A few questions about breastmilk and breast pumps...?

Question

I'm pregnant and I know breast milk is the healthiest choice and I want my baby to have breast milk but I'm really put off by the idea of breast feeding. So, I want to try using a breast pump. So my questions are: Can you refrigerate breast milk and how long does it stay good? Do you need to warm it back up before giving it to baby, and how, microwave? Do any kind of bottles work with any kind of breast pump or do they need to be a certain size or brand/type? How long is it proper to breastfeed? Any recommendations on which breast pump to buy or are they all basically the same? Say I give my baby a bottle annd he doesn't finish it, can I re-refrigerate it and rewarm it later? I know I have alot of questions but any answers or other info would really help. Thanks in advance to any answers!

Answer 1

Well I'm probably not going to cover all of your questions, but here goes...

I loved my Medela dual breast pump(Pump In Style) , you can pump directly into the bottles and store the milk that way or pump into disposable plastic storage bags for use later. Freshly pumped milk can be stored in the fridge for 5-7 days and can be frozen for 3-4 months.

The longer you feed your baby breastmilk the better:)

If your baby doesn't finish it's bottle you have to throw away what's left, it cannot be put back in the fridge. It can be kept out for up to 4 hours though.

Don't ever microwave breastmilk. It kills the nutrients in it and also can create hot spots in the milk that will burn baby.

Please do try to give nursing the baby yourself a fair shot. It is sooooo much easier than having to pump all the time. You also don't have to wash bottles and all of the pump parts either.

Good luck and congratulations!

Answer 2

ok ill try to answer your questions one by one:

Yes you can refrigerate breastmilk here it is how:
At room temp 66-72 F 10 hrs
refrigerator 32-39 F 8 days
freezer inside a refrigerator 2 weeks
freezer with a separate door 4-3 months
deep freezer 6 months

Breastmilk is very light therefore it is very easy and fast to warm it up here is how, place sealed bag that contains the breastmilk (I recommend to buy Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags) in warm tap water, that's it, do not put in boiling water, microwave or stove top.

It depends of which breast pump you buy, lets say that you get the Evenflo Electric Breastpump, then all of the evenflo bottles will fit that pump, if you get a gerber pump, all of the gerber bottles will fit that pump, makes sense?

It is said that it is best for your baby to be breastfed for 12 months, some breastfeed for 6 months, I am on my 4th month and loving it.

I bought the Evenflo electric pump, it was only 40 dollars and you can use it with an electrical cord or batteries, it is easy to use and clean and the size is great, I love it.

I would not save any breastmilk that has been unfinished, after you have thawed out breastmilk it is NOT recommended to either refrigerate or freeze again, you should dump it.

Since you will be doing a lot of pumping, and believe me its gets tiring I recommend you to buy a big pump set, they sell some that are about 300 dollars but that is for moms who pump 24/7 you don't want to buy a small one that will break down the road with so much use so i would invest in a medela pump an expensive one.

Breastfeeding is a challenge it is but the more you do it the easier it gets, i'd say give yourself a chance to at least try, it was hard for me i wanted to give up breastfeeding 3 days after i had my baby but i was commited to breastfeeding so i went through a lot of challenges while breastfeeding but after 3 weeks i felt i was a pro! now after 4 months I am so glad i kept on trying, it is all worth it at the end and it gets easier every feeding. Good luck!

Answer 3

Breastfeeding is the next step in the circle of giving birth and it is not only better for the baby but for you too, as long as you have people around you who encourage you and don't make you feel guilty and who know how to give you helpful tips that make success more likely. I nursed and used formula. I preferred nursing. Also once you give birth, if you are modest, you won't be after everything is said and done. So if you feel embarrassed now about the idea of nursing, once you give birth you won't fell that way.
If you ever do pump, never ever heat the milk in the microwave. It kills the vitamins and minerals and antibodies that your baby needs. check out a local childbirth education center in your area to see what pumps they have available to buy or rent, depending on how often you want to pump. Also they will have videos and people you can talk to to answer your questions. You can freeze breast milk 3-6 months, then thaw in the refrigerator. It is better to heat the old fashion way on the stove in water. To make storing easier, most pumps come with zip-lock bags so you don't have to pour it out of the bottle and transfer it. Once a baby has started a bottle but doesn't finish, just like with formula, you should get rid of it.

Answer 4

I second the first answer. It's possible that attending a few La Leche League and seeing some babies nurse will make breastfeeding more palatable for you. Pumping is a great thing to do, I only suggest nursing because I'm too lazy to wash bottles or get up at night and warm up a bottle. If you are pumping exclusively, you should really have a hospital pump, available for rental from your hospital. The pump motor is what you rent, then you purchase the horns, tubing, valves,etc. The puchased kit usually contains a hand pump. The next best choice is a Medela or Ameda double electric pump. Don't bother with anything of lesser quality. The rest of your answers are on the LLL website--happy reading, and congratulations!

Answer 5

Yes you can refrigerate breast milk for 48 hours,yes you should heat it in warm water not a microwave before giving to your baby.Gerber bottles work well and fit on Medela pumps.I would say give your baby your breast milk for a minimum of 6 months.Medela I would say is the best,then Avent Isis.Do not put the unused bottle in the fridge if the baby has used it,bacteria will grow and can cause your baby to vomit and have diereah,leave it out for about an hour.You can also freeze your milk.

