Pumping - help this newbie figure it out the Medela freestyle...

[Anonymous]

FTM here. Just started to pump using the Medela Freestyle. When we gave the first bottle to our DD, the nipple seemed to be too fast for her and it seemed to create a lot of gas. Is the nipple meant for newborns? If not, can I pump directly into either the Dr. Brown's bottles we have or the Playtex drop in bottles? DD is 2.5 weeks old.

Also, should I be pumping until nothing comes out of either breast? I pumped this morning for 6 minutes and got 1 ounce from the left and 2 ounces from the right. I probably could have kept going but I don't feel let-down nor do I feel when I empty a breast. So it's hard for me to tell whether I should keep going or stop. I'm also worried that if I drain my breasts completely (again, not sure I would feel the difference) then DD would get up and I'd have nothing to offer her. Of course I would have what I just pumped but for some reason I'm troubled by that.

And can I combine what I've pumped from both breasts into one container? Should I? It just seems efficient but not sure why or why not to do this.

Finally, do I need to sterilize the pump parts after each pump, just wash the stuff or will a mere water rinse suffice?

Thanks for answering my questions. I'm so clueless about all this and tried Dr. Google but not a whole lot of info there.

[Anonymous]

I loved my Freestyle!

You can pump directly into any bottle that fits the Freestyle. I used Dr. Brown's and Ameda bottles as well. Pump until you are empty and then pump 5 mins more. For me, that was 30 mins. I always combined both boobs' output into one bottle. No need to sterilize/wash after each pump- put the parts in the fridge and then do one big wash/sterilize at night.

[novabrooke]

Anonymous wrote:FTM here. Just started to pump using the Medela Freestyle. When we gave the first bottle to our DD, the nipple seemed to be too fast for her and it seemed to create a lot of gas. Is the nipple meant for newborns? If not, can I pump directly into either the Dr. Brown's bottles we have or the Playtex drop in bottles? DD is 2.5 weeks old.

Also, should I be pumping until nothing comes out of either breast? I pumped this morning for 6 minutes and got 1 ounce from the left and 2 ounces from the right. I probably could have kept going but I don't feel let-down nor do I feel when I empty a breast. So it's hard for me to tell whether I should keep going or stop. I'm also worried that if I drain my breasts completely (again, not sure I would feel the difference) then DD would get up and I'd have nothing to offer her. Of course I would have what I just pumped but for some reason I'm troubled by that.

And can I combine what I've pumped from both breasts into one container? Should I? It just seems efficient but not sure why or why not to do this.

Finally, do I need to sterilize the pump parts after each pump, just wash the stuff or will a mere water rinse suffice?

Thanks for answering my questions. I'm so clueless about all this and tried Dr. Google but not a whole lot of info there.

- I think the nipple that comes with the bottles with the Freestyle is Medela's "slow flow" which is meant for newborns (although I also used it the whole time I pumped for my first baby, 1 year). But you can attach other bottles to the Freestyle if you don't like those.

- Your breasts are never technically "empty." If you pump a lot and then baby wakes and wants to nurse, baby will still get some milk. It depends on your purposes for pumping how long you should do it. If you're home with your baby and are just trying to increase your supply and/or build a freezer stash for a return for work or the occasional night out, I don't think it matters much. Are you going back to work? If so, once you are back at work, you'll probably want to go longer. I tended to double pump for about 15-20 minutes per session at work (3 times/day). I think that's typical. You'll learn quickly what you need to do to get enough milk, but more frequent, short sessions boost your supply better than less frequent, long sessions. Also, you may start to feel let down as you get more used to the pump. I didn't at first, but later I would really feel the let down coming and then the milk would flow quickly for a minute, slow, and then pick up again at the next let down. It takes practice to get used to it.

- Yes, you can combine milk from both breasts in one container. If you're freezing the milk, though, I personally liked having frozen milk in smaller amounts (equal amounts of 1, 2, and 3 oz bags) because if you defrost a whole 6 oz bag, but baby doesn't need all of it, it goes bad quickly and can't be re-frozen.

- I never strerilized my pump parts and baby was fine. I washed them well in hot water with soap. Also, between pump sessions in the same day you can just stick your pump parts in the fridge and then wash once at the end of the day.

- One more tip - kellymom.com is a good resource for tips on pumping.

[Anonymous]

I never used the Medela nipples. I used the bottles for storing the milk though. I had good luck with playtex dropins. So much less mess to clean..you just have to clean the nipples. I used to pump about 15-20 minutes, but by the end they were definitely pretty empty, but agreed with a pp, I don't recall them every being completely empty. I used to combine the milk from both breasts if I didn't fill up a bottle. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Not the OP but I've been handwashkng the pump parts every time - so annoying! Glad I don't have to.

[Anonymous]

Medela slow nipples were way, way too fast for us as well. Playtex Drop-Ins slow silicone nipples were just right.

I always pumped into the Medela storage bottles, then poured into feeding bottles as needed, but if you want, Playtex sells a kit that lets you pump into Drop-Ins bag holders. (Check that it works with Freestyle - I had PIS.)

[Anonymous]

Op here- thank you so much! We tried the Playtex nipple today and DD didn't like it. We'll try Dr Browns next.

Thanks again for your help!