I'm so conflicted on pumping. I'm a SAHM, LO is 13 weeks. She is EBF and we feed on demand. Everyone has been saying to me that I HAVE to pump, get LO to take a bottle, so I did try it at about 2 months. I found pumping difficult and annoying and I was only able to get a few ounces at a time, even though I know I have a lot of milk. It took me three sessions to get enough for a bottle that LO wouldn't take so it all went to waste anyway. I have a Medela manual pump and I'm not interested in getting an electric pump. I guess intellectually, I agree that I should have a stash so that I could have more than a few hours off, or have milk in case of an emergency but I just can't make myself break out the pump again. I also don't really know when to pump. The time I tried I did it in the early AM but like I said, I didn't get enough so I had to keep pumping throughout the day to get one 4 ounces. Is it something that gets easier? I also think I have a bit of an oversupply so I don't want to make more milk from pumping. Any tips or tricks? Anyone not pump at all and want to tell me it worked out fine?
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My LO is now 14 months. I pumped with a manual a handful of times in the early days, but never had a stash. I just didn't see a reason to mess with it given that I didn't need to. I mean, why make more work for myself?
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I don't pump, except to relieve engorgement or a few instances of pump+dump. I feed on cue and supplement with formula when I have to be away or whatever. Bfing + formula = that's enough for me. I don't want to add pumping to the mix.
Do whatever feels comfortable for you. If you don't want to pump and don't feel like forcing your LO to take a bottle, that's ok.
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My LO is almost seven months and I've never pumped or seen the need to. That being said I do have about ten or so ounces in the freezer that I hand expressed at various times (like during a nursing strike) and I plan to bake with them or use them in purées.
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I pumped for the first 2 months until my son rejected the bottle. Now he's EBF.
Pumping was convenient because I have a toddler at home too. I also got to see how much my son was getting at each feeding. Bottle feeding also allows you to be away from your LO for more than 3-4 hours!DD rejected the bottle at around 2 months old too and there were days I felt like her prisoner because I couldn't be away from her for more than 3 hours. (getting my hair done, trips to the dentist, etc. were always stressful).
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I RARELY pump, infact only for times that P's stayed overnight at my moms & when DH & I went out of town. I would normally pump in the evenings after P went to bed and until around 8 months I was able to get ~5 oz a session... after that it took alot more to get 1 feeding just b/c my body was so used to just making what P nursed.
I've never had a stash (aside from what I have now left over from our trip) and have never needed it. We've nursed through sickness and we've always just upped our nursing during supply dips. Figure we just didn't/don't really need it.
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I stopped pumping at 4.5 months when she started rejecting the bottle outright.
I really regret not building a stash. At 13 months she does not want to take milk, and you can see the look of disgust as she drinks from her sippy cup. I think she would've been receptive to weaning off the boob if i gave her some frozen milk.
Like you, i had the problem of not being able to pump a lot of milk.
The problem with not giving a bottle was just the stress of being away from LO like what @chopsuey119 said.
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No pumping here! No reason too. Too much work!
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I'm a SAHM and I pump at night right before I go to bed (~11:30pm). My LO sleeps from around 8pm to 4am without nursing. She is now 8 months and eats a good amount of solids.
When I pump, I only get about 2 oz or so, even with my double electric. I was getting 3 oz before, but we went on a trip and I stopped pumping during that time so I think that threw my supply off.
We either use the milk to mix in oatmeal/veggies or we will combine 2 bottles if I need to be away from my LO. It has been useful so that I can go out with friends for dinner once a month.
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I pump on the days when I'm going to be out longer than 3 hours or when (rare) I'm engorged. I like to have a days worth in the freezer just in case. I had emergency surgery at 2 weeks pp and it was so stressful figuring out timing and getting formula in case of complications. I do have a double electric though so it easier. We usually have Lo get a bottle a week to avoid refusal.
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I haven't had LO yet, but my sister used to pump fairly early on so that her husband could take the first evening feeding. She would go to bed as soon as baby went down, for his first waking (like, 10 or so) her husband would feed him the pumped milk from a bottle, then my sister would take whatever other feedings there were that night. It was good bonding time for the dad and my sister would get around 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I'd like to do the same, so DH can get to feed the baby too.