Answer 6

Breast milk can be stored.. by freezing in very small amounts (say 2 ounces). Do not microwave your breast milk... that will destroy the nutrients and immune assisting substances in the milk.

No, you cannot 'reuse' unfinished breast milk.. or even formula for that matter. As baby nurses from a bottle, baby's saliva gets into the bottle and quickly starts to deteriorate (and spoil) the milk or formula.

Bottles come with fairly standard openings, and after having 4 children and breastfeeding each of them.. I never had an issue with some brands of bottles not fitting onto the collection pump, or even using one brand of cap or nipple with another brand of bottle.

What is it that actually 'puts you off' about breast feeding? It's natural and the only way most mammals feed their young babies. There are a wide variety of nursing bras and stylish tops available which can make the process of nursing your baby very discreet... No, you don't have to just flop it out there and bare yourself to anyone within seeing distance. The physical act of nursing your baby, will induce your body to produce hormones which will increase your milk supply, help your body return to it's pre-pregnancy condition, and many more wonderful benefits.

"Proper" time for quitting nursing? When the baby is ready to be weaned.. or simply when you feel it is right for you and your baby.

I used a Medela breast pump when I was unavailable to nurse my children. Incidentally, many mothers who are new to breastfeeding, find it very difficult to use a breast pump in the beginning. I did not use a pump at all until my babies were over 6 weeks old and allowed my babies to nurse very often during those initial weeks when you are attempting to establish your milk supply.

Best wishes and good luck. Find a good lactation consultant or friend who is experienced in nursing babies.. they will be a great source of support to you.

Answer 7

Boy, you asked a lot of questions at once, I recomment at least trying to nurse, there are a lot of health benefits to nursing that are not met by bottle-feeding, even if you put breastmilk in the bottle. Nursing develops better jaw muscles and helps the little ones with talking later. It better develops eye muscles and general development because touch has powerful effects. The benefits of breastfeeding for you can be somewhat compromised if you just pump. And then there is the work, you have to pump, clean the pump, prepare and sterilize storage equipment and feeding-bottles and still have to feed the actual baby. If you nurse, you just cop a squat and be done with it ( I highly recommend peeing and grabbing a drink first!).

Answer 8

I'd just like to add that I really think you should give nursing your baby directly a try as well. I had a good friend who years ago realized that breastfeeding is best but she was having troubles nursing her newborn son directly. Rather than work with a lactation consultant or someone with experience, she began pumping and feeding her son the bottles, thinking that would be just as good for him. Her supply dropped, and again, rather than get help with boosting her milk supply back up (by learning how to get her son to correctly latch on, and nursing directly more), she felt she wasn't making enough milk, and thought she had to supplement with formula. One answerer worded this all too common occurance this way- "You had to supplement BECAUSE you supplemented." That explains it perfectly. The ratio of breastmilk to formula got worse and worse, and of course, her milk dried up. She was devastated, and her feelings of competency as a mother understandably dropped- she knew breastmilk was much better for her son. Please learn from her experience that if you want to breastfeed, you need to first establish breastfeeding, then after you are certain you and your baby are ready, then you can pump. This takes anywhere from a few weeks, to a few months. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how good your instinct is on when you ond your baby are ready to try giving a bottle of pumped breastmilk. After breastfeeding is established, pumping is a great option for anytime someone else will be caring for the baby, but not as his/her sole source of nourishment. If you only pump, know that it's the beginning of the end of giving your baby the food that was made for hi/her rather than a much lower quality subsitite. Breastfeeding is completely natural, and I honestly think that if you give it a try for a while, you'll see that there's nothing about it to be put off about. You and your baby will both reap huge benefits if you nurse directly rather than bottle feed, please give it your best effort and you'll see what I mean. I cannot reccomend more strongly that you work with a good lactation consultant- they are priceless. Good luck & congrats~

Answer 9

My best advice is to give it a good go. Trying to pump from day one will probably leave you very frusterated, and you will have a high failure rate.

I felt the same way... it just seemed weird and kinda gross, but i resolved to give it a shot. I am now nursing a 16 month old who has never had a bottle... go figure!

Get informed about breastfeeding, get a good book, join a support group, take a class. Find out all you can. Resolve to nurse for a day. Once you have made it through that day, resolve to a week. Make it through that week? Shoot for 6 weeks.

If, at the end of that 6 weeks, you still feel weird about it, then think about switching to exclusive pumping. But know that it will be hard. Much harder than simply nursing, harder than formula, even.

But, by 6 weeks you will have given yourself enough time to make an informed desision about your feelings on breastfeeding, and you will have established a good supply (something that is hard to do with a pump).

If you start with a pump and bottles (or even give your baby a bottle in the first few days) you risk nipple confusion and your babe refusing your breast if you deside to change your mind later.

Answer 10

I felt the same way at first but you shouldn't be put off by breast feeding. I've been doing it for 3 weeks now and its great! My daughter loves it! If you just really don't want to then yes you can store breast milk in the fridge for 5-7 days, in a fridge-top freezer for 3-4 months and in a deep freezer for 6 months! Your doctor should have brochures about this. You may have to ask for them though. GOOD LUCK!!