Pumping Breast Milk Exclusively

P.,

Congrats on the new baby. I have pumped exclusively for my daughter for a year. Don't let others discourage you. It can be done. My daughter never latched on properly and nursing her was not possible. First, get an electric pump with a battery backup. If you are returning to work, get the car adapter. To establish your milk supply, pump after EVERY (yes, even at 2 a.m.) time you give her a bottle. I usually did it for about 15 minutes. By doing it after she eats, you are making her next bottle and she won't have to wait to eat until after you've pumped. Once I went back to work I weaned down to 4 times a day. By about 6 months I was down to 3 times per day. I'm still at 3 times per day and I pump approximately 10-12 ounces between the two at each pump. I usually had more than enough to meet her needs. If she was going through a growth spurt or I misinterpreted her signals and gave her a bottle when she wasn't really hungry, I would supplement with formula as needed. She maybe receives one bottle of formula a week. With some dedication on your part, it can certianly be done. Good luck!
S.

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Hi P.,
I ended up pumping exclusively with my son who had a hard time latching correctly and who also did not suck effectively. To be honest, pumping ended up being a full time job in itself. I made it to about 3.5 months, pumping exclusively for about the last 2. It just ended up that I couldn't produce enough milk pumping alone. When Jack was doing well on the breast he could elicit multiple let downs in one feeding. With pumping, I could only get two let downs, three on rare occasions, no matter how long I pumped for. I was pumping every two hours trying to keep up with Jack, even when he was eating every 3-4. I just couldn't get enough in one pumping session to fill his bottle. It felt like an uphill battle. All in all, it is possible to pump exclusively, but it's HARD work, especially if you have to go back to work. That's what finally put an end to our breastfeeding days, since my workplace is not very conducive to taking breaks every couple of hours to pump. I definately have a lot of guilt over not breastfeeding anymore. Looking back, I think I should have asked for more help in the early weeks. I guess there's always next time. Good luck to you!

Hi, I have two daughters (4 and 2 years-old) and at my first one I had some problems breastfeeding, so I decided pumping exclusively too. It was working well but I started having less and less milk until it stopped almost completely, when she was only 2 months-old! When I asked the pediatrician he told me that you only produce milk if you breastfeed, and that it’s not the same if you pump. In my second “try” I decided not to give up breastfeeding, no matter how much it hurted, and it was worth it. She had my milk for 8 months.

Hi P.,
I bf my daughter exclusively but did pump on occasion. I found that you need to pump in the middle of the night as if they were eating and first thing in the morning as that is when you have the most milk. Get a good pump, Medela is the best, I had a avent single electric and it was horrible, borrowed a good friends and was so impressed. 2-4 oz at a time to 10oz. My girlfriend bf by pumping exclusively for 13 months. She had an over abundance of milk, sometimes pumping like 40oz at a time. She drank a TON of water as well... if you are worried make sure you pump more than not. That is the only way. I think some find that even if you pump occasionally you are fine but your supply will dwindle down. you might want to sleep in the night that baby does but you really should get up to pump as if she was eating. I also would recommend taking a Lactation vitamin, just visit your local natural food store for that. I found it helped me to increase my supply at one point because I was due to have a procedure that wouldn't allow me to nurse for 36 hours. Good luck and if you need any more help don't be afraid to ask again!!

I can totally understand wanting to see how much she eats. There is alot of comfort in that. My 4th didn't latch on good, and it turns out he is tounge tied. I had to literally bring him to my breast and shove in half my areola for him to get a latch. It was hard for about a week but he got the hang of it, gained a ton and is thriving now at 5 months.

You might consider doing both. Your baby is your most efficient 'breast pump', and by nursing then 'topping off' with the pumped milk, she can get the best of both worlds. You will see how much she takes after and if it isn't much, then she is already full. If you nurse then pump, you can build up your supply really well. Also if you latch her on one breast and pump the other, you will get a really good let down reflex and be able to pump more.

You might consider nursing her when you are home, and giving her pumped milk when you are at work ( so sorry to hear that!).

If you decide to not nurse at all it's ok too. She is still getting the benefits of the breast milk. I just hate to see you miss out because it can be such a wonderful experience for both of you. And the convienience of it may keep you at it longer. Good luck.

Hi-
I pumped exclusively for my son..I pumped about every 3 hours (when I would have nursed him) and I got usually about 6 ounces total from both breasts each pumping. Good luck!