However, I don't know the logistics of when she actually squeezed in the pumping session, but I don't think she ever had supply issues once BFing was established. It would be harder if you did, I think.
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I pump before I go to bed, and I do this like 4x a week...we're now giving LO a bottle with some pumped milk before bed in order to try to get him to sleep longer. I also work a few hours a week, so he sometimes needs a bottle while I"m gone. I also use a manual and can get 3-4oz before bed, usually.
I did have some oz in the freezer from when Lo was a newborn and I had rented an electric pump while working on his latch, and I had pumped some extra. If you want to freeze a few oz, pump for a few days, put the amounts together and then freeze it. You can do that every few weeks, if you think there's a possibility you might need to suddenly be away from your LO. I would say at this point you're fine to pump, even with over supply, as long as you're not pumping a ton.
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I quit after like 2-3 weeks of pumping. I just hated it. I wasn't getting much at all, and it took so much time that I just didn't have. We do formula though, so obviously we didn't have the bottle problem. I do think it's important to your sanity that you get your LO to take a bottle though!
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You sure don't have to - not for a second. I pumped once a day to build up a stash, then my daughter literally never touched it. I donated it at 13 months. If you feel like doing it, great. But one of the best parts of being a SAHM is breastfeeding purely on demand - with no worries about bottles or anything.
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I wish I had pumped with DS, because he could never latch correctly and wasn't growing appropriately. However, by the time that was all sorted out my supply was so bad that I couldn't pump and get any sort of stash. I'm now pregnant with our third baby and I'm going to be upfront in the hospital that I want this baby on breastmilk only and if I have to start pumping from day 1, I will. So, I might have to pump with the next one because I so badly want the next one to have breastmilk, regardless of how it gets into his or her mouth.
That being said, there's no reason to get your LO ready for a bottle if you don't need to. I wouldn't if you feel no need to and it stresses you out. -
I heard the same thing from people and was given a nice electric pump to borrow from a friend who'd never used it. I would try to pump and then 10 seconds later he'd want to nurse. He hated the idea of a bottle. I think my BIL got him to take a bottle once. It was just a huge hassle and I only tried a handful of times. I never had anything close to a stash. So I didn't leave DS until he was 9 months old, but it really didn't bother me. He nursed on demand and I never bothered with bottles or schedules or feedings. I feel like that helped me relax and actually enjoy the bonding time.
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I'm a SAHM and never pumped to build up a stash. I pumped in the beginning to help my milk come in...and I had a small stash early on, but LO didn't love the bottle. She would drink a few ounces and then refuse to drink any more. I also hated washing the bottles and pump parts so I just stopped. If I was going to be gone for an extended period of time (doctor's appointment), I would pump before bed for a few days to have a small stash so my parents could feed her, but she had a super consistent nap schedule early on (3-4 months) so I was able to time things pretty well so I was back when she got up and needed to nurse. I pumped again when she started solids so I could mix the purees with breastmilk, but I only did that for about 2 months.
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I SAH and I pump only when we're planning a date night, because that's the only time I'm ever away for a feeding
and because I haaaate pumping. those days I pump after his first morning feed, and the other side every time he feeds until I get enough.I also pump before bed after we get home. I've got a single electric pump.
I have a slight stash (maybe 4 or 5 feedings worth) from his first few months which I'm working through before it goes bad.
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Thanks for all of your input! I guess I thought I'd be able to pump enough for one bottle in a session and then just be able to pump the night before if I planned on being away for a bit the next day. I also thought it would be nice for my husband to be able to feed her every once in a while. Between taking forever to get enough for one bottle and LO refusing said bottle, it just seems like too much work and the fact is that I like breastfeeding. I might try again maybe with a different flange size and just see if I can get at least 3 oz in a session. If not, I just can't see the point in doing it in my situation. I still soak a burp cloth when I'm leaking - I don't get why can't I pump more.
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