A breast pump adventure: I pumped exclusively for 8 months.

[JDBracho]

Yes, It is true I exclusively pumped for 8 months with my first child, Garret.  It wasn't planned, and I think the only reason I got through it was out of sheer stubbornness.  I had planned to nurse my baby.  I had practiced the different holds, read two breastfeeding books.  I selected a breast pump with the only criteria of electric/battery powered and a dual pump.  I wish I had taken the time to research, little did I know I would actually have to use the pump. 

In the hospital I tried to nurse within an hour of Garrets birth.  I was quite aggravated with all of the people telling me how to do it, and with the blood pressure cuff going off what seemed like every 5 minutes.  Maybe my irritability had something to do with not sleeping for 48 hours.  I could not get my baby to latch.  My nipples were not inverted, but they did not stand out very far.  So, I was introduced to the monster Medela pump that sounded like a generator.  I managed to get out a tiny bit of liquid gold for my baby; I think I shed more tears than I got out with the pump. I fed this to Garret using a dropper but he hardly seemed satisfied.   This was not my idea of bonding with my newborn.  The next step was the introduction to the nipple shield. A giant plastic thing that goes over your nipple. Garret did not bond with it either.  I was horrified to be informed that one of the nursery trips that they gave my baby boy some evil formula. 

At home I tried numerous times to nurse, unsuccessfully.  Garret seemed to prefer plastic.  I felt like the unwanted paper bag, or the milk cow always on the pump.  I did finally learn to cope with the feelings of disappointment and failure.  On the brighter side of pumping, my family really enjoyed feeding and bonding with our little boy.  I think my husband benefited the most from being able to feed him.  I continued to supplement with formula until my milk supply was established.  I had to pump every 2 hours, 24 hours a day for a few weeks.  I continued to try for a latch daily.  I tried giving him some milk in a bottle and then sneaking him onto the breast.  Nope, that was not acceptable.  I tried squeezing milk into the nipple shield and latching him on then.  He would be ok with that until he sucked all the milk out, and had to actually work for it.  He would turn red faced mad.  I continued to attempt a latch until he was 3 months old, which was when I finally gave up and realized I was just going to pump.  I quit pumping when I was half way into the first trimester with Garrets little brother Ivan.   

My first pump was an Evenflow.  It never really felt like it had much power.  I would have to pump for 20 minutes to get my milk out.   This pump was horrible for sucking the milk back into the tubes and eventually into the motor.  The day it died on me was horrible.  My husband had gone back to work and we lived half an hour from anywhere.  An hour after it broke, I already called my husband and asked him to buy me a new one, I was totally engorged.   I eventually used a manual pump to get some relief.  Those manual pumps sure give your hands a work out.   The second pump my husband picked out and it had a bar with handles on it.  This one had a lot more power than the Evenflow, but it was hard to keep in place.   It also would backflow the milk into the motor.  It lasted a month.  It started loosing power.  I went to pick breast pump #3.   The first time I used it and the milk back flowed.  I packed it up and took it back to the store to get my money back.  At this point I was convinced that I just needed to spend more money, and that all of the less than $100 pumps were junk.  So I bit the bullet and bought the expensive Medela.  It was a piece of junk too, and it broke in one week.   At least the cheap ones lasted a month.  I also took that one back to the store and demanded my money back.  It was over $200.   I bought the same Evenflow POS that I started out with.   Three months into pumping, and I was on my 5^th pump.  At this point I started researching on the Internet.  I finally found a pump that from my engineering background seemed to make sense.  They actually put a replaceable filter in the line before the motor.   How amazing!  It is a Nurture III, and the delivery could not get to me fast enough.  This pump had a very interesting feature that I learned to love; you control the suction duration with your finger over a hole.  That turned out to be my favorite feature, other than the fact that it never back flowed the milk.  I used it the remainder of my pumping days for Garret, and the only time I had to replace the filter was when I was careless and knocked over the milk bottle and it spilled into the hose/filter.  This pump was hands down the best one I used.  I am still using it 4 years later.  Thank god my other two children latched on and I only pump when I am engorged or have a clogged duct. 

Pumping for so long was not easy, and to this day I dread it when I have to pump.  I am glad I stick with it and that I could provide my baby boy with breast milk.  I have really come to appreciate the ability and the convenience of nursing my other two children. 

[annebeckett]

Sep. 20, 2008 at 8:11 PM

I breastfed my daughter, Zoe, for seventeen months and only gave it up because I was pregs with my boy, Ari.. and was having early contractions.  When Ari was born, I thought it would be the same.  wel, it wasn't.  He was born with his tongue fused (partly) to the bottom palate, so nursing was very difficult.  Yes, he did nurse, some, but the bottle was much easier for him.  So, I pumped.  Finally, we realised the problem Ari had (when we noticed that consonants were very difficult for him) and had his little tongue released. 

After that, he nursed and he ended up nursing for three YEARS!  In the end, it was certainly a comfort thing, and now (he's 22, almost 23), he is a very independent and caring person.  I attribute a lot of this to his nursing. 

I guess I am saying;  GOOD for you.  After Ari was able to nurse, i did still have to pump--- since I worked and my  dh stayed at home with the kids.  It meant i had to pump every  day at work and put the milk in the fridge there (some people didn't like that and i worked for an OB  so it should have been a totally natural thing), Oh well,  

Again;  good for you!  I enjoyed your post!

[Julie1972]

Sep. 21, 2008 at 11:13 AM

All your pump research benefitted me greatly.  I wouldn't have gotten through exclusively pumping without your advice & support!  I am sooooo glad my pump is in the closet gathering dust now.  I think the next hurdle for us will be teeth...I hope he doesn't turn out to be a biter....