I did both, my little girl had a hard time latching too...I was in more pain than labor, bloody nipples, the whole works. Every time she wanted to feed, which was all the time, I cried and winced at the pain. I pumped what I could and the rest I fed her with formula. You did the right thing, no need to stress when there are other options. I went through the same stress...my midwife saw my agony and told me to do what is best for your and the baby. No worries...

Have you tried a nipple guard? When my son was born he had trouble latching on also so one of the nurses gave me one and it did the trick. Once she gets the hang of it you can try without it and see how she does. Also, my son decided that at 4 months he did not want the breast anymore so I pumped exclusively until he was @ 11 1/2 months. I would pump as often as he ate, just like he was still on the breast that way you will produce enough milk. Hope this helps!

Hi P.,

My daughter is 5 weeks old and I've been pumping exclusively for the last week and a half. Breastfeeding was VERY painful for me, and therefore very stressful, so I decided to give myself a break for awhile. I produce 2 1/2 to 3 oz. each time I pump (every couple of hours). I would like to produce more so I don't have to pump so much. I've heard the best thing to do to increase your supply is to drink a lot of water. On the days when I actually manage to do this, I do notice a difference. My pediatrician also mentioned that some natural teas have an herb called Fenugreek which may increase milk supply. Hope this info. helps!

I think the rule of thumb is that if they are gaining weight and don't seem to be fussy (or asking for more milk) don't worry about it. It's easier for a baby to suck a bottle (as you know). I pumped a lot with my first child and she lost interest in the breast around 11 months. If you have the energy to try at least once a day to breast feed him, it might be worth the extra effort as the effort required is good little ones. If not, don't beat yourself up.... Moms are great at that and it really is useless!

I think it is better to pump then you can be sure of how much she is drinking.

Hi P., My suggestion is to just pump as much as possible. My pediatrician gave me a feeding chart that said a baby between birth and four months should be getting 4 to 6 ounces every few hours. Just keep at it and know we're all behind you.
All the best,
H.

Hi P.
Let me start and tell you my son was 9 weeks early and had to stay in the hospital for the first 35 days.(This was the hardest thing to leave him in the hospital and go home with out him)But on the brighter side of life i pumped my milk for 13 months for him. I was pumping every 2 hours with out fail.I must say that I did produce alot of milk this way I even donated 3 shopping bags filled to a hospital in Maryland. I felt the same way I liked to know how much he was eating and he didnt mind the bottle at all.Im now pregnant again with only 6 weeks to go. I'm having a girl this time and i'm going to try to put her to my breast but if I do feel uncomtrable I will pump all over again, because it is the best thing for then and its free how do you go wrong..lol..
Well i wish you good pumping
J. form Connecticut

Hi P.,
This is my first day on mammasource and your question really hit home. My son was born with a heart defect and had surgery right after birth. As hard as we tried he would never latch on, I ended up pumping exclusively. The big thing is to pump as much as you can! Just keep freezing the extra, it is such a piece of mind to have lots stored up. Also, it really is supply and demand. The more you pump the more you have!!
Good Luck!

Hi
I'm a mother of three (Ages 5, 3 and 1) and I pumped exclusively for my first two after a month or so. I ended up pumping every two hours just to make sure I had enough milk. The more you pump, the more milk you will create. It was very time consuming ...I felt as if I was always pumping. I even woke up in the middle of the night to pump. Even though it was time consuming, my children all did really well and gained weight very quickly, and I did feel better that I knew how much they were drinking, even though everyone tells you that it doesn't matter that you know the amount. Good luck and hang in there! What I've learned is that whatever decision you make because it works for your own personal needs, your children will be fine...you need to do what is best for you.

I had the same trouble with my son and switched to pumping exclusively after about a month. I would pump every 2-3 hours in the beginning, moving to every 3 hours after the first 2 or 3 months. I never made enough milk, which was my problem from the beginning (I had a c-section and my milk didn't come in for 10 days, then we had trouble latching...etc), but we would supplement with formula fortified with iron, DHA, etc. Make sure you only give her the expressed milk first though, because any left over is usually wasted if you combine the two in one bottle.

In then end, that's what worked for us and we now have a beautiful, healthy and brilliant, toddler. Good luck!

your milk supply will increase on demand, meaning the more you pump (or try to pump) the more milk your body will produce. so keep at it! you are doing a wonderful thing for your baby!

