A new pumping mommy! What an adventure I wasn't prepared for and new found hobby that was forced upon me (kind of)
Hi to all the mom's here and so happy to find this group.
My name is Diana. I am a new mom of a baby girl. I also have a 10 year old son (yes, big age difference).
I am also a part of the breastfeeding only group but I don't get as much support there. I joined that group thinking I would be an EBF mom, but things changed and I am now an exclusively pumping mom and proud of it!!
The journey hasn't been easy so far..but it is getting easier every single day. I was not prepared at all for this adventure. I bought the breastpump in my third trimester just in case I needed it, but didn't realize it would soon become my companion. Other than buying the pump, I did not prepare myself at all for the mental, emotional challenge of pumping. I can now say, I have a new hobby. It is breastpumping!!
I am currently taking Fenugreek, drinking tons of water and I also massage my breasts while pumping in attempts to get more milk out. I pump every 21/2 hours roughly, and get maybe 1.5-2 ounces each session from BOTH breasts. In the morning, with first pump, I get an amazing 4-5 ounces! but this only happens once a day at this time. I think because I don't pump all night and it builds up.
It is pretty discouraging to only be getting 1.5-2 ounces each session all day. It makes me want to just give up and give in to formula. But something inside of me just won't let that happen. I am determined to keep going. Even if it means complaining every step of the way and smelling like maple syrup from the Fenugreek and using the bathroom every 30 minutes from all the water drinking. Not to mention the time-consuming pumping every 2 1/2 hours.
My goal is to stick to the schedule as much as possible and to also start pumping in the middle of the night.
I will hang in there and keep going for my daughter.
Thank you for reading my long, boring post. :) Have a wonderful day!
First time mom of a beautiful new baby girl !
It is alot of work. Why can't we just be designed to pump out like 8 ounces a session! lol..oh well, I will prevail!
Quoting ceckyl:
The pumping output you are getting is actually a normal amount. Just an example of why ep takes like 100x the work.
First time mom of a beautiful new baby girl !
I started pumping about a week after Norah was born. It is getting easier but still discouraging at times. I mostly need to work on pumping in the middle of the night. I am afraid my supply will dry up if I don't get into that habit. Don't know how true that is but that's what I heard can happen.
Quoting Shaylynn3:
Congrats on ur baby. I have a 6 wk old daughter :) how long has it been since u started pumping? With my son and with my baby girl, it took a few days to about a week or so to get a decent amount of milk. don't be discouraged it will get better. I EP'd for a whole yr with my son and I am determined to do the same for my baby girl and it takes A LOT of work, but don't quit.....it will get better
First time mom of a beautiful new baby girl !
Thank you. Good idea and I will start tonight.
Quoting Shaylynn3:
It will get easier, when you are able to drop pumps. But I highly suggest u get at least one pump session in the middle of the night. That is when u make the most milk ( between 12 and 5 am). I usually get mine I when the baby wakes up......the hubby will feed the little one while I pump. So I get at least one middle of the night session
First time mom of a beautiful new baby girl !
How old is your little one and why did you end up pumping instead of BFing? Just curious. I BFed for 3 months and then switched to EPing after I went back to work. Looking back I wish I had continued to BF at least during the morning and the night feeding to help with supply issues but overall I cannot complain. My DD will be 15 months soon and I am still pumping so it is possible. My dd drinks regular milk now so I could stop but I still think the breast milk is beneficial so I would like to continue to pump part time until at least 18 months.
She is 3 weeks old. I started pumping about a few days after I started BFing because of many many issues with breastfeeding and the nurse told me to stop nursing for a few days and start pumping due to trauma to nipples that she was shocked by. I literally could not take the pain of nursing. Also, my girl had a mild case of thrush and tongue tied and so this made things even worse. I started pumping as directed, and actually did put her back to breast after a week of pumping and her taking bottles. She never forgot the breast and she went right back to nursing...BUT then the problems started again. She couldn't latch right because I have huge breasts, and she is tongue tied. The pain started again and it was horrible! So, now I am pumping and waiting on my nipple shield to come in the mail so I can try nursing again and see how it works out with a shield. I felt super guilty for not being able to breastfeed successfully. I am getting over that and many people are tellling me that as long as she gets breastmilk it is all good. And there are so many benefits to pumping as far as travel goes and being able to leave her with family and get help with feedings. Pumping is time consuming but it evens out when you think about all the other things that it allows mom to do.
