When should a new mother start pumping breast milk?

Question

Our daughter is one week old, my wife's milk has come in, and she has to go back to work in three months. We'd like to have a little extra milk so I can give my wife a break at night. Also, my wife has to travel for work in July and we'd like to have enough stored for her absence. When should we start?

Answer 1

COngrtaulations! I'd probably wait until her supply was settles more to teh babys needs. If it is already then she can start now if its for you to feed baby once in a while, but I'm pretty sure it's only 3 months that breastmilk can be stored for so for going back to work should probably wait a while. Gte her a GOOD electric pump for while at work. For the work trip, if she just starts the 3 months before adn does one extra bottle a day, it shouldn't change her supply enough that it would make her miserable once she stopped because enough was stored. The more she pumps teh more milk her body will make, so more than a little at a time, and her body will have to readjust dramatically both when starting and when stopping. Also when baby has her growth spurt at around 6 weeks old and your wifes supply is increased for that time-when baby slacks back off on her nursings, just take advantage of her already havgin teh increased supply and pump an extra time a day.

I just went and found this link I had when I was pumping and storing. It has some guidelines for storage.
http://www.medela.com/NewFiles/faq/coll_store.html

Also, know that when pumping it can be frustrating to see how much milk is experssed in that way, but know that the baby gets more than ANY breastpump can-they are FAR more efficient.

Answer 2

Right now. Start by pumping after every feeding- you probably wont get much milk at first- but every ounce adds up fast.

After she pumps- have her pump into 'bottles' and then put the bottle in the fridge. And do the same with the next bottle from the next pumping. Then at the end of the day- take all of the bottles of milk she has pumped for that day- and pour them into the freezer storage bags. It's much easier to have bags with a few ounces in them each vs. 20 bags with 1oz each. Just make sure you have all the milk at the same temp before you dump into freezer bag- you NEVER mix cold/frozen milk with freshly pumped milk.
Once she goes back to work- it will be harder for her to keep her milk supply up- even if she pumps alot at work etc etc-- she is better off to start now- and have plenty of milk to keep feeding the baby- even if she decides when she returns she wants to stop breastfeeding all together because its too hard.

I disagree with the poster above me- you said she wants to have some so you can help with feedings etc etc- start pumping now. Also eventually you'll want to go out for the night or whatever- so it's not going to hurt to have some milk on hand- you can only store breast milk in the freezer for 3 months, but depending on the temp you keep your freezer at you can for up to a year- She is better off to pump now while her supply is really good- and keep pumping as her milk gets more established. It also makes it easier for her when the baby has a growth spurt- because she will have more milk.
And she can always use the stored milk to get your baby used to drinking out of a bottle- that is not easy and will take many bottles for them to get used to it.. she can use the stored breastmilk to take when she goes out with the baby for the day if she doesn't want to nurse while she is out. You are always far better off to start pumping right away.

breastmilk is like liquid gold- why waste all the extra milk she has now??????????????????

It's much harder to have your supply diminish and then try to get it re-estaablished to make more later-- its 23489238492342 times easier to keep your supply up when you have 'extra'.

Answer 3

Well, I think now would be a good time to start, breastmilk when frozen last for up to three months(make sure you date it). If she can get the pumping going now then, relax it about week before she leaves then her breast wouldn't be so sore due to not enough pumping while she was gone. Good luck!

Answer 4

I think they say two weeks. Since your daughter is nursing a ton right now you could start by pumping after feedings to collect any milk that was left. That is what I did. It helps keep your milk supply up as well.

Answer 5

She can start pumping once she sees that milk is coming out on its own. Although, I wouldn't recommend that you save the milk for the time she will be out. You might want to give your child formula that way the baby could get use to it for later in time.

Answer 6

It's really best to wait to introduce a bottle until baby is between 4-6 weeks old. This gets you through many of the growth spurts that happen early on, gets her supply established and helps to avoid nipple confusion. (Drinking from a bottle is TOTALLY different mechanics than nursing at the breast.)

Answer 7

immediately, because the more she pumps, the better her supply will be, and the baby won't be eating as much right now, so you will have a lot of extras for the freezer to use at a later time. good luck and congrats!!

Answer 8

Tell her not to pump till about a week before she goes on her trip, she will make more than enough and it will ensure that the milk stays fresh. since your daughter is only a week old, she probably hasnt had engorment yet, So the next time she feels engorged ( breasts are like rocks filled with milk) then tell her to pump at that time.

Answer 9

Once breastfeeding is going well she can start pumping. I started pumping when my daugter was 2 weeks old, it gave me a break at night, it was so nice.

Answer 10

you can also freeze breastmilk for up to one year and it still be fresh...i use to store mine in the little 4 oz bottles and put them directly in the freezer...good luck