Hi P.,
I didn't pump exclusively, but there is nothing wrong with doing it. As long as your breasts are getting the stimulation to make the milk you are golden. Sounds like you are doing a great job. Your daughter will let you know how much she wants and listen to her cues. Best of luck!
T. (mom of a 2 1/1 yr old son and 10 mos old daughter. I'm 36 and work part time.

I pumped exclusively with my first--she was a preemie and never latched. I used a hospital grade pump--I felt it was more efficient--and I drank Mother's Milk tea everyday. I got the tea from the health food store but I've seen it in the grocery store. I also took the herbal supplement fenugreek. All these had been suggested by my lactation consultant. Hope it helps.

Hi. I have five month old twins and I had to pump exclusively with them. In the beginning I worked up a store of milk for them so that as they grew I could keep up, I pumped every time they ate. They soon caught up with me and at three months I was no longer able to keep up and we had to stop. It was difficult to increase milk production because it would have meant pumping so often to keep milk production up. I was happy to be able to "breast feed" them for as long as we did.

.. well i have ben in youre situation.. my son was born 6 weeks premature and had to stay in the nicu for 3 weeks.. durning that time assuming i was able to get to the hospital everyday i was only able to breast feed once a day... so iwas pumping..the lactation specialist i had told me i should pump every 2 hours for 20 mins on each side (it helps to have a double sided pump).. and said i could have one 6 hour break at night. but no longer than that as it will decrease youre supply from not pumping regularly. unfortuantly for me while my son was away from me for so long my body recognized there was no baby. ( no crying stuf like that) and stopped producing milk.. but wheni ddi get to do it for the 3 weeks it worked wonderfully.. i much preffered it to breast feeding for the same reasons as you.. knowing how much he was getting and how he was gaining.... he was 4 lbs 8 oz when he was born and left the hospital at 5 lbs 8 oz.. not a big gain BUT.. he was a preemie and was usuing alot of the calories to maintain his temp.. now he is doing great. My son is now 3 1/2 months ( but techinicall timelin he is about 8 weeks) and i also have a 15 month old daughter.. the only hard thing about the pumping was getting to do it with my daughter so interested in what i was doing!! if i could still pump i would.. i hope this helped you.. best of luck
R.

I pumped exclusively for my daughter from the 2nd month because she hated latching on! I got into the routine of emptying out both sides completely approx every 6 hours (about 30 min of pumping). I was lucky enough that once my body got used to that schedule, I could pump about 10-12 oz total per sitting (between both breasts) and feed her a fresh 6 oz bottle right after. ANd depending on the time of day, another 4 oz bottle between pumps. That way I didn't feel like I was constantly spending my time pumping and then feeding her. To boot, this also usually gave me an extra bottle or so to store/freeze for later use or when she was with grandparents or when dad sat with her while I ran errands. Good luck!

Hi P.,

I've been exclusively pumping since my daughter was about ten weeks old. I struggled with her latch during almost all of my maternity leave! I went to BF support groups and various lactation consultants, but nothing ever helped. So, I decide to enjoy the last two weeks at home with her and exclusively pump.

Since my daughter wasn't taking much at the breast, my supply went way down. It took some time and effort to get it back up. I actually ended up taking reglan, along with fenugreek, oatmeal, mother's milk tea, etc. Finally, though, I was producing more than enough to satisfy her.

EPing is a huge commitment (as I'm sure you have already realized). It's so time consuming and you are tied to the pump. It's not like a nursing mom who can BF anywhere and anytime, sure there are portable pumps, but you can't pump in public.

When I was trying to build up my supply, I pumped 9-10 times a day. Once that was established, I could pump 6-7 times a day and still get enough, just not a lot of extra to freeze. Now that my daughter is 6 months, I decided to only pump every 5 hour or so, that's 4-5 sessions a day. Today is actually the first day that I've had to send her to daycare with a little bit of formula in each bottle! I'm about six ounces short.

Anyway, feel free to email me. I'd be glad to share any of the experience I've had if you want to know more. My email is ____@____.com, one more thing. My daughter never had trouble gaining weight. If she was hungry, I always fed her -- either expressed breast milk or formula. I think that's the most important thing, of course. Best wishes!

I exclusively pumped for both my second and third child due to latch on issues. The best way to gauge if they are getting enough milk is how they weigh in at the pediatricians. Whereas you are just starting out and the baby is young, I would pump as much as possible to get more than necessary milk supply going. You can always slow down after you know she is gaining well.Good luck.