Exclusively Pumping

First off...sorry to those who have absolutely ZERO interest in nursing / pumping. You might just want to skip this post today! I had some questions about my experience with exclusively pumping so if you are one of those wondering - this post is for you!

Exclusively pumping isn't for everyone, but since I was returning to work I knew I wanted to go this route and start pumping early on. I wanted to get the hang of it, have some milk stored in our freezer for when I went back to work, and I also wanted Billy to be able to help with feedings a couple weeks after Cam was born. 

All of the advice I was given and am going to share came from a lactation consultant I worked with at the hospital, so this is just my personal experience and what she recommended to me. I felt CLUELESS without her and Steph, who also exclusively pumps! Anyway, I started pumping a few weeks after Camden was born. I wanted to increase my supply and have Billy give him a bottle during one of the night feedings. At first, two times a day I would pump 30 minutes after I nursed for 15-20 minutes. I wouldn't get a lot of milk at all, but it told my body to produce more milk. This was A LOT of work and took so much time, but by sticking with it I slowly created a freezer stash and increased my supply. We started giving Camden one bottle per day (in the middle of the night) to ease him into the transition, which he took just fine.

From there, I just kept pumping after nursing and once I had 3-4 bottles stored in our fridge (to have just in case and to start me off in a good place, plus my freezer stash) we slowly increased the amount of bottles we gave him per day until all of his feedings were bottles. I would pump after I fed him every 3 hours, or if I timed it right I could pump right before he ate if he was napping. He transitioned really well and never seemed to "miss" nursing, although I did at times! Pumping is so much more work (the constant cleaning of parts mainly) and many worry about losing that bond that you have with your baby when nursing, but I still felt a bond with him when feeding him bottles and I felt a lot less stressed. 

Right now my pumping schedule looks a little like this: 7am, 10am, 1pm, 5pm, 10pm, 230-3am. I plan to drop the middle of the night session once I hit 12 weeks because that's when I heard your supply won't decrease by cutting it out. It also took me a bit to be able to have these sessions spaced out to 4-5 hours. At first I was pumping every 3 hours on the dot to keep my supply up, but now I can sometimes go 4-5 hours, if need be, without my supply taking a dip. 

It can be difficult sometimes to exclusively pump, and in the beginning I literally questioned HOW it was even possible! This is my routine: I warm Camden's bottle right before he's due for a feeding, feed him, then pump right after (or within 30 minutes or so). Obviously this can be really tricky if he is fussy and I can't get him to rest on his own for 15-20 minutes while I pump, but as time went on and he got older it got much easier.  Sticking with it takes a lot of dedication and is hard but WORTH IT. Besides, I have this sweet face to motivate me every single day!

I highly recommend investing in a hands free pumping bra because there were a few times I had to literally hold Cam on my lap while pumping. Nowadays I use it at least 2-3 times per day so that I can work on the computer, entertain Cam, blow dry my hair (true story), etc. Now that he's a little older and can sit on his own without needing my attention so much, I will just put him in his swing or bouncy seat while I pump. Even though exclusively pumping is difficult, it has benefits too like being able to have other people feed him and I know exactly how much milk he is getting and drinking.

For the times I'm at work (I am working part time now and will be home 2 days a week with him), I plan to pump once in the morning when I get there, at lunch, and before heading home for the day. I'm SO looking forward to hitting the 12 week mark so I can drop that middle of the night session!

A BIG TIP that I'm so glad I heard about from the beginning: So that you don't have to wash your pump parts after every use just rinse them with warm water, place in a gallon zip-lock bag, then store them in the fridge. You can store them like this all day and then at night give them a good thorough cleaning and replace with a new bag! Genius!

Other things you can do to increase your supply that really work (I did all of these!): Continue pumping for 5 minutes after your milk flow stops, drink Gatorade and Mothers Milk Tea every single day, eat oatmeal (not instant), and look into taking Fenugreek!

*I use the Medela Pump in Style and I like it a lot (especially since insurance covered it!), but if I had to go back I would probably pay extra to get the Medela Freestyle because it's smaller and portable! I've also heard great things about renting hospital grade pumps from Babies R Us, but never ended up going that route.

*Another option when making the switch to exclusively pumping / being worried about going back to work and needing to start a supply would be to for one full day give your baby formula (IF you are okay with that obviously) after you've introduced him to bottles so that every time you pump, which would you want to do each time he eats, that milk you would be able to store.

*Lastly, if you ever question your supply or need help with pumping, I strongly recommend calling your hospital and making an appointment with the lactation consultants. A lot of insurance companies will cover up to 6 visits with them and it's incredibly helpful!

I feel like I'm missing some key things here and that this post is all over the place, so if I left out anything or you have any other questions-feel free to send me an email!