Quoting CourtneyCS:How old is your little one and why did you end up pumping instead of BFing? Just curious. I BFed for 3 months and then switched to EPing after I went back to work. Looking back I wish I had continued to BF at least during the morning and the night feeding to help with supply issues but overall I cannot complain. My DD will be 15 months soon and I am still pumping so it is possible. My dd drinks regular milk now so I could stop but I still think the breast milk is beneficial so I would like to continue to pump part time until at least 18 months.
First time mom of a beautiful new baby girl !
Oh yeah, you should add one pump in the middle of the night, but you can probably pump less often around the clock. i settled into a groove of 6x per 24-hr day, but i always pumped for about 40 mins a session. i had a *tremendous* output until i screwed around and dropped pump sessions. Everyone is unique, but my advice is to keep it as regular as you can to train your body to rely on these sessions, then maybe you can get to a schedule you can live with. (By the same token, if you train your body to get used to 10 sessions a day, that's what you'll have to stick with, most likely.)
Your supply will go up as you keep at it in these early months, so be religious about your schedule. By 6 months, your output probably won't go up anymore, no matter what you do—it only seems to have a tendency to go down, so hopefully you'll have a good system in place by then and won't suffer a decrease.
Best of luck! it's a pain, but you'll be so proud of yourself later. Really. Also, track your output if you're not already—it helps you set goals and keep you motivated, then at the end you can marvel at the totals. :)
Its funny how something so natural can be so difficult. I never had a real easy time either. I think for my next child I will try it again now that I know more than I did then but I have never found pumping to be that difficult. I have learned to not feel bad if I ever had to give formula either, its not worth stressing over not having enough milk. You have to remember that you are doing something great for your baby and that some babies are on all formula and they grow up just fine.
Also, get a hands fee pumping bra, best invention EVER!!
Quoting Due9:
She is 3 weeks old. I started pumping about a few days after I started BFing because of many many issues with breastfeeding and the nurse told me to stop nursing for a few days and start pumping due to trauma to nipples that she was shocked by. I literally could not take the pain of nursing. Also, my girl had a mild case of thrush and tongue tied and so this made things even worse. I started pumping as directed, and actually did put her back to breast after a week of pumping and her taking bottles. She never forgot the breast and she went right back to nursing...BUT then the problems started again. She couldn't latch right because I have huge breasts, and she is tongue tied. The pain started again and it was horrible! So, now I am pumping and waiting on my nipple shield to come in the mail so I can try nursing again and see how it works out with a shield. I felt super guilty for not being able to breastfeed successfully. I am getting over that and many people are tellling me that as long as she gets breastmilk it is all good. And there are so many benefits to pumping as far as travel goes and being able to leave her with family and get help with feedings. Pumping is time consuming but it evens out when you think about all the other things that it allows mom to do.
Quoting CourtneyCS:
How old is your little one and why did you end up pumping instead of BFing? Just curious. I BFed for 3 months and then switched to EPing after I went back to work. Looking back I wish I had continued to BF at least during the morning and the night feeding to help with supply issues but overall I cannot complain. My DD will be 15 months soon and I am still pumping so it is possible. My dd drinks regular milk now so I could stop but I still think the breast milk is beneficial so I would like to continue to pump part time until at least 18 months.
Meet Kelseyciarah
This Virginia mom never wanted to get married or have kids - but now she's a happy a SAHM of two little ones!
Trying to wake up to pump.. any suggestions?
- Due9
on Jan. 28, 2012 at 2:20 PM