Nursing SAHM... How Often Do You Pump?

I never pumped for the 3 years I breast fed. If for some reason I wasnt going to be around for a feeding I would have the person watching my child just give a bottle of formula. Much easier. Pumping seemed lame to me and totally unnecessary if you are a stay at home mother.

I actually pumped all the time. I enjoyed having a huge stash in the freezer. I never worried about going out unexpectedly or if I needed a nap on the weekend. My husband also couldn't use the whole "well you breastfeed" number on me with 90 some ounces in the freezer. I stopped pumping at about 9 months because I just got annoyed by then.

I pumped periodically (abt 4oz every few weeks), just so there would be something in the freezer for a "what if" moment. "What if" my husband miraculously heard the baby in the night and got up before I did to feed him??? "What if" the baby woke early from him nap while grandma was with him and he was hungry - of course he always took an enxtra long nap with her, and extra short for me! So, I ended up throwing away a bunch of milk. With my second baby, I only pumped enough to make cereal a few times, she refused a bottle, and mostly refused baby food too. So pumping was kind of a moot point in our house!

Hate the pump, so I never pump.

I['m not a SAHM (unfortunately), but if I was I would see not many reasons to pump. The only reason I pumped was to plan to go back to work three days a week. When I was with my children, I always breastfed exclusively so if I didn't need to be away from them I would've never needed to pump. For you, maybe having a little on hand would be helpful in case you get some time to yourself for a few hours it could be enough for a feeding. But other than that, I wouldn't see a need.

I don't see any reason why you'd need to, if you dont mind breastfeeding while you're out. Having a few for emergencies is good, but there's no reason to confuse your body by doing it if you dont need to.

With my first just at the beginning for relief. With my second for two weeks while she stayed in the NiCu and not once after she came home. With both of my kids I ended up with alot of milk that got thrown away since it was easier for me to nurse. I eventually left them for a little bit after they were on baby food and water/juice in a sippy cup.

I only pumped over the first few months and even then sparingly, I hate pumping! I had a good stash in the freezer until a couple months ago when it reached its limit and I had to throw it all away-now that was depressing!
I never used it for cereal. . .I didn't give my son rice cereal but started with pureed veggeis at 8 months. He's now 14 months and still BFing but also drinking milk from a sippy and eating everything we eat.

Rarely, at least for our needs. With my second son, I pumped daily to donate to our local milk bank, but I don't think he ever ate more than a dozen ounces of what I'd pumped.

I too pumped a lot with my first. I used bottles of my milk when out. I then used as you did, my frozen milk in her cereal when i started her on cereal. But after having my son, I never pumped, I don't think even once. I did not start him on cereal like my daughter, I started him on fruits, and at almmost 5 months old and at 6 months old was giving him some table fruit like bananas, pears, peaches, things that were soft, and by about 9 months he was eating everything we were. It was amazing since with my daughter I followed the traditional cereal first, then veggies and then fruit but only baby food, puffs and things like that and she never took to eating, it was not until after her 2nd birthday that began eating solids. I bf her till she was 4 since she just didn't eat enough. I thought my son was going to wean before her, but I finally had to forcefully wean her cause I think she never would have stopped. she is a super picky eater, and hates to try new things, and my son loves to try new things and is 3 now and eats anything. I truly believe their preferences are due to how I fed them as infants. My daughter did not get as much exposure because I introduced things slowly and sh has tons of allergies, and my son has no allergies at all to food or anything, and loves to try new things. The allergist also recommended that food protocol for my son to try to eliminate him getting allergies like my daughter and it worked. Now my daughter is beginning to try a few things only because me and my son eat them, but she is almost 6 and still won't eat the food, usually it is a success if I can get her lick something. Anyway, the point of all that is that I don't think you need to pump at all, and you don't have to start with cereal, my son never had baby cereal, and I have to say he is healthy eater, unlike my daughter.

Hi,
I'm so glad you asked this question because some of the responses show me that I'm not the only SAHM who enjoys breastfeeding but hates pumping. I breastfed my first son for a year and he never took a bottle so I saw no point to pump. And my current baby is 9 months old and also refused bottles as soon as he was smart enough to realize he had a choice. This time around I gave up the pumping thing much more quickly, but I also introduced the cup much sooner, knowing that it can be difficult to go a whole year being the child's only source of liquid. I just put formula in it, though. Now my 9 month old is a pro at drinking from a regular cup held to his lips and actually refuses breastmilk from the source unless he's really sleepy. But my baby won't nurse with any distractions either, so nursing in public isn't an option, and neither is nursing when his now 3 1/2 year old brother is around. I mention that just to point out that it's possible your baby won't always agree to nurse just anywhere after he gets more nosy around 6 months. But if he's used to it now, maybe he'll be fine with it. I'm a vote for no pumping unless absolutely necessary!
M.

I SAH and I never pump. I have 8 oz of milk in the freezer and I don't know why...my son won't take a bottle and is almost a year old..I have a 300.00 breast pump and I probably used it 5 times. My baby loves to nurse also. I just used water when I mixed cereal since I hated pumping and my son didn't mind he ate the cereal without a problem.

I am a SAHM and my daughter is exclusively breastfed, and is not a fan of the bottle. When she was first born, I pumped a ton (she was a preemie, in the hospital and not able to eat by mouth, and so I pumped around the clock for a couple of weeks). I got pretty burnt out on pumping, and wound up with a freezer full of milk that we never used, and that is now no longer good (she is almost six months old). Anyway, we just started cereal, and I just started working one night a week, and now I'm wishing I would have kept up with at least occasional pumping so that I had a little stockpile of milk. She gets cereal 2x a day, mixed with 1-2 ounces of bm, and that adds up. Add that to the 4-8 ounces that her dad gives her (or tries) while I am gone at work once a week, and we are needing about 30 ounces a week of expressed milk. I am feeling a little stressed about it because my supply is ok, but there doesn't seem to be much extra. Anyway, my point is if I were you in a month or so when you start thinking about starting cereal soon, I would start pumping now and then so you build up a supply and don't have to worry when the time comes that you need it. Good luck!

With my first i would pump at times, but now that I have another one I just can't seem to do it! I think I am going to start trying on the weekends when my husband is home to occupy the toddler!

I work from home and nursed my daughter, but I liked a good supply in the freezer for Grandma days, outings, etc. I started pumping right after she was born-after her morning nurse and after her lunchtime nurse just for comfort since she didn't empty me. She slept from 12:30-6:30 starting at birth also, so about a week after she was born, I started pumping after her last night nurse too. That way I wasn't waking up engorged before the baby woke. Good luck!

I "escape" on Friday nights to scrapbook and that was the only time I pumped. However, my 10 1/2 month old is self weaning and won't nurse but a couple of times a day (usually before bedtime and in the middle of the night), so I have to pump once or twice a day now to give her the milk in a sippy cup.

Don't pump if you don't want to, but KEEP the pump until you are completely done nursing. You never know when you will need it!

I would do it right after the morning feeded. That is when most women have the most milk in their system. I used to get 10-12 ounces at that pumping and gradually less throughout the day. If you do that each morning, or even 2 or 3 mornings a week, you'll be in great shape.