Same Health Benefits Pumping Exclusively?

[Anonymous]

My baby is three weeks old, and we are having serious latching issues. She is almost three weeks, and I have been pumping almost exclusively. My question is, do you experience the same health benefits (for mom) as if you were breastfeeding?

I really wish that this wasn't the route I am going. Pumping, cleaning, steralizing, etc. takes up all of my time.

[Anonymous]

I actually found that pumping increased my supply. By the end of the first month of pumping I was gushing so much I could've fed triplets!

Your body doesn't know the difference of whether the baby is physically latched or it if it's the pumping horns.

You're still burning massive calories and need to maintain your own health (don't put away those pre-natal vitamins yet!) whether BFing or pumping. When pumping, you're still passing on your antibodies and all the other good stuff to your body...it just goes into a bottle first.

So no worries.

I know pumping, cleaning, then pumping again seems repetitive and redundant - I did it until DD was 12 months old. Believe me, there were times when I wanted to give up especially when DD was around 8 months and started moving around and needed to be "entertained" while I was tethered to pumping (eek!).

I also recommend purchasing a few sets of pumping gear. That way you don't have to wash after every use. I have a set of three so I only ended up washing parts a few times a day.

Good luck and glad you're hanging with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually found that pumping increased my supply. By the end of the first month of pumping I was gushing so much I could've fed triplets!

Your body doesn't know the difference of whether the baby is physically latched or it if it's the pumping horns.

You're still burning massive calories and need to maintain your own health (don't put away those pre-natal vitamins yet!) whether BFing or pumping. When pumping, you're still passing on your antibodies and all the other good stuff to your body...it just goes into a bottle first.

So no worries.

I know pumping, cleaning, then pumping again seems repetitive and redundant - I did it until DD was 12 months old. Believe me, there were times when I wanted to give up especially when DD was around 8 months and started moving around and needed to be "entertained" while I was tethered to pumping (eek!).

I also recommend purchasing a few sets of pumping gear. That way you don't have to wash after every use. I have a set of three so I only ended up washing parts a few times a day.

Good luck and glad you're hanging with it.

This is the OP- Thank you! Your post was informative and more importantly, encouraging. Yes, my supply is fine which is good. I would like to return to breast feeding. We are both battling thrush right now, and she is not a fan of the nipple. I am afraid the window will close on breastfeeding. sigh. . .

[Anonymous]

Don't give up just yet! I had to pump almost exclusively for 3-4 weeks in order to help establish supply. DH had to hand feed DD with a syringe and feeding tube because DD was a "sleepy baby." No latch problems, just DD would fall asleep before getting a good feed. Once we got her strength up enough, we were able to transition DD back to the nipple.

Biggest suggestion I received from the Breastfeeding center was not to bottle feed during the early stages. The syringe and feeding tube is a lot of work, but we had no problems with nipple confusion (if there really is such a thing) once DD went back to nursing full-time.

It's a long road, but totally worth it! DD nurses exclusively (and all the time, I might add). Good luck. You can do it!!!

[Anonymous]

If you haven't already talked to an LC, contact one. Not sure what you mean about health benefits to the mom, but if you mean like uterus contractions, then I think yes, since you're still stimulating your nipples. Health benefits to the baby are pretty much the same. There are some small differneces, but they're by FAR overshadowed by the fact that your baby's getting BM vs. formula. Kudos for being so dedicated. It too took me a few weeks to get things down well w/ DD and they pumping was brutal in those early weeks. I suggest buying extra gear (if you're going back to work later, you'll appreciate the additional pumping supplies) to help cut down on cleaning. Also - definitely get a good double pump if you don't have one already.

[Anonymous]

My situation was a lot like 15 34s except I used a nipple shield and attached the syringe to that! Anyways, baby got used to nipple shield and, eventually, after 9 weeks (when she was a little more patient and had more control over neck, etc.) we transitioned off. Now, she's almost 8 months and still nursing strong. Everything takes time, try to be patient, and it's great that your husband sounds supportive- that is key. I, also, suggest setting up a private consulation with Pat Shelly to go over specifics but, also, try attending a free group to see what others are going through and how their suggestions may help.

[Anonymous]

I too had to pump pretty much exclusively for my baby for almost two months before she would consistently latch well and nurse directly from the breast. She was only 5 lb 2 oz at birth and not strong enough to nurse effectively at first. It was HARD, but worth it in the end because she did learn to nurse. We battled nipple confusion with her because of bottles also, and did see an improvement when we started syringe-feeding. She's now been at the breast exclusively for three months and is growing much better than when on expressed breast milk.

I agree with PPs: talk to an LC ASAP to get latching tips, use a syringe or other feeding method more often than a bottle, get help to get you through this tough time, and most importantly, DON'T GIVE UP!! My LC said the window for babies to learn to nurse is three months, so you still have time.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Keep at it. But talk to a good lactation consultant. It will really help, either to establish a latch or to help you with improving the pumping.

[Anonymous]

I made that same decision after many tries/failures at latching left us both sobbing. I exclusively pumped until 6 weeks, when I was REALLY sick of all the sterilizing/pumping and called an LC. Josie at the Fairfax Breastfeeding Center watched our technique (or lack thereof) and helped correct my positioning, but when even that failed to help, introduced me to a nipple shield, a silicone nipple you place over your own. He latched! Our issue was a combo of his short tongue and my flat nipples.

