Question about Breastfeeding and breast pump

Hi sorry to be crashing but I thought the parenting board would be the best place to ask this question.

I'm planning on breastfeeding my LO and I was thinking about holding off on buying a breast pump until I know I can breastfeed. lets say I can and I wanted to buy a pump, how far in advance should I buy one so I can have a good supply to store and freeze so DH can feed her when I return back to work?

I hope that question made sense.

TIA

Re: Question about Breastfeeding and breast pump

I had my pump before my DD was born and finally broke it out to use around week 4. Prior to that, DH ran out and got me a manual pump for the first few days as DD had a really hard time latching on when we got home from the hospital.

I'd say have the pump in the house ready if you need it and if not, you can always return it as long as its not opened....

Question about Breastfeeding and breast pump

I thought that breast pumps were non returnable item... TY! I never knew that

Question about Breastfeeding and breast pump

I did what PP did. As long as it's not opened you can return

Re: Question about Breastfeeding and breast pump

I didn't get mine until 2 weeks PP and didn't use it until about 4 weeks. I was so busy nursing her, holding her, and trying to sleep myself, that there was no time to pump! In the beginning, you might be nursing your LO 10 times a day and that doesn't leave you much time to pump at all.

As for a stash for when you return to work... how old will LO be when you go back? I went back when DD was 6m. By that point, DD was only taking 2 bottles during the day while I was out. When I started back to work, I had about 30 oz. in the fridge - maybe 3 days' worth. I never had more "extra" than that. I pumped twice I day while I was at work, and she fed twice a day, so I didn't really need much of a stash. If my "extra" supply started getting low, I'd pump on the weekend and get some more oz. to throw in there. So my advice would be to not worry about making a reserve stash at all.

Message edited 8/13/2012 5:36:44 PM.

Re: Question about Breastfeeding and breast pump

Question about Breastfeeding and breast pump

Thank you so much for your replies, LO will be about 2 months old when I go back to work

Question about Breastfeeding and breast pump

Keep in mind you want DC to get mostly fresh milk. I would definitely want to have the first few days worth in the freezer, but once you get into your routine you'll want to give DC freshly pumped milk (from the days before).

Re: Question about Breastfeeding and breast pump

I initially rented one from the hospital for a few weeks and kept the pump that I purchased in its unopened box. When I decided that BFing was for me, I returned the hospital rented pump and opened the one I had purchased.