Exclusively pumping worth it?

[Anonymous]

I posted today about quitting and was given some suggestions. I have some questions to see if maybe this could work.

My issues are that I’ve tried to not fully empty and that left me with clogs. I can’t go less than 6 pumps ( every 4 hours) a day or I get clogs. I’ve tried for 3 days to pump just what I needed to feed my baby but that left me in a lot of pain and didn’t decrease my supply.

My plan was to breastfeed for my 14 week maternity leave. That was amended to pumping for 6 weeks. Now I’m two weeks in and want to give up.

I think I just have a very strong supply. I leaked colostrum for months before delivering, and I had my milk come in day 3 super strong.

I’m not looking to lose weight. Any suggestions to make pumping easier or should I just find a good quality formula and quit?

[Anonymous]

Let me know if there is anything I can do or if it’s eBay to just quit. I would like to keep going until 6 weeks or my maternity leave but not if it leaves me in a lot of discomfort.

[Anonymous]

I EP'd for a year and also was very prone to clogs. I took soy lecithin to help with the clogs and also made sure to never sleep on my side or back or in any position that would squeeze my breast.

Are you using a hospital-grade pump? I rented one for the full year and kept it for home use (bought a Freestyle for work and on-the-go purposed) because I found it was more powerful and did a better job of getting me empty.

Sounds like your baby is still quite young? I pumped around the clock for the first 12 weeks to establish supply and was ultimately able to drop to 4 pumps a day getting between 36-40oz total. I don't know if that is helpful or not.

[Anonymous]

OP. I nursed both my kids to around 10 months (supplementing with formula a bit after I went back to work).

No. Honestly I would not think it is worth it to do BFing by only pumping. Maybe aim for 4 weeks so baby gets a dose of the immunities from BM but then switch over. That is what I would do without the reward of nursing to make the pumping worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I EP'd for a year and also was very prone to clogs. I took soy lecithin to help with the clogs and also made sure to never sleep on my side or back or in any position that would squeeze my breast.

Are you using a hospital-grade pump? I rented one for the full year and kept it for home use (bought a Freestyle for work and on-the-go purposed) because I found it was more powerful and did a better job of getting me empty.

Sounds like your baby is still quite young? I pumped around the clock for the first 12 weeks to establish supply and was ultimately able to drop to 4 pumps a day getting between 36-40oz total. I don't know if that is helpful or not.

I’m taking that too to help with the clogs.

I have both a Spectra ( blue one) and the MomCozy S12 double pump. I prefer the MomCozy because I can do other things and not be tied to the couch. I only use the Spectra for the morning pump when I get a lot of milk. It’s easier to use the hands free.

He’s two weeks old. I pump 6-8 times a day. I’m making close 45-60oz a day. I leaked loads of colostrum and was able to save 52 syringes worth.

[Anonymous]

Take soy lechithin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take soy lechithin.

I do.

[Anonymous]

Be careful cutting volume down quickly. I got mastitis at 3 weeks and it is awful

[Anonymous]

I did dcit for 6:months..till I went back to work. My supply went down when she started sleeping through the night and I did not pump overnight..so I supplemented too. Saying this just so you know it's doable...but if you are miserable just stop. Baby will be fine. Happy mom Happy baby

[Anonymous]

Exclusively pumping is really, really, really hard. It sucks. I did it 4 months each time. I actually do think it’s worth it for the first three months if you can swing it without it taking over your whole life. But if you if you find you can’t pump AND also have time to cuddle and enjoy your baby, then it’s not worth it. its more important to bond with your baby than with a breast pump.

Good luck either way!

[Anonymous]

I did it with DC1. Sooooo not worth it. I stopped around 8 mos and was constantly struck by how many snuggles I missed attached to a pump. And I had a pretty efficient system down.

It's NOT worth it.

[Anonymous]

No. It is not worth it. I ep’ed with my eldest, who is now a freshman in highschool. I couldn’t keep up by nine months, so she had a good amount of formula before switching to milk at a year. All my other kids never took bottles— they refused them and so were exclusively breastfed. Out of my four kids, my eldest is the smartest by a lot. Like thirty IQ points smarter. She is also naturally thinner and generally more well adjusted. Not saying the formula had anything to do with it (it was more likely the fact that she enjoys reading and loved being read to).

My kids are all older and my one regret is worrying about what they are as babies. I say this with all honesty— ten years from now you will not care and it is not worth the stress!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be careful cutting volume down quickly. I got mastitis at 3 weeks and it is awful

This. Exclusively pumping would not be worth it to me but it’s going to take awhile to quit. You can’t just stop cold turkey.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried nipple shields? My breasts are just like yours, and my baby couldn’t latch properly either until around 6 weeks. I exclusively pumped but kept trying with shields, and by about 6 weeks she got it. I think I used the shields until about 10 weeks? They turn tiny nipples into big, bottle-like nipples. Very useful.

[Anonymous]

My first couldn’t breastfeed due to a medical issue, so I tried pumping and hated it. Switched to formula pretty quickly with my first kid, and it worked so well that I did formula from the start with my second. Zero regrets. Everyone is fine.