Breastfeeding and pumping question!!!?

Question

I plan on strictly breastfeeding my baby when he's born in a couple of months. Anyway, I know in some cases the milk doesn't come in right away. What do I do if this happens? I don't want to just pump and give hima bottle, I want him to take it from me. How can I ensure that I have a good milk supply from the time he is born. I also do plan on pumping afterwards so my husband and daughter can take part in the feeding but I want him to get used to me first. Afterwards when I start pumping how often should I pump? I plan on buying the Medela Pump in Style Original Pump. Is that a good one to buy? What are or have been your experiences. Thank you for your help. Second time mom but first time breastfeeding because my daughter was sick when she was born and I couldn't!! Thanks in advance.

Ok yeah I know that colostrum comes in first but I say milk anyway,
OK I MEAN COLOSTRUM!!

Answer 1

I too had your expectations on breastfeeding; this was my experience. As a first time mom, I had planned on breastfeeding only, therefore, I didn't purchase any bottles. I was also told not to get a pump because the hospital would rent me one if I needed. So, my son was born, and due to me having some minor complications during my short 4 hour labor, and that my son was 3 weeks early and almost 8 pounds, they wanted to observe him and test him for diabetes and other things for what seemed like forever. I, of course, wanted to have the bonding and breastfeeding and so on, and that just didn't happen. I think they brought him to me about 3 hours later, and we tried to breastfeed, but only small amounts of Cholostrum came out which is normal ( I don't think there is a way to get your milk supply up safely before the baby is born- check with your lactation consultant) Anyway, I then tried several more times to breastfeed, and he was more than ready to eat, but only small amounts came out. I was also pumping in the hospital. On the 3rd day, we had to go back to the hospital for a jaundice test, and because it was still high, I had to give formula. On the 4th day, my milk came in. We breastfed successfully for about 3 weeks, then my milk dried up. ( one day I was pumping 240ml+, two days later pumping 40ml) I consulted with the lactation consultant, and we couldn't figure out the reason, just sometimes that can happen. I was really happy that I didn't invest money into my own pump.

So I would say to have bottles on hand, go to a breastfeeding class ahead of time, pump in the hospital to stimulate breasts, rent a pump from the hospital.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

To insure you that you get your baby off to a great start all you have to do is put him to your breast right away... and that is all you have to worry about.... the milk won't come in until about 2-3 days after birth but that's normal during this time the baby is getting colostrum which is packed full of antibodies to him him good and healthy... as far as pumping I used the same pump with my last son and it is great but medela makes a hand pump that sells for about $10 that works really good too if you want to save alot of money... the method I used for pumping was while my son nursed on one side I pumped on the other to encourage a good milk supply and it's okay you can still nurse your baby on the other side after he is finished on the previous side.... The way it works is supply and demand as long as the baby is nursing you are producing milk... I will say that it may seem that when you are pumping you aren't getting "enough" milk but the stimulation from pumping is different then the stimulation your baby will be able to give so don't worry at all about not having "enough" milk.. as long as he is satisfied and full you have enough milk... You are making the best choice for your baby by breastfeeding and it is really great as a mother to be the one to provide with your own body exactly what he needs.... Congratulations... and if you have any problems after your little guy is born feel free to ask me I have successfully nursed 4 children all over a year.....

Answer 3

Put your baby to your breast as often as you can. You cannot overfeed a breast fed baby. Then pump for at least 15 minutes after you nurse. It's really time consuming, but will be worth it because you will have a great supply. You don't have to give the baby the pumped milk right away because you can freeze it up to 3 months.

I have the Medela Pump In Style Original. It is good for maintaining your milk supply, but not for building a low supply - but it's better than nothing. If you're worried about having a low supply, get the Pump In Style Advanced. For storing your milk, get the 2.7 ounce Medela bottles - they are the perfect size for freezing and you can pump directly into them. I had a low milk supply and this is what my lactation consultant had me do. The schedule she had me on was the nurse every 2 hours with 1 four hour stretch at night and to pump for 15 minutes after each nursing session. Good luck!

Answer 4

Your milk will not come in for at least 2- 4 days so there's nothing you can do to change that. As soon as your baby is born an cleaned up put him/her on the breast. They will immediately get familiar with the breast and start their sucking and all that. My pediatrician told me it was best not to start pumping until 4 weeks because than your milk is established and is coming in really good. Otherwise it's often really hard to get that much milk out. Besides you're so sore you don't want to have to stimulate the nipple more than you have to. But after 4 weeks you can pump in between feedings if you want and freeze the milk for a later date or whatever. Just know that the more you pump and feed during the day the more milk is going to continue to come in. so if you don't pump as often the next day you might feel really engorged. so try to do the same everyday. Good luck

Answer 5

If it was me.....I would nurse as soon as possible after the birth and as frequently as possible for the next several weeks. A proper latch is crucial to success. This is the key to successful breastfeeding. Unfortunately, too many mothers are being "helped" by people who don’t know what a proper latch is. If you are being told your two day old’s latch is good despite your having very sore nipples, be sceptical, and ask for help from someone else who knows.

