Pumping only?

Nicole - posted on 06/20/2010

I would try to get to a Laleche meeting they will not judge and will be very helpful. I did not have alot of luck with pumping so good for you!

Leslie - posted on 06/19/2010

If you want your child to latch again, then I say go for it.

That being said, I exclusively pumped for 9 mos. It wasn't as bad as it seemed. I used bottles that would allow me to insert the bag, so I didn't have to wash bottles, only the nipples that I threw in the dishwasher. I did use Fenugreek and other methods to keep my milk production up, but when things finally were working good, I didn't have to stick to pumping sessions every 3 or so hours. At the end, I was pumping 4 times a day. I personally liked my husband being able to feed my daughter and so did he. I had plenty of milk to last until my daughter was a year old.

My daughters pediatrician was impressed that I was able to pump and encouraged me to do so as long as I wanted to.

Good luck with whatever you choose!!

Stefie - posted on 06/19/2010

I had to pump for the first six weeks for my oldest DD. I really wanted to nurse and kept trying at every feeding. It was really tough.
Eventually she caught on and we nursed until she was 14 months old and I was 2 months pregnant with my new DD.
The only thing I think would really be an issue is that you might quit earlier because pumping is hard work.
Other than that, I think you are doing great for your baby!

Briana - posted on 06/19/2010

I pumped only for the first 3 weeks. Then my supply started to drop. The suction from the pump is so much different than the suction from a baby. The way my LC put it, is that the pump doesn't get as much out. Therefore your body tells your breast to make less next time. And next time, it doesn't get as much out again. So your body then tells it to make less. And this just continues until you eventually dry up. Unless your pumping constantly (my LC said every 1-2 hours for at least half an hour per breast).

I would just work through the frustration. After 3 weeks of pumping, I cried thinking I might have to switch to formula because my son refused to latch. So, I sat in the most comfortable place for me (which was my bed), put on soft music, and just worked and worked with my son to latch. Now he's 3 months, and is refusing even a bottle of breast milk because he wants me instead!! It's a little frustrating that he won't take a bottle, but I absolutely LOVE that he wants Mommy more :) Makes me feel wonderful!

Sarah - posted on 06/19/2010

At 5 days old you do not need to give up on feeding from the breast if you do not want, that is very, very young! In fact, It sounds like exactly what my girl did when I was TOO engorged, have you tried pumping a little to make it easier for him to latch onto your breast? Try that, it worked for me when my daughter was a couple days old and started to not latch properly.



I would recommend calling the consultant back or EVEN BETTER check out your local La Leche League (http://www.llli.org/) and get advice from DOZENS of moms going through what you are!



You can feed him from solely pumping but you will be denying yourself a bonding experience and him a real comforting presence. Also once you switch over to a bottle you will be much less likely to continue pumping and more likely to switch to formula.



I would at least give it the 6 weeks you have and try to get in contact with some great support! GOOD LUCK whatever you choose!

Tracy - posted on 06/19/2010

I forgot to say to manually express milk prior,to,latching him so he doesn't have to work to get the milk to let down. Good luck.

Tracy - posted on 06/19/2010

If you want him to be on the breast, I would give him practice at every meal. Try nursing at the breast then switch to the bottle. I was told at the hospital that it might take some time for my daughter to get the hang of breast feeding because she was born 5 weeks early. They said her suck would be weak and that she would tire easily. I started each feed at the breast then bottle fed her my expressed milk then pumped. She caught on quicker than anyone thought she would and is now quite a good eater. As long as it's breast milk he's getting, it doesn't matter whether it comes direct from you or from a bottle.

Jennifer - posted on 06/18/2010

definitely try to get him back on the breast. nutritionally, they will get all the same benefits if you give him fresh milk from a bottle but pumping full time is A LOT of work.

my son is 7 months old, and i have been pumping full time for him because we also had seemingly endless amounts of trouble getting him to latch. pumping is easy in the beginning but as they get older it gets harder and harder. i pump for 15 minutes about every three hours and while that doesn't sound like a lot, it is a huge struggle to keep my son occupied while pumping, especially when my husband isn't home.

washing bottles, making sure you packed enough every time you leave the house, making sure you have enough ice packs to keep the milk for curdling, figuring out how long you will be away from the house and asking yourself "do i need to bring the pump with me?" now that it is summer, going on little trips is so much more of a hassle...will there be a place for me to pump? will there be a place for me to wash the pump parts? a couple weeks ago i pumped right there on the beach because i refused to be banished to the car AGAIN. and then there is the issue of keeping your milk supply up, which can be a struggle with pumps because they don't provide as much stimulation as a baby would. there have been a couple time when my supply dipped and i was pumping every hour for a week only to figure out that it wasn't working and i had to take supplements, and i had to give my son a bit of formula everyday because i wasn't keeping up with his demand.

