For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

How did you come to that decision? Did you find it to be time consuming? What's was your pumping schedule? And how long did you pump and feed for?

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

Well Ds made the decision for me at 6 weeks- i introduced a bottle and I guess my flow wasn't as great. I didn't find it time consuming- I went back to work when he was 12 weeks and I pumped all the way to 11.5 months and then we went to whole milk

I also supplemented when necessary with formula but it was only on occasion

Eta schedule-
6am noon 4pm 10pm

Message edited 2/24/2013 11:32:31 AM.

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

I've been exclusively pumping since ds came home from the hospital. it's been almost 7 weeks and so far so good. im not a big fan of nursing and Iwanted to be able to have dh or others feed him if needed. so I opted to pump. I multitask and pump as I feed ds. I pump and feed him at 6am, 930 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, 730 pm and 1130 pm. after pumping/feeding ds I wash everything which takes about 5-10 minutes. the only difficulties are ds's milk protein allergy so my diet is totally different and dd who is 17 months. although when I pump/feed the baby, I bring her into my room and feed her or give her a snack in her booster. to help save time, I have more than one set of.attachments for my pump. as one set is drying, I keep another by my pump ready to go. a hands free pumping bra is a must as well. hth

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

I pumped for 6 weeks. Dd never latched. It sucked and my supply was shit. Had to supplement with formula and then she was diagnosed with reflux and a milk protein allergy. So I stopped. It was really tough. I wanted to breast feed soooooo bad. I felt like a failure. But I know every little bit was able to give her was beneficial. I don't regret it at all. But it was hard work being a slave to the pump!

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

I'm still pumping for my preemie twins 17 months later. I started at 8 times a day when they were in the Nicu. It is very time consuming, but worth the health benefits IMO. A hands free bra (simple wishes is a great brand). A nursing cover and lots of extra pump kits is what i recommend. i learned how to do just about everything while pumping. Having a hospital grade pump was essential for me as well.

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

Posted by MaZz

Posted by VTTG0609

How did you come to that decision? Did you find it to be time consuming? What's was your pumping schedule? And how long did you pump and feed for?

Dd had a very difficult time staying latched on because she has a tongue tie... So EPing was the only thing I could do to get her the BM... VERY TIME CONSUMING... It seems like a piece of cake in the beginning... It's not... It will wear on you very fast... More power to ya if you can last a long time but after 3 months of EPing and my milk supply going down,I felt so relieved the day I finally decided to stop.

I tried to pump every time dd had a bottle... So yeah, in the beginning, this is like 8x a day... So I'd feed her, put her down, then go pump for 20 mins... Rinse all parts, transfer to bottles/bags. By the time I was done, it felt like I had to do it all over again...

Would I do it all over again... Yes, if I had to... My dd getting the BM was very important to me... I literally cried the day that I had to finally give her formula (not because its bad, but because I felt like I failed) but I was happy to be able to give her 3 months worth and I did the best I could.

Feel free to FM me any questions!

Message edited 2/24/2013 3:41:00 PM.

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

I love nursing my twins but its incredibly time consuming bc they love to just hang out on my boob. I decided to pumpbc I was losing my mind.its been 3months. I pump 6x a day and i, too, have a love hate relationship but for us, the less formula they get, the better they feel (tummy wise). There's a great fb group for epers, fm if you want me to add.

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

So this is my third time having a baby in the NICU and having to pump. Every time it's the same story I pump, they get a bottle, they come home I try and nurse and either they have nipples confusion OR they latch but my supply is overobbundand and baby has tummy issues due to lack of hind milk.
This time Im just not sure what I want, I have a sleepy baby who can nurse great and can also be super lazy. I have 2 other kids that need my attention and nursing for 45 mins a time because I'm trying to keep him awake is frustrating for me and my kids.
I'm leaking through my pads, bras and shirt every night:
On the other hand I hate to pump but I'm not sure if bottle feeding would be better for everyone.
Just was hoping others experiences would help me decide.

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

Dd2 was in the NICU too and when she came home, I had tons of extra milk. Once we started getting BF going and I put the pump away, my supply leveled out. Have you called an LC to help? Maybe an LLL meeting? Go to LIBreastfeeding.com for rec's. Breastmilk is so good for babies, and BFing is so much easier than EPing, esp when you have other children. Hang in there mama!

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

Re: For those that exclusively pumped I have some questions

It took a week or two for me. I was actually spraying milk everywhere for awhile, which my 2 yr old found hilarious. But it did level out and it will for you too!