dont want to breastfeed but want to use breastmilk?

Question

Well im due next month with my first baby (girl :-) and i dont want to breastfeed but I want to use my breast milk so im planning on pumping....so at the hospital should i pump before i have her that way when she is born they dont give her formula they already have my milk hand or what? how would i go about that? Thanks

Answer 1

No, wait until she is born, you'll only be producing colostrum at first, and only very small amounts of that until your milk comes in. You won't start to produce milk until around day 3.

Expressing your milk is a huge commitment...well done if you can stick it out. It would be best if you could feed directly from the source, but if for any reason that's not possible than feeding baby your expressed milk in a bottle is still a whole lot better than formula feeding.

Answer 2

Your milk won't actually come in for a few days after the baby is born. So you won't be able to pump actual milk at the hospital, just the colostrum. And in order the even get a good milk supply, you will have to actually nurse you baby. They say to nurse for six weeks to get up a good milk supply. Otherwise, I don't think you will be able to pump for very long before your milk dries up. But they do make a really good pump that is suppose to simulate the baby nursing. My friend rented one out from the hospital because she was a surogate mother and wanted to give the baby breastmilk without actually breastfeeding. I think she was able to make milk for a good three months. But those pumps are very expensive.

Answer 3

Get the go ahead from your doctor before you start pumping since pumping can trigger labor before you should have the baby.
Also consider that unless you have a high grade(read expensive) pump you are going to run into alot more pain and takes alot longer then it would to put the baby to your breast. Also you're adding time to prep the milk to put it in a bottle. Also if you are doing this to return to work quickly remember to talk to your HR. They are required to provide you somewhere private to pump but most places don't have a way of actually doing that. Also you don't really want to be storing your breastmilk in the breakroom refrigerator.
Also runs a higher risk of bacteria in the breastmilk since it is difficult to keep everything sterile unless you are absolutely religious about cleaning it every time.
Pumps also do not work as well as baby at making the breast release the milk so you will have to pump longer and also doesn't work as well as baby to increase your supply.

Answer 4

First of all congratulations!!! I have a 5 month old little girl and commend you for considering breastfeeding/pumping! I feel that it is not right to make someone choose one method over the other or make someone feel guilty for the decision they make. Choosing to breastfeed or bottle feed is a personal and very hard decision.

I personally have solely breastfeed my baby and I didn't realize how much I would enjoy feeding times (although early on it wasn't very easy). I am back to work now and pump two times a day and it is a lot of work (pumping, cleaning bottles and pumps every day) but it is totally worth it! I used a simple Aveda (spelling ?) manual pump and it works great - and only cost like $20! My recommendation is to try breastfeeding. You never know how much you will enjoy it- I sure didn't know it could be that rewarding! It sure makes 2 am feedings a lot easier too (I just bring her to bed with me and feed her laying down!

When my little girl was born she didn't suck very hard, so I had to use a nipple shield for three weeks. Then one day it just worked for both of us. They don't always come out knowing how to nurse but the only thing you want to do when they are first born is be near them anyway!

Good luck and enjoy every minute of your last days of pregnancy and first days with a newborn!

Answer 5

I planned on pumping when my son was 8 weeks and I had to return to work. Well, pumping took a lot of effort, and I mean A LOT! I was already tired from raising a baby and to sit and try to get my milk to come out was so much harder than I thought. I never believed until then that some women cannot pump well. I was one of them. I spent an hour to get 1/4 of an ounce! Eventually, I gave up on the pumping and just let my baby breastfeed instead. It was so much easier and my son also seemed to enjoy the closeness. I never knew how much I enjoyed it until this week, when my son began to prefer his bottle over me and refused to be nursed. I say give breastfeeding a try and then you can decide later if you just want to sit and pump all day long. The baby is also much more efficient at getting your milk out than a pump.

Answer 6

let me tell u from recent experience i had my son 7 wks ago he didn't latch on so i decided to pump. if u want to give only breastmilk its gonna be hard because pumping is very time consuming when u are not pumping u r washing bottles i had to end up giving him formula too because i was just so tired. u will spend most of your time attached to a pump and i think u should spend it either resting or enjoying your baby. luckily he latched on a couple of weeks ago and what a relief that is I actually get to chill out or sit in front of the computer like i am now because i don't have to sit in the bathroom pumping or in the kitchen washing bottles. But if u decide that u still want to pump invest on a good pump i tried the medela pump in the hospital and i wish i could of bought it because it was great what i accomplished with a cheaper pump in 45 min i did it in 15 or less with the medela. Good luck and congrats

Answer 7

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bf-links-excpumping.html
this has a ton of links to exclusive pumping

If you can ... do it now, but know that most don't get their milk "in" until baby is 2-5 days old.

I'd recommend putting baby to the breast for the first 2-3 weeks (a month of you can handle it), as that will best establish your milk supply, then you can pump and bottle feed 100%. But pumping from the get go can be difficult, and I'm afraid it lessens your chance of a successful "breastmilk" experience.

Answer 8

I felt this way also. I made it clear to the hospital staff what i wanted to do. It is your choice, your baby, they should respect your wishes.

While i was in the hospital I used a hand pump (brought it with me) and continued using it until i swithched her to formula later down the line. Soem will tell you that the inexpensive ones hurt less but I did not find that was true. They all felt the same.

Good luck, and even in the first days, what little you prodice will be enough.

Answer 9

You can try, but your colostrum may not come in until after the birth. I have been pumping and bottle feeding my two-month-old daughter since two days after she was born. Despite long sessions with lactation consultants, my daughter would never latch on to my breast and was losing weight. It was frustrating for both of us. The lactation consultant finally suggested I do it this way, since my daughter would take a bottle, and it's been working well for us, despite the extra work. I would have liked to have breastfed, but it just didn't work out for us.

Talk to the nurses about it when you check in for labor.

Answer 10

At least breastfeed the first few days until your milk comes in. You might find that you like it. It is much easier to breastfeed than to pump.