breastfeeding/pumping advice

I am about 2 weeks from my due date and have been doing a lot of
reading lately. I plan on breastfeeding for at least the first 3
months but want to also give BM in a bottle so my husband can play a
role in feeding. I have yet to find info on when to pump to "stock
up". Do I do it after the baby feeds? In between feedings?

jo'neal writes:
: I am about 2 weeks from my due date and have been doing a lot of
: reading lately. I plan on breastfeeding for at least the first 3
: months but want to also give BM in a bottle so my husband can play a
: role in feeding. I have yet to find info on when to pump to "stock
: up". Do I do it after the baby feeds? In between feedings?

First, let me say that you should delay giving the bottle until bf
is well established. This can be anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks depending
on the kid. Now, that said, there are a lot of different pumping
options depdending on your goals. For example, if you are pumping to
be able to go out an evening or two a week, that is entirely different
from pumping because you are going back to work at 3 months and want
to have a stash for when you are away.

Also, the choice of the pump is of paramount importance. You should
avoid pumps made by formula manufacturers and related compainies, such
as Gerber or Evenflo. They are not designed to be both effective and
gentle.

If you are going to do heavy duty pumping, or if you just want to get
the the best available, the most popular are Medela Pump-In=-Style and
Ameda Purely Yours. They run from $250 to $300 or so. If you feel
that your needs would be met by a single battery powered electric, then
the Medela Mini-electric costs from $80 to $100, I think. If you are
willing to learn to use a manual, the Avent Isis is very popular. I
think it is under $50.

That said, now I will offer some unsolicited advice.

1. Many new mother experiences problems with breastfeeding that can
be easily overcome with adequate support and advice, but which may
seem insurmountable otherwise. This newsgroup is one of the best
places our family has found to provide that kind of support. I
strongly encourage you to post your questions and and problems here.
There are many monthers (and a few dads :-) who are more than willing
to be helpful. I would suggest just hanging out here for a while and
reading the postings.

2. You make a comment about your DH helping with the feeding. The
most important thing you can do at first is to get nursing established
successfully. Speaking as a dad myself, there are a LOT of things
he can do to make it easier for you. For example, for the first couple
of weeks, you should have to do nothing but hang out with the baby,
nurse, and cuddle. Your DH should be doing the cooking, housework,
errands, shopping, etc. You get the idea.

Finally, going back to you question of when to pump. If you goal is to
increase your supply as much as possible, then you should pump on both
sides immediatly after a feed. If you goal is to get as much milk as
possible, then you should pump first thing in the morning. Pumping on
one side as you feed on the other is particularly effective.

Hope this helps,
Larry

My baby is 7 weeks old (my how time flies) and I still don't have the
milk I had planned to pump, pumped... but, I did manage to find time to
pump enough for a feeding found a great tip - pump when your baby is
drinking from a bottle. Your breasts will be nice and full and will
likely let-down easily. You can pretty much get at least an ounce from
each breast. I use the Avent Isis manual pump. it works really well
for me... taking me about 20 minutes to get 4 ounces. If I were
planning on going back to work, I'd be getting an electric, double pump
(finances willing). The manual is fine for me, though.

Hope this helps!

"jo'neal" ) writes:
I am about 2 weeks from my due date and have been doing a lot of
reading lately. I plan on breastfeeding for at least the first 3
months but want to also give BM in a bottle so my husband can play a
role in feeding. I have yet to find info on when to pump to "stock
up". Do I do it after the baby feeds? In between feedings?

I hope you don't mind some "extra" suggestions;
of course, you'll figure out your own way of doing
things.

I had been planning to pump and never got around to learning.
I found it was easier to take the baby with me almost
everywhere than to go to the trouble
of pumping. YMMV. I think for most mothers,
pumping milk is more effort than nursing.

Feeding baby by bottle can make breastfeeding less
effective by teaching baby a different way of sucking.
After a baby sucks on a bottle, the baby may such
that way on the breast and cause sore nipples and
other problems. Some babies will refuse the bottle;
others will suddenly start refusing the breast
after having had a bottle. Some seem to go back and
forth with no trouble, but statistics show (if I
remember right) that babies who have had a bottle
wean at a younger age on average, so I take that as
a sign that the bottles did cause some problems
with breastfeeding.

If you husband feeds the baby expressed milk, you
can ask him to do it with a cup, spoon or eyedropper,
which won't teach baby the wrong type of sucking,
as a bottle would. Even a newborn can be fed from
a cup.

Alternatively: your husband can have a role in
feeding by bringing the baby to you when he cries,
burping the baby after a feeding, and maybe sitting
quietly with you while you nurse, bringing you a
glass of water, having a conversation with you while
you nurse if you feel like it, etc. (Some women
tend to prefer to sit quietly while nursing.)

Pumps usually don't get milk out as easily as
baby does. A woman's breasts can be full and ready
to give baby a big meal, but if she tries to pump
she might still only get a few drops. It takes
practice with the pump to learn to get much milk
out, and even then women usually have to use
tricks to get much milk.

To get some milk out with the pump: it's easier
to do when your breasts are full, that is, before
baby nurses. I think it helps to try to relax,
and to look at your baby and listen to your baby
while pumping. It takes practice. You might have
to pump several times to get enough for one
supplementary feeding. (That's one reason it can be easier
to just bring the baby almost everywhere.)

Of course... I should also say that my baby did not take to the bottle
very well at all. She makes a huge mess and it takes FOREVER. And, I
did notice her having more problems getting good suction on my breast
after bottle feeding. She only took a bottle 3 times, and the last was
time didn't end up working out. It was easier to just breastfeed, so I
have to agree with Catherine that it is just easier to take baby.
Besides that, I found that my husband was relieved when I finally said,
"Want me to take her?". He is just as happy as a lark to bring her to
me, help me get situated, get me water, etc... it was me who thought he
would want to feed her, so I pushed the issue a hair. Oopsie.

jo'neal wrote:
I am about 2 weeks from my due date and have been doing a lot of
reading lately. I plan on breastfeeding for at least the first 3
months but want to also give BM in a bottle so my husband can play a
role in feeding. I have yet to find info on when to pump to "stock
up". Do I do it after the baby feeds? In between feedings?

When pumping in addition to nursing, getting
1 oz. is average. When pumping in place of
nursing, 3 oz. is average. So, if your baby
nurses 3 oz. at a time, you would require 3
pumping sessions to get enough for one bottle
feeding.

To start a freezer stash, therefore, pump once
every day. Whatever amount you get, freeze
that. If you only get 1 oz., in one week you
will have 7 oz.

Pump whenever it works for you. It could be
first thing in the morning before baby wakes
up. It could be during an afternoon nap, or
last thing before you go to bed. If baby only
nurses one side and you are capable of juggling
the equipment, pump the other side while baby
nurses. (I am too clumsy to do this!) Pump
when it is *convenient* for you.

-- Anita --

wrote:

2. You make a comment about your DH helping with the feeding. The
most important thing you can do at first is to get nursing established
successfully. Speaking as a dad myself, there are a LOT of things
he can do to make it easier for you. For example, for the first couple
of weeks, you should have to do nothing but hang out with the baby,
nurse, and cuddle. Your DH should be doing the cooking, housework,
errands, shopping, etc. You get the idea.

I totally second this. People think it's oh-so-
important for father to be feeding the baby,
but that is not necessary, just an additional
task for the new mother to do (pumping) for
what I consider an indulgence. The father can
walk, rock, sing, change diapers, sponge bathe,
in effect, do EVERYTHING but the feeding. The
bonding will still occur. Mother is the one
who needs help getting nursing established.

My unsolicited advice: Most people have
forgotten, or never known, what is normal
for nursing. It is normal for a newborn to
be nursing nearly constantly. It does not
mean you do not have enough milk.

There are well-documented growth spurts at
1 weeks, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and
6 months. Plus mini-growth spurts in
between. At each of these growth spurts,
baby will nurse almost constantly (or more
than normal), and you will panic and think
you do not have enough milk. That also is
not true. Just trust your baby and trust
your body. Nurse when baby wants it, do
not schedule frequency or duration of the
nursings. Remember, trust your baby.

-- Anita --

As another view/experience to other advice you have recieved:

Ds gets a couple of bottles of ebm on Sundays at his grandparents. I
usually pump once Thursday night, Friday morning and Sat morning. Sadly
I am not a dairy fairy so it takes this long to get a feed, but now I
am in that routine it is no more just than a bore and worth it for the
time we get alone and ds and his grandparents get with each other.
Recently I have given too much milk so there has been enough left for
dp to feed him a bottle when we get home on Sundays. I am nice and full
so can pump 120-140ml ready for the next week. I have been doing this
for 6 months and it has caused no problems with his bf'ing. In fact, it
has helped with his current awful cold as this morning he just refused
to nurse but was hungry so I pumped and fed a bottle - worked a treat.
Due to bf'ing problems in the first two weeks he had a bottle or two
then and again this caused no problems. I even used nipple sheilds for
a couple of nights, and whilst he wasn't keen he did feed (a better
alternative to the formula we had used for a night) and happily fed
from the bottle and the other breast. I know people who have left later
than 4-6 weeks and when after a few months they realise they want some
time to themselves or their baby has to go to nursery (and they can't
pump so have to go to formula) they have trouble getting them to take
the bottle.

Jeni

jo'neal wrote:

I am about 2 weeks from my due date and have been doing a lot of
reading lately. I plan on breastfeeding for at least the first 3
months but want to also give BM in a bottle so my husband can play a
role in feeding. I have yet to find info on when to pump to "stock
up". Do I do it after the baby feeds? In between feedings?

You'll get more milk if you pump in between feedings, because more will
have collected. Some women pump on one side while feeding on the
other, which can be awkward but can work well in the first few months
when the flow is good.

From my experience, I'd say that all plans go out of the window with a
newborn and the best time to pump ends up being whenever you can fit it
in. ;-) So just pump as and when you can. If you don't get much at
one time, you can put the pump, milk and all, in the fridge and just
take it out later to pump more until you have enough collected to
store.


All the best,

Sarah

wrote:

First, let me say that you should delay giving the bottle until bf
is well established. This can be anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks depending
on the kid.

8 weeks can be too late - a lot of people find that leaving it over 6
weeks means that the baby just won't take a bottle. The recommended
time to introduce a bottle is between 4 and 6 weeks.


All the best,

Sarah