exclusively pumping breastmilk

i have been exclusively pumping and bottle feeding breast milk for my 6 week old since she was 4 days old. i'm just curious as to how others have done this. on a schedule?? when to drop pumps?? how much (per pump- double pumping) do you pump??
just looking for some info && advice! i was pumping a lot more, but slowed down during our fam vacation, and i feel like i can't get my oz back up!

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

I exclusively pumped for 8 weeks.... I just started weaning off.... I did great and had a ton of supply, but at one point I did start to see a decrease my supply... So what I did that I didnt know was to pump at every feeding... either before or after.... I also drank a beer the night before...(just once when my supply wa slow) the next morning I pumped 5 1/2 oz from each side.,.... I also ate oatmeal ebery morning and drank lots of water! Good Luck... FM me is you have any other questions.

Message edited 7/24/2009 6:45:57 AM.

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

It takes 12 weeks for your milk supply to establish . The easiest way to pump and maintain your supply is to pump every time the baby eats. After 2 weeks you can try dropping pumps SLOWLY and see what happens.

Did you have problems nursing? Or were you planning on exclusively pumping? I ask because I know how hard and tiresome exclusively pumping is and wanted to let you know my daughter didn't latch until 7W 5D. If you want some suggestions on trying to get her to the breast FM me. The older babies get and more they develop the easier it is for them to learn to BF. You can still get her to latch if that is somethign you want!

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

When you guys say pump at every feeding, do you mean

try baby on breast and then pump? (and feed baby previous BM pumped)?

or just feed her previous BM pumped and pump after you bottle feed her that


is it bad to formula feed in between?

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

I pumped exclusively for 5 months. Mostly when DS was sleeping, bc it was tough to be hooked up to that machine and entertain him. I actually have the exersaucer next to the pump, and that helped alot.

I pumped 6 times a day. I also pumped more than I needed bc I established a freezer supply for when I returned to work. When I saw that I had enough for his daily bottles, and then bags for the freezer, I cut it down to five times a day. Then as I got closer to the end, I cut out another.

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

I exclusively pumped since DS was 4 days old also. I wished I'd tried harder with nursing but I didn't. Anyway, I pumped for 3 months. In the begining I pumped every 2 hours. I had a great supply. The last month I only pumped 2 times a day (first thing in the morning and before bed). Each time I got about 10-14 oz total.

I almost always gave DS a bottle of formula b/c I was never quite certain when I was going to stop pumping and I didn't want him to go from having exlusively BM to all formula. So, at least he was used to taking formula.

It's definitely tough pumpimg. It really helps if your DH is on board. DH was really supportive and helpful, especially in the beginning when I had to get up about 2 times at night to pump. He always made sure my pump was set up so all I had to do was go into the living room and pump. Also, using the breast pump wipes was helpful in the middle of the night to cut down on time spent washing. Once you get on a good routine it definitely becomes easier.

As for pumping during the day when no one was home, I always made sure DS was right next to me on his boppy lounger and had his pacifier handy. He also found it very entertaining just to wtch what I was doing and listen to me talk!

GL!

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

I exclusively pumped for about 8 months. For the first 12 weeks, I pumped every 3 hours (this includes nights) to build up my supply. After that, I started stretching out my pumping time. I went to every 4 hours and then 6 hours. If at any time my supply looked like it was dipping, then I went back to pumping an extra session and tried stretching out my pumping time again.

Make sure you're eating enough, drinking lots of water, and eating oatmeal. The more you pump, the more you can increase your supply!

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

I pumped for 8 months, it was the hardest thing I ever did. I was very lucky, I only pumped three times a day, 7 am, 5 pm and about 11 pm and I was able to feed my son and make a huge freezer stash. It did take about 10 weeks for my supply to stablise.

Good luck!!!

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

With DD I pumped exclusively from 8 wks to a year. In the beginning I was pumping every 3 hours, but then I guess around 4-5 months I was pumping about 4x a day. I probably went down to 3x a day around 8-9 months. I had a huge freezer supply though.

This time, (DS is 10 wks) I've been nursing & pumping & if I don't nurse him, I've been pumping 3x a day & have enough to feed him (although not stash).

Oatmeal definitely helps; as does lots of water & fenugreek too.

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

her last feeding before "bedtime" is usually around 9ish. can i supplement this feeding with formula?? does anyone else do this and how does it work?

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

did u find that baby slept longer with a formula bottle b4 bed?

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk

I have only exclusively pumped... i have always maintained some sort of schedule... i started cutting back every time i noticed an excess of bottles in the fridge which means i am massively ahead.... however once i got down to 4 pumps a day i saw my supply go down so i ended up going back upto 5 a day..

one thing that helped me was that i bought a second inexpensvie pump to keep in the car so that if i was out longer then expected i could pump

Re: exclusively pumping breastmilk