we waited on many items.
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My plan is to buy a hand pump so my husband can feed the baby from time to time, and get an electric one if needed.
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We hardly ever need a bottle, but I used the pump a lot when my milk first came in because I had such crazy oversupply that she would cry from how much milk there was and I was always so full feeling. And now I like to be able to occasionally leave her, or take a longer nap. When my oldest got to about 6 months I was out one evening a week, so I pumped for that. It's just handy.
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I think you could totally live without it (like all sorts of people in the world who don't have access to pumps) but it's a big commitment to be the only one who feeds your LO. I'm taking a full year off and hope to EBF the entire time, but I still pump and she gets one bottle of pumped milk a day from DH. I've also left her with my mom and MIL to watch so I could go out to dinner with DH and get my hair done and it was nice to get out for a few hours. My biggest goal with my pump is to get a serious freezer stash going in case something happens and I'm not able to nurse her (eg. get sick etc). I have 65ozs in the freezer and it's almost a game to see how big I can get my stash!
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@prettylizy: How did you figure out how to get a stash going? Im struggling to figure out how to add pumping into my every day cause I feel like my baby always cries hungry when I pump!. I currently supplement with formula and my baby will often want each breast at feedings.
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@Nskillet: I started off pumping after she ate first thing in the AM when I was the 'fullest' so to speak. After a few days of doing that I had 10ozs in the fridge. Then I had DH start giving her a bottle at night before bed and I would pump again then. At this point I was gettin 5ozs in the am and another 5 at night and I'm freezing in 5oz increments. Lastly I picked up a manual pump and whenever I had a few minutes during the day after she ate I'd try and pump off a few ounces. If I'm not diligent, I can't get the full 5ozs per session, but when I stick to it I do.
The more you pump the more you'll make, keep drinking tons of water and just stick with it!
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