How Hard Is Pumping?

[Anonymous]

I have an 8 week old and nursing is not getting any better. I hate nursing. I have a good supply and want to give him breast milk with everything going on and cold/flu season starting. I have pumped once a day since he was born but I’m thinking of exclusively pumping. He takes a bottle and I like to know how much he is getting since we struggled with weight gain issues for the first month. How hard is pumping? I plan to do until he is 6 months old and then seeing I want to continue.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I would prefer those who only nursed not to comment. I’m not interested in “ just continue trying” or how much “nursing was easier”. I’m looking for advice from women who have exclusively pumped or pumped multiple times a day.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how dedicated you are to doing it. I started pumping at 4 week because of latch issues and poor weight gain. It felt like a relief at first from nursing, but i was tired of it after a couple of days. I felt like I was trapped in one place and my life revolved around pumping. I was pumping 8 times a day and it was hard. It did get easier as I dropped a pump. I pumped 8 times until 3 months and then dropped a pump each week. My baby is 4 months old and I pump 5 times a day. It’s not that bad since I can pump while he naps, but I don’t plan on pumping after 6 months. I think it will be too hard with him once he is mobile.

I recommend you get multiple sets of pump parts and bottles. That will make it easier.

[Anonymous]

I pumped for 6 months but my baby is turning 1 this month. I had my baby in September 2020 and wanted to make sure he got breast milk. He was a good sleeper and I pumped during his nap times. I had a huge supply. I stopped pumping when I went back to work at 4 months, but I was able to feed him pumped milk until 6 months. We switched to formula but he was able to get a bag of pumped milk until this month.

[Anonymous]

I pumped for 8 months. This was years ago. No issues producing enough. I easily produced enough to feed her and build a freezer stash. Had to toss the freezer stash as the lipase made it undrinkable for her and I didn't know about scalding the milk before freezing.

I would have stopped earlier, but she had a milk protein intolerance and it was cheaper then the Hypoallergenic Baby Formula they suggested & that she detested.

[Anonymous]

Pumping is as hard or as easy as you make it. I had my own private office with a fridge under the desk. I locked the door and pumped every 3 hours for 30 min. Then I put the pump parts in a bag in the fridge. Washed at the end of the day. Easy. I had no supply issues.

Pumping when I had to go to a pump room was hell. I was always missing meetings and just a big struggle.

[Anonymous]

All the moms I know who had severe PPD/mental health issues after pregnancy were exclusive pumpers. It can be incredibly draining (ha, literally). My advice is to just use formula.

[Anonymous]

I did EP with my first for 11 months. It was much better than his terrible latch, we were both miserable with nursing. He was also a preemie so I too liked seeing the amount he was getting in the bottle.it was manageable - I bought a lot of sets of parts so they could just be washed once a day, my husband took care of all the logistics.

Also, get a hospital rental pump like Medela symphony

Now with my second I am BF and that's easier but ONLY because it's working. It make me realize I couldn't and shouldn't have forced it the first time.

Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Ya know it both sucks and is fine - it was nice to still feed him milk and nurse in between and others could feed him and I’d be on my phone or working when pumping. But …the washing, the wasting time, the pain, eh that stuff wasn’t fun.

So I think if you want your kid to drink breast milk then it’s fine. Otherwise use formula.

[Anonymous]

I liked breastfeeding and hated hated hated pumping. But each to her own.

[Anonymous]

For me, pumping was hard -- I found it stressful and difficult being chained to one spot and couldn't produce enough milk. In your situation, I would pump only as much as was comfortable and supplement with formula, since the benefits of breastmilk seem to be the benefits of getting some breastmilk, not exclusively breastmilk. That being said, I knew some women in a nursing support group who pumped exclusively because it was easier for them, so my struggles with pumping are definitely not universal. Wishing you the best, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the moms I know who had severe PPD/mental health issues after pregnancy were exclusive pumpers. It can be incredibly draining (ha, literally). My advice is to just use formula.

Many nursing moms had the same issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked breastfeeding and hated hated hated pumping. But each to her own.

OP asked for posters like you bro to comment. No one cares that you liked breastfeeding. No one cares that you hated pumping. That was not her question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the moms I know who had severe PPD/mental health issues after pregnancy were exclusive pumpers. It can be incredibly draining (ha, literally). My advice is to just use formula.

Many nursing moms had the same issues.

Yes, but as my pumping friends said, they at least got the cuddly bonding part. Pumping can make you feel like a factory farmed dairy cow on a milking machine.

[Anonymous]

Pumping we easier than nursing for me. We had no issues with latch do weight but my baby took forever to eat. My nipples were always chapped and it was painful. He would eat every two hours during the day for 30-45 minutes. He would cluster feed every 30 minutes in the evening. I hated nursing and started dreading feeding my baby. I switched to pumping and it was easier. I was pumping for 20-30 minutes 8 times a day instead of the 45 minute feeds 10 times a day. He ate better from a bottle. I was able to drop pumps when he dropped a feed. Nursing isn’t always easier for everyone.