Breastfeeding Moms
(I know y'all are tired of me, sorry)
I've woken up with engorgement twice already, to the point were I will wake my son up to feed to try to relive the pain. He was "comfort nursing" all day yesterday and the day before and I think that has increased my supply! and when he nurses, the side he's not on leaks profusely.
Is it finally ok to start pumping and saving? I haven't been yet because I wanted to make sure he was getting plenty first. He's 2 and a half weeks.
Any tips, tricks, advice or suggestions on pumping?
TIA
Replies
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Any reason to have a freezer stash?
You could pump first thing in the morning every day -
I have to go back to work asap so I want a store before I go just in case.
also, I see that DH feels like he's missing out so it would be nice to let himfeed ds and for mommy to get a little breakl ol
Quoting melindabelcher:
Any reason to have a freezer stash?
You could pump first thing in the morning every day -
If you really need a stash, I would stick to just pumping once in the morning. Pumping too much, especially this early will land you with an oversupply and you definitely do not want that! -
If baby gets a bottle, you don't get a break mama. You need to pump for that missed feeding or else your run the risks of clogged ducts, mastitis, supply issues. Daddy can change diapers, give baths, take baby after you've nursed, lay skin to skin. Bottles should only be for when you are not physically there to nurse.
Quoting arigdon4:
I have to go back to work asap so I want a store before I go just in case.
also, I see that DH feels like he's missing out so it would be nice to let himfeed ds and for mommy to get a little breakl ol
Quoting melindabelcher:
Any reason to have a freezer stash?
You could pump first thing in the morning every day -
First off, you could pump all you want from day 1 and baby will still get plenty, your body would just make that much more.
Which leads me to the second point, pumping to relieve engorgement will only encourage the problem and create/encourage an oversupply (NOT the good thing you might imagine it to be, it can cause issues and it's harder/more painful to manage down the line).
Right now your body doesn't know if you had 1 baby or 3, so it's just going crazy on the production. If you are engorged THAT tells your body to slow things down, you don't need quite so much. If you pump and relieve it, your body thinks you actually need that much and ups production to meet the extra demand. -
Yes this
Quoting Baby_Avas_Momma:
If you really need a stash, I would stick to just pumping once in the morning. Pumping too much, especially this early will land you with an oversupply and you definitely do not want that!
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And this
Quoting Baby_Avas_Momma:
If baby gets a bottle, you don't get a break mama. You need to pump for that missed feeding or else your run the risks of clogged ducts, mastitis, supply issues. Daddy can change diapers, give baths, take baby after you've nursed, lay skin to skin. Bottles should only be for when you are not physically there to nurse.
Quoting arigdon4:
I have to go back to work asap so I want a store before I go just in case.
also, I see that DH feels like he's missing out so it would be nice to let himfeed ds and for mommy to get a little breakl ol
Quoting melindabelcher:
Any reason to have a freezer stash?
You could pump first thing in the morning every day
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You can start pumping. It will cause your supply to stay high or increase, but it will give you a good stash for when you're working. Soon enough your supply will regulate and you won't be producing more than you need on a daily basis. A lot of women have trouble with pump output especially when they're doing it without the baby near for the stimulation. If you start pumping now you'll have a higher starting point than most.
Pumping when you don't have a pressing need for bottled milk can lead to using bottles when they're not needed. I made that mistake. I was pumping once a day for a while when I decided that I wasn't waking up to feed him anymore and he wasn't sleeping with me anymore. After a week, my husband had gone through over half my stash and my son was nursing non stop and getting bottles during the day because my supply had seriously taken a hit. -
Go ahead and start pumping once a day, first thing in the morning. You can nurse on one side and pump the other (you wake up so full baby will get plenty of milk from only one side!). That milk can go in the freezer.
Hold off on the bottle for a few more weeks. Dad can do everything else!
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You could pump and save. How often is he feeding in a typical 24 hour period?