Is pumping really worth it in the end?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When they do proper controls on breastfeeding the benefits don't really materialize. I say this as someone who breastfed for a year and a half. The most concretely proven benefit is actually to you, not to the baby.

Pumping 8 times a day is a lot of work and hard to do while caring for a baby. Your mental health matters too.

You can formula supplement and reduce Pumping without totally losing your supply, my friend did it.

The breastfeeding craze is driven by two things:

1.Taking advantage of unpaid female labor
2. Feeding off anxiety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well if you wouldn’t give your toddler powdered milk why would you give your infant powdered formula? Additionally, I have zero faith in today’s FDA. YMMV.

I’m not convinced that breastmilk is healthier given all the chemicals and plastics in our food supply. I have friends who were gung ho breastfeeding and would drink wine on a daily basis or take antidepressants. There’s no way that’s better for a baby than formula.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pumped for 2 months and then as baby grew, so did her mouth and it was easy to go back to breast

Any tips and tricks? I put him on the breast multiple times a day. Sometimes before his feed and sometimes after. He tires easily if he has a good latch. Otherwise it seems like he just comfort nurses or gets a top off.

One thing you might try is dialing back putting him on the breast to once a day or every other day. In my experience, the transition was basically like a switch flipped and suddenly baby was able to productively latch vs. being a situation where more exposure to boob led to gradually more productive nursing. For my own sanity, I didn't try nursing multiple times a day or even every day - I think it was more like one try every other or every third day.

[Anonymous]

No, it's not. If you're not EBF meaning no bottles, use formula. Pumping is a special kind of hell and a huge waste of time and energy.

[Anonymous]

I would only use formula or breastfeed. Breastfeeding has some downsides but the advantages are not having to remember to bring formula anywhere, not having to waste formula, not having to purchase, make or warm formula. At night, you can also side nurse, which is more relaxing than feeding from a bottle.

However, if I couldn’t breastfeed, I would use formula.

Nutritionally the tradeoffs make them fairly equivalent.

[Anonymous]

Please consider talking with a lactation consultant of La Leche League leader, if you haven’t already, before deciding if you want to keep trying to nurse. There are methods/tips that can really help.

[Anonymous]

My first had a lousy latch...she latched but poorly first 6 months which led to low/inconsistent supply, gas. She had reflux...and then self weaned at 6 months at which point I exclusively pumped ( by that point she was diagnosed with a dairy/soy intolerance plus cows milk allergy so only option was elecare)

I pumped enough extra during those intense 6 months to give her frozen breast milk until probably 16 or 17 months old (you can use it for up to 12 months)

No clue if it was "worth it" - only you can decide that. I thought it was annoying but do not regret it. At 5 weeks I'd be spending tons of time at the lactation consultant to work on latch to try to reduce pumping.

[Anonymous]

I exclusively pumped for 18 months. When I finally stoped, I wondered why I kept pumping for so long. My mental health improved immediately. It is really the worst situation because you are spending all of this time pumping and then still having to prepare, lug around and clean bottles.

The main benefit of breastmilk is for the antibodies to protect against major illness/ear infections. There is a slight few point difference potentially in IQ.

I would pump for at least 3 months for the antibodies, and then re-assess. I personally could never pump enough. My daughter always got 1 bottle of formula. There also has not been research into whether pumped breastmilk has the same benefits as fresh.

[Anonymous]

I had a similar situation (poor latch, excessive sleepiness), and as the other people were saying, at some point the baby grew and latch just stopped being an issue. You might be close to that point. Once it started to work, it became so easy that I did it for another 1.5 years At the same time with the stress of it all, in the end I don’t know if it was worthy…

[Anonymous]

My short answer is no.

I fully committed to BF and pumping, and did it for a year. In hindsight I wish I had realized how hard it was and given myself permission to stop.

On the upside, I had an incredible support network through the women at work who used our nursing moms room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would try keep it up for at least three months and after that don't worry about it.

A friend of mine had to go back to work after three months of maternity leave and was trying to decide whether to pump or formula feed once she had to go back to work. A member of her husband's family who was the head of the American pediatrics association or whatever it's called told her it was totally fine to stop pumping and formula feed. She thought it was more important that my friend choose whatever was right for her, the mom, than worry about pumping after three months of breastfeeding.

If it bothers you a lot, I think it's fine to stop now.

There’s all kinds of studies with different outcomes. Probably that’s why pediatricians say either is fine. I didn’t breastfeed because I was in and out of the house so much and went back to work part time at three weeks. I had my husband and mother helping me

As teens neither have needed antibiotics and have no health problems. I think it’s nice if you can do it but the much more important issue is the baby getting enough calories and nutrients.

[Anonymous]

I was you. DD never got the hang of it. I pumped for 7 mos and regret it completely.

Fwiw, DD never gets sick but EBF DS does all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an mid-50s Mom of teens, I'll say that the benefits of breastmilk are so much more than simply nutrition. There are antibodies and immune builders that I barely understand but I suspect are deeply beneficial for tiny babies. It's a limited time opportunity to do something that pays long term dividends and I'd encourage you to stick with it even if it feels futile right now.

Both of my boys were c-section babies but I BF them for ~8 months and 1 year. No allergies or other health issues and they're both over 6 feet tall. Can't hurt to do this as an insurance policy toward their future health.

Plenty of six feet tall boys with no health issues who weren’t breastfed.

The only benefit that’s verifiable is mothers who breastfeed lose baby weight faster. That’s not nothing.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I will give it some more time. I don’t plan to pump beyond 4 months unless he is nursing and I only pump at work. I will keep trying until then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an mid-50s Mom of teens, I'll say that the benefits of breastmilk are so much more than simply nutrition. There are antibodies and immune builders that I barely understand but I suspect are deeply beneficial for tiny babies. It's a limited time opportunity to do something that pays long term dividends and I'd encourage you to stick with it even if it feels futile right now.

Both of my boys were c-section babies but I BF them for ~8 months and 1 year. No allergies or other health issues and they're both over 6 feet tall. Can't hurt to do this as an insurance policy toward their future health.

Plenty of six feet tall boys with no health issues who weren’t breastfed.

The only benefit that’s verifiable is mothers who breastfeed lose baby weight faster. That’s not nothing.

There is a concrete reduction in certain cancers for mom (likely due to your estrogen tanking during breastfeeding). But you do have to look at that as part of a total risk and balance the stress in your family.

There was a lot of really poorly controlled studies that showed these huge benefits but they didn't consider socioeconomic factors and that it's easier for women who have stable incomes and maternity leave to breastfeed.