When my baby is born is it possible to..............?

Question

breastfeed using just a pump instead of the baby being on my breast?

Answer 1

Absolutley :) At the hospital when you give birth, talk to a lactation consultant (they should have one available to talk to you), and she can teach you how to use the pump and store your milk.

Answer 2

It is possible, however you should know that it is a lot more work. I do this (due to latch problems) and my goodness! For the first 2-3 months, you need to pump 8-10x a day for 20-30 min in order to establish your supply. After that, you may be able to decrease to around 6x a day (that's what I'm at now, at 7 months).

In addition to pumping time (3+ hours a day), you need to take into account the time to make the bottles, wash the bottles, wash the pump parts, and oh yeah - feed the baby!

If it is your only option for providing your baby breastmilk, then go right ahead, but if you can possibly nurse I'd definitely give it a shot. And remember, if you start breastfeeding you can decide to exclusively pump at any time. If you start pumping, you probably can't change your mind (baby won't take to it).

Also, many people will tell you that it cannot be done (some doctors included). They will assure you that your milk will dry up. While this may be true for some people (who don't respond well to the pump), the most common cause for this happening is that it is very easy to put-off a pump. You may have company and tell yourself that you can just pump a few hours late. Or you may go shopping for several hours, figuring you'll just pump when you get home. This is what will hurt your supply. You need to get on a schedule and stick to it no matter what. You won't have a hungry baby crying to remind you to pump.

Answer 3

Yes, it is possible to exclusively pump and feed the baby breast milk from a bottle. There are some downfalls to this, however. Even a hospital grade breast pump can not empty a breast as efficiently as a baby can. Breast milk is produced on a supply and demand basis. In the first few weeks, a breast fed baby will typically nurse every 1-3 hours around the clock. If you only pump, you will want to pump at least every 2 hours, even at night, in order to keep your supply maintained. I have 4 kids that were all breast fed, the youngest 2 until they self-weaned at 11 months and 14 months. My oldest is now 28 and a mom now. My grandson is 5 1/2 months old. My daughter does a combination of breast feeding and pumping since she is a teacher. I take care of the baby. I never pumped with my kids, but I have seen with my daughter how much work it is to pump. The prep work, the pumping, and the cleaning up after wards take longer than a nursing session. If possible, you may want to consider a combination of nursing and pumping. Regardless if you breast feed or bottle feed, you can bond with your baby.

Answer 4

Oh yea!! Some women cant get the baby to latch on and they have to pump!! You are making a great choice by still giving your baby breast milk even if you cant actually breastfeed!

Answer 5

Its possible for a time but using a breast pump is very inefficient compared to having a baby sucking, so your milk supply will dwindle fairly quickly. Its also hard work and time consuming, and it hurt me like hell whereas I never had a bit of pain with actual breastfeeding. If its either that or not breast feed at all then go for it, for as long as your milk supply keeps up as some breast milk is better than none at al. But its far from ideal.

Answer 6

Yes you can do this and the baby would get all the benefits of breast milk. It is your choice but expressing, storing and feeding your baby like this is going to be very tiring.

At 6-8 weeks babies go through a growth spurt, when they always seem to be feeding. Your baby will want to feed from you even though you may feel as though you have no milk to give. He/she will be putting in a milk order for tommorrow! i.e. increasing your milk supply - baby led feeding.

I must encourage you that breast by far the best! Here are just a few facts:-
- the baby is getting all the nutrients it needs.
- correct temperature for the baby.
- the composition of the milk changes as your baby grows so that your baby is getting exactly what he/she needs for their age - everything they need to grow.
- It's free!
- baby has a lower risk of having asthma, respiratory tract infections, etc.
- It's digested instantly
- more bonding between mother and baby.
- It contains antibodies, hormones, etc.
- health benefits for mother.
etc, etc, etc.

Be encouraged! Persevere. These days there are support groups around. The NCT (National Childbirth Trust) are experienced and there are groups in nearly every area. See website www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com
NCT Breastfeeding line 0870 444 8708
To find out details of NCT in your area call 0870 444 8707

Congratulations on your pregnancy and all the very best as you prepare for being a mummy! :o)

Answer 7

It is possible, many women do it for preemies and when mom goes back to work. As others have said, it is a LOT more work than direct bf'ing. It would probably be good to start off with direct nursing, if you can, in order to establish your supply and because the colostrum isn't easy to pump, but baby still needs it.

I had such a tough time in the beginning, I thought I would just pump, but as it turned out we got the hang of nursing and are still going strong at 18 months. My one bit of advice would be to keep an open mind. You may think that you don't want to nurse directly, but that could change once your little one arrives. Of course, if it doesn't, good for you for still choosing to give your baby the food that was made for him.

Here is a whole host of info on exclusive pumping and pumping/nursing:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/maintainsupply-pump.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bf-links-excpumping.html - lots of links
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/27expressing_milk.html

Answer 8

it is possible yes, but for me one of the big advantages to breastfeeding is not having to mess around with storing milk/formula and sterilising feeding equipment. to feed exclusively on pumped breastmilk sounds like hard work to me, if you are unable to breastfeed then i congratulate you on wanting to make sure your baby gets the best, but if you just find the idea a little weird or dont really fancy it why not give it a go? you may change your mind and really love it, if you dont you can go to expressing and using a bottle and you've lost nothing. if you don't start with breastfeeding you may find it difficult to get your little one to latch on after using a bottle.
if you intend to express all your milk then i wouls reccomend an electric pump, you can even get one that will do both breasts at the same time!

Answer 9

You can do that but it will be alot harder than you are thinking. You have to pump in advance so you have enough saved up to give the baby, plus its harder to keep your milk supply up when you are just pumping because the babies suction is so much stronger. I tried to do this for a little bit cause I was in pain breastfeeding, but it didnt work cause I would never be able to keep up with pumping and feeding. I got over the pain eventually and it was SOOOO much easier. Good luck

Answer 10

You can express milk and feed it to a baby in a bottle but frankly, it's a huge amount of effort and will take ages. Also, you will not establish an optimal milk supply this way. This is because milk production hormones are stimulated best by a baby feeding directly from the breast.

I strongly urge you to contact a breastfeeding organisation before your baby is born so you can get the best support lined up and the best information. See http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk for more.

Answer 11

Yes of course it is. But why deprive yourself and baby of the real thing. It is so natural to see mother and baby in complete unison with each other. Give yourselves a chance and with expert help and advice it's wonderfull. Expressing milk can be very painfull and you still have to wash and sterilize the unit. You can of course express more milk than is necessary and it will be wasted. By feeding baby yourself you will find it helps the tummy to go back a lot quicker.