Print this and take it to the hospital.
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/a-when_latching.html

I would wait a few weeks before I even worried about pumping and at least until the baby is about 5-6 weeks before I gave te baby a bottle.
But thats just me.
I have breastfed four children successfully and am a Latation Educator.

I would also attend the next La Leche League Group Meeting thats available to you.

Yes the Medela Pump is a good pump.

Keep Reading and visit www.kellymom.com
and www.llli.org for more information on La Leche League.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

My milk came 3 days after i deliverred by baby, and from day one i put my baby on my breast and he was eating, i didnt see anything but i trusted my body to be feeding my baby something. When my milk came i made sure i fed my baby every 3 hours so my milk supply grew and it did, the more your baby eats the more miolk you get. I pumped a lot too the first 3 weeks because my husband wanted to feed my baby so i pumped about 2 oz every hour so i had a bottle ready for my baby every two hours, i did this for about 2 weeks, after that it has all been strictly breast. I bought the playtex electric pump, make sure you buy an electric pump, because manual pumps get too tiring to use if you pump very often. Good luck!

Answer 7

Don't let what I am about to say scare you...breastfeeding is one of the hardest things i had to learn how to do. Again, don't let that scare you, breastfeeding is wonderful, good for you, and good for the baby. My best advice is that you go out and geta book about breadfeeding. I bought one and it answered tons of questions that I had. Also, gave me info that I didn't know about. My milk didn't come in until 6 days after my daughter was born (usually 2-4 days) so I was "breastfeeding" and doing formula sometimes too. I was very persistant, but once my milk came in, it was ten times easier. Just when i was about to give up, it all came together. So remember that it will all work out. As long as you continue to put your son to your breast your supply will be fine. The best way for your milk to come in is to pump and medela is a great brand. Good luck to you and you family and congratulations!!

Answer 8

Okay, put your son to your breast immediately after he's born to establish suckling and the bond. He will suck and get the nourishment he needs until your milk comes in. Don't pump at all for the first four weeks to establish a good milk supply (and don't give him a pacifier or bottle in this time to prevent nipple confusion.) If you're a stay at home mom, pump after he eats after the four weeks. If you're not, pump every 3-4 hours while you're away from him to keep producing milk and keep him fed while you're away.

P.S. Don't be discouraged if your breastfeeding plans get off to a bumpy start (the baby won't latch, it hurts, etc.) If you're patient, and it's really what you want, it will happen. Good luck!

Answer 9

Your milk will not come in full supply until you start breastfeeding. First you will have colustrum, which is very good for baby, it has antibodies that help protect baby. After you start breastfeeding you will notice when your milk does come in, your breasts will be full and drip. I would recommend buying plenty of breast pads, Lansonil are very good, they are like a diaper and hold lots of liquid (they have the gelly substance after they are full). My milk didn't come in until about 3 days after I gave birth. I was confident in breastfeeding and just went along with my instincts. I went to my WIC office and after they knew that I was trully JUST breastfeeding they gave me a breast pump. It was an Avent and it worked great. Avent has breastlike nipple for easy conversion between breast and bottle. When I started pumping I formed a system where I pumped one side while he ate from the other. It also caused easier let down so I could get a good fill in the bottle. I would usually get one bottle and refridgerate it, but the bottle from the previous day would be fed to him the day I pumped the other. So when one went in, the other would be used that day. It is sort of confusing but when you get it down it is easy. If the milk for some reason didn't get used, I would freeze it for later use. Once you get a good schedule down, your breasts will accomodate to your feedings so you won't have hard full breasts all the time. It takes a while but after so long you get the hang of it. I only wanted to breastfeed for 2 months but ended up doing it for 15 months. It was just SO much easier on me in the middle of the night and I knew that it was so much better for him too. Plus another good thing about it was my son never got a rash or constipated, I highly recommend to breastfeed as long as you can. You also form that special bond between mommy and baby, but also when you pump daddy and baby can form that bond too.

Answer 10

no matter how u do it, u don't have to give him a bottle when u pump. ask ur doctor where u can get one of these things, (i don't know what they're called) but it is a bottle that hangs around ur neck and it has a tube that u tape to ur breast and they baby still nurses pretty much the same. it's a little more trouble, but sometimes u have to do what u have to do. as far as how often u should pump, every few hours, unless u need to more often. i don't know anything about the pump u plan on buying, but if u plan on pumping often, an electrical pump is what u need, but a hand pump is good to have too so u can take it with u when u need to.