What is the best Breastfeeding and Pumping schedule?

Elaine - posted on 04/10/2012

I would like to know aswell, I am breastfeeding and she doesn't stop it's 10 mins on and then off and then on, I am so tired I am considering formula..

Rebekah - posted on 03/24/2012

Yes, nurse entirely on one side and then offer the other. In the beginning it will likely be closer to 10-20 minutes per side. If want to nurse on only one side and pump the other I would alternate the sides at each feeding: So pump L while feeding on R, then pump R and feed on L at the next feeding.

Celeste - posted on 03/18/2012

Welcome!!



A few things to keep in mind.

Breastfeeding needs to be on cue, as in watch for baby's hunger cues and feed accordingly. This is going to help supply as milk supply works on supply and demand. Bottles really need to be avoided for the first few weeks because this is important to establish milk supply. Some babies can start preferring the bottle. And as someone who had to deal with nipple preference, it is NOT easy to get them back to the breast.



I'd wait a couple of weeks to pump.



As far as dad bonding there are a multitude of other ways to bond besides bottle feeding. He can change diapers, hold baby, give baby a bath. Feeding was up to me but dad bonded with my kids in other ways.



Kellymom is a fantastic breastfeeding site that's based on facts. It's run by an IBCLC.

Here is a link to kellymom that will give you information:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/index....



Info on pumping:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index...

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/index....

Angela - posted on 03/28/2012

I started using a Playtex pump and it was a piece of crap and I got the medela and within 1 wk I dbled the amount of breast milk i was producing. And i feed my son on both sides and pump after both after he eats.

Chantelle - posted on 03/22/2012

Don't you feed from both sides like 5 mins on each at the beginning or is it better to do one at a time... like you said Janice pump on one feed on other?

Zoey - posted on 06/28/2013

Hi there.... :-) I was wondering if your tea was straight fenugreek. Or does it have other herbs in it like mothers milk?

Michele - posted on 03/28/2012

i pump in the AM before i feed my daughter. it means getting up an extra half hr early but lately i've been getting 7-8oz! drink fenugreek tea- it works!

Kelly - posted on 03/27/2012

I personally recomend the Medela pump with the 'let down' function. It simulates baby's light suckling for a couple minutes to signal your natural let down and lets you increase or decrease suction.



Kellz

Jennifer - posted on 03/25/2012

My son is 8 months old and I just switched from breastfeeding to pumping because he has some teeth now and he's been biting me. When I was breastfeeding still, he was down to a morning feed, a small mid-morning feed, a naptime feed, sometimes a late afternoon feed, and a bedtime feed. Now that I'm pumping and he's also eating solids for meals, I'm down to feeding him three times a day from a bottle (4 oz each time). I pump roughly every four to five hours and usually get anywhere from 3oz to 8oz (double pumping using a rental pump that's hospital grade) depending on the time of day and how long it's been since I pumped last. I also make sure I have at least one 4oz bottle's worth of milk to put in the freezer so that my son can be fed by my husband if I need to go out somewhere and will be away at feeding time.



If you start pumping when your baby is first born you're going to end up with WAY too much milk! Your body is supply and demand so if you're breastfeeding and pumping at the same time it's going to be a bad scene and you'll end up being very engorged and uncomfortable if you're not careful. If you want to introduce the bottle early on, I'd suggest pumping immediately before the feed you want your husband to do. And then he can feed your baby fresh milk from the bottle that you just pumped. That way you won't be producing any more than your baby is actually drinking.

Kelly - posted on 03/25/2012

I had the same wants for our son.. unfortunately our son wouldn't take to a bottle or a binky. Even though feeding him wasn't in my husbands forecast he bonded with him on a level I couldn't. My husband meerly walks into the room and my son has a grin from ear to ear and starts giggling.. Plan it out as well as you can..just as I did.. but be advised.. Your baby may have different plans so don't be crushed if it doesn't work. If your husband injects himself with the baby from day one they will bond and it will be as unique as yours.



God Bless,



Kellz

Chantelle - posted on 03/24/2012

Thanks Guys I feel so much better and I understand it now. My next post/question is about the right pump.