It still took me a couple MONTHS to feel comfortable nursing and I never completely gave up pumping because I was going back to work, but I'd say by time he was 4 months old we were almost always nursing when together (I pump the 3 days I work). Although the shield was supposed to be a temporary fix, I didn't give it up until he was almost 5 months old - he had peeled it off while nursing and latched back on by himself. Guess he knew it was time to lose the crutch! He's 9 months old now and a champ - you'd never know the frustration/tears we had at the beginning.

Your latch issue might be different than mine, but I shared my story to encourage you to try an LC even if you already did (I was not impressed by the hospital's which is why it took 6 weeks of frustration to actually make the appt.)

If you decide to exclusively pump, I think that's an awesome decision. I found a couple helpful websites during the 6 weeks I did that - can't recall them all offhand but try: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bf-links-excpumping.html

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

The PumpMoms Yahoo group is also a great resource. It's hard to know for a specific baby when/if the breastfeeding window closes, but there are moms in the Yahoo group who have been successful getting their little ones to latch well after several months of exclusive pumping.

[Anonymous]

As a mom who similarly went through a really horrendous time trying to BF, here's what I can pass on to you:

1) Yes, the health benefits (both to mother and child) are the same regardless of whether you're pumping or BF. There is some evidence that stored breastmilk loses some of its nutriets (especially if its frozen), but if you're feeding freshly expressed milk, it should be the same.

2) Glad to hear your supply is good, but it may not stay that way. In general, nursing is "better" for your supply for two reasons: (1) It is hard for a pump to completely empty a breast as well as a strong sucking infant, and the emptiness is what helps trigger your body to make more. (2) For some women, the physical act of having a baby nursing (instead of a machine pumping) also helps with the mother's hormones and encourages milk supply. This is one of the reasons why women who return to work, and pump, may have supply problems. All that said, YOU may not have any problems (let's hope!), but its one reason you MAY want to give nursing another try at some point.

3) If you're having trouble with latching/nursing, consider a lactation consultant. I can tell you from experience, not all LCs are good! The first two I saw were of NO HELP at all to me and my baby... they gave me the "standard line" that I could find in any book, and my nipples were still bleeding and I was in excruciating pain. I almost gave up, except my Mom encouraged me to try ONE MORE. I did... her name is Josie Tullow at Northern Virginia Lactation Consultants (in Fairfax... I think they have a website). There are some other really truly good ones too that I'm sure others can recommend. Josie was the only one who correctly realized that my son had a weak chin, and so the "correct" latch for me involved a slightly different position than was traditional. One visit with her and I was off and running. It made all the difference.

4) I think you should be proud of the fact that you're pumping through these difficulties, and believe me when I say, you are no less of a mother if you decide to nurse, pump, or feed formula. Do what WORKS for you, and consider the "big picture" (including the effect nursing or trying to nurse has on your stress levels!). But IF you have decided that you REALLY want to feed breastmilk... I'd really encourage you to give nursing a try with the help of a good LC when you're ready. It can be frustrating and intimidating when you're having problems, but I really believe that spending the time to fix it now will make your life easier in the long run, and will increase your chances of feeding breastmilk longer (if that's what you decide you want). In the long run, pumping is generally more of a pain (washing parts; takes time to pump, and then feed). So if you've decided you want to feed breastmilk, I'd really recommend finding a GOOD LC who can help you out. I had to pump for a number of weeks while I breasts healed... but once they did, and once I got the hand of nursing, ... it completely changed my attitude towards feeding my son. It went from "oh God help me, he's hungry... AGAIN!" to something I really didn't mind at all, and a really nice bonding time.

Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Yes, go see Pat Shelly at the Breastfeeding Center. Today!! Tell her that you would like to transition to the breast. Usually if you stop bottle feeding (and use alternative types of feeding such as cup or finger) then it makes it much easier to get babe on the breast, especially if you use nipple shields. It might make the next two weeks harder, but in the long run it will be well worth it.

[Anonymous]

OP...

Pat Shelly and Josie Tullow are the two LCs that are recommended time and time again on this board. Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

The process of cleaning your pump parts can be shortened.

There are few times that your equipment actually needs to be stearilized.

Also, since your baby is only 3 weeks, I assume you are home most of the day and you are not off at work pumping. You can put your pump parts in the refrig instead of cleaning them between washings.

There was a great conversation on this board in early July about tips for pumping at work. If you can find that, it will give a lot of good ideas for how to minimize cleaning time.

[Anonymous]

After four weeks of blisters, yeast infections, both of us sobbing, I gave up nursing and pumped exclusively for 12 months. I must be the anomaly, but I loved it! I lost weight much faster than my nursing friends (in fact, I couldn't keep weight on) and my supply also stayed very consistent and very high throughout the entire year. It was easy knowing how much the baby got and not worrying about her under-feeding, over-feeding, etc and I found that the pump (make sure you have a Medela PIS or similar) emptied my breasts completely. It wasn't bad at all. In fact, I may not even try to nurse #2 and go straight to the pump. It's just not worth the emotional stress that it caused the first time around. Good luck! Oh, and I consulted 5 (including Pat) with #1, to no avail.