ugh! it is a pain in the butt! i do it, and i will continue to do it until my son is, at the very least, a year old because i love him but in a heartbeat i would go back in time and work harder to get him to latch.

then, on top of that i work very hard at making sure my son and i still get as much bonding time as we would if i were nursing. i make sure i am the one feeding him (98%) of the time, when i give him his bottle i hold him tummy-to-tummy, and i also try to work in a good amount of skin-to-skin time.

i'm sorry this is so long but i am very passionate about it. i really wish i could go back to when my son was you little ones age so i could work harder to get him to latch.

i wish you luck, in whatever you decide. do what you think is the best for the both of you, and it will turn out all right

Rachel - posted on 06/18/2010

I used the same bottles I didnt find out about the beastflow bottles until he was about 4 mnths old. He had one of the worse cases of nipple confusion. I had blisters and I was so raw I was ready to throw in the towel and call it quits. then I treid the pumping thing for ahile, and my milk supply was quickly diminishing. I think the best thing you can do it get yourself to letdown alot ( i was able to do it just by talking about my baby) and try and latch him on when you already have milk coming ut. or express some into his mouth while trying to get him to latch. that helped me alot. Its really hard to beat nipple confusion. I dont know of anyone personally other than myself that did. I would just keep working at it. dont give up!!

Celeste - posted on 06/18/2010

OH yeah it really depends on the LC! One of my friends is an IBCLC and she is one of the most nonjudgmental people I know!

I hope you can get everything worked out!

Emma - posted on 06/18/2010

thank you all so much!

I was kind of worried about going to a lactation consultant because I thought they might be biased/pushy. It's not that I've had a bad enounter, just from what I've read regarding different options (like getting surgery if he's tounge tied and ditching my doc if he doesn't want to do the surgery).

I just want to give the best to my baby and if they can help then I'll be making an appointment asap!

Emily - posted on 06/18/2010

I would work on getting him on the breast as much as possible. It seems doable now, but your baby is only 5 days old. :) Right now he probably sleeps a lot of the time, so it's easy to pump.



However, once he gets older and more interested in the world around him, you will probably find it is harder and harder to get those pumping sessions in. In addition, pumping exclusively ends up being double the work of simply nursing, because not only do you have to spend the time pumping, but then you have to feed that bottle. Doesn't seem that time-consuming at 5 days old, but after weeks and weeks of pumping/feeding around the clock, it gets old.



In addition, pumps are just not as good as babies at getting the milk out. In the beginning, most moms have an oversupply, so it's easy to pump out a large amount. However, your body soon adjusts and you will probably find it harder and harder to pump out the amount your baby needs (plus your baby will require larger amounts of milk as time goes on). So you may find you'll actually have to pump more often to get the same amount, or you'll end up having to supplement because you don't have enough. Whereas if you're just nursing, your baby will ensure that you have enough milk because babies are better at it than pumps.



You are still so early on here.. don't give up on latching yet. It may take some time, but be diligent. You will be so thankful in the long run if you can get your baby to latch and nurse.. it is loads easier than pumping. (And I know because I had to pump exclusively for about a month due to my daughter being premature. Have been there, done that, and nursing is sooooo much easier than pumping!) And it will be very helpful as well when you go back to work, because by nursing when you're home, that will help your milk supply much better than the pumping you'll have to do at work.



Have you tried a nipple shield? I had to use one for several weeks to help my daughter latch, and then she was able to nurse without it. Also I would stay in contact with your lactation consultant or seek some help from La Leche League.

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 06/18/2010

I agree that it's much easier to feed straight from the breast. It sounds like your baby might have nipple confusion. He gets an instant reward from the bottle so he prefers that. You could try pumping just enough to get a letdown and then see if he'll latch. Offering the breast frequently before he's really hungry also helps with frustration while waiting for a letdown. It's completely up to you.

Celeste - posted on 06/18/2010

It's totally up to you and it is doable.

But, IMO, I'd try to get him back to the breast. You still have plenty of time, he's only 5 days old. One of my boys (I have twins) didn't latch for 6 weeks so I pumped every day, every 2 to 3 hours, without fail. It was a huge pain for me and once he latched it was so much better.

Again, it's up to you and I think moms who pump are awesome. I know it takes a lot of work and dedication!