Janice - posted on 03/22/2012

Its always best to let your baby empty one breast at a time. Babies need to get the fattiest (hind milk) which comes at the end of a feed. I'm terrible at explaining this but if you look up fore milk and hind milk I'm sure you can find a good explanation of this :)

Janice - posted on 03/22/2012

I always like to pump on the opposite side while breastfeeding. In the beginning, your leaking anyways so might as well catch it. Just one more idea :)

Angela - posted on 03/21/2012

Chany! I am a bf working mom. My son is strictly bf when i am home but when i am work i have to pump. When my son was 2 wks old i started to pump for 10 min after he ate from me. This helped my milk supply come in and stay strong. Now, when i pump, i get between 4-6 oz . That is both breasts combined. I think if you can, pump for 10 min after the baby eats and drink lots and lots of water. I drink prob 5-6 32 oz bottles of water every day. This helps you keep hydrated, in turn helps your milk supply stay strong. One thing that no one told me with my first child is that if you only get 1-2 oz when pumping after the baby eats, its okay. Thats 1-2 oz extra for baby. Does that make sense? Good luck to you.

Sally - posted on 03/20/2012

Go to http://www.llli.org/webus.html.

You can find a La Leche League group that is local to you.

There will be women who are currently nursing (and some of them have done it for years and multiple children) and most of them will be happy to help you on the phone and in person. Some of them may be available 24/7 if questions arise in the middle of the night.

Good luck

Janine - posted on 03/19/2012

Hi Chany, I was thinking a bit more about your question and remembered reading about a pumping / BF schedule in Gina Ford's Contented Little Baby book. I didn't like the book's philosophy but the schedules may be of some use to you? Perhaps your library has a copy?



Good luck!

Celeste - posted on 03/19/2012

I agree with Rebekah but also, keep in mind that average output is 1/2 to 2 oz *total*. So your output is actually right on target.

Ashlee - posted on 03/19/2012

thankyou rebekah gray ,

i am going to try pumping every morning and see what happens.

thankyou i appreciate your help . :)

Rebekah - posted on 03/19/2012

Ashlee, the only way I know to increase the amount you're able to pump, is to fool your body into thinking you have a hungrier baby. The way I'm able to pump so much (3-4oz) is because my body thinks that my baby eats that much every morning. If you pump every single day, at the same time, (even after nothing is coming out) it will LIKELY signal to your body to produce more milk.



A good pump can help too. I have a Medela Swing single pump and it has worked great for me.

Ashlee - posted on 03/19/2012

why when i pump im lucky if i get half an ounce id like to be able to pump one bottle for a night feeding .

Janine - posted on 03/19/2012

Good luck with that!



I had the same intentions for Dad to bond but it didn't work out....



I fed on demand, then pumped any surplus in the morning for Dad to feed in the evening, then when Dad fed, I pumped again, so as to keep my milk supply up and add to the next morning batch.



This only happened a few times because I felt EXTREMELY uncomfortable with Dad feeding baby from a plastic nipple. It felt really unnatural to me (each to their own)! So we stopped, Dad took over fun playtime when he got back from work, will help out with solid feeds (but not clean up!!!), he does most bath times and can occasionally be persuaded to do a diaper change ;-)



I still don't like to pump and do it if I need to keep milk supply up e.g. while my LO is poorly.

Rebekah - posted on 03/18/2012

MY OPINION: Pumping sucks! Ha-ha literally. :) I currently breastfeed and then pump 1-2 times a day in order to give my 5 month old 1 bottle a day. What works for us is for me to pump in the morning after the 1st feeding of the day, and then pump again when I give a bottle. I tried offering my 1st child a bottle more frequently and my milk supply diminished entirely about 3 months after I started with a bottle.



So do keep in mind that your milk supply is dependent upon the demand. This means if you give your baby a bottle of milk and do not pump near that feeding, your supply can start to diminish. So what I do is pump while my son takes a bottle, or pump and then immediately give him a bottle. Another thing to also keep in mind, is that most women are unable to pump as much as their baby draws out. So what I have done is fooled my body into thinking that it needs to make an additional 3-4 oz of milk by pumping every day after the morning feeding. That gives me a few ounces to play with during the day. So if I want to give my son a bottle at 6pm I'll pump at 5:45pm, give him the milk that I just pumped (first), and then add the 3-4 oz that I had pumped in the morning. Does that make sense?



So, I guess to answer your specific question: Yes. I would make sure to pump 30 minutes to 1 hour around the feeding time. And yes, that means that even if your husband gives a bottle of breastmilk in the middle of the night for you, you would still likely need to get up and pump around that time too.