Reply to How Hard Is Pumping?

Forum Index » Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers

Reply to "How Hard Is Pumping? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I've been EP-ing from the beginning and my LO is now 7 months old. i honestly did not find it to be that difficult, but I had low expectations since I knew it was all going to be hard.

A few practical things that helped me:

- Don't put too much pressure on yourself. I could never do the 8 pumps per day like what was recommended...it was too mentally draining. At most, I was at 6-ish pumps a day. By 4 months, I moved to 4 pumps and at at 6 months, I went down to 3 pumps per day. My baby typically eats about 30 oz a day and I pump anywhere between 30-40oz a day. I felt comfortable moving to 3 pumps because I was still making more than baby was consuming and I knew he was going to be taking less milk since we started solids. 
- Whenever I went down a pump, I tried to increase the time I pumped. At 3 pumps, I try to pump anywhere between 30-45 minutes a pump. I pump at 8am (I work from home and pump after daycare dropoff), 3pm and 10pm.
- Having an app to track my production was really motivating in the first 6 months. When I was too lazy to pump, the app helped me get to goals for the day (kind of like Fitbit steps I guess lol). I stopped using it when I went down to 3 pumps because, again, I was comfortable with losing some ounces. 
- I also had a Spectra and found the massage mode (also known as Bacon mode haha) produced more so I keep it on that for my whole session
- If you can, use the pumping session as a time to also rest/pamper yourself a bit. I was lucky in that I have only one child and my husband was at home to help. When it's time for me to pump and if our baby is home, my husband knows he's on baby duty. I use those 30 minutes to have some quiet time with a book, netflix, whatever it may be.

Also as a side note, my husband loved the experience of getting to feed our baby especially in the early months.

Honestly, all I can say is just be kind to yourself. Pumping isn't bad for everyone. For me and my family, it was the best solution for us and our preemie baby. He has thrived and our family has developed a system that works well for us. Don't let negativity get you down because motherhood is hard enough as it is. If you want to chat more, happy to chat separately. 
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics