Hellobee

I laugh about this now, but when I was pregnant with Little Lion I didn’t think I would need a breast pump. “Get the double electric one! You will be glad you have it.” Mr. Lion assured me. But I was convinced that, since I was going to be staying home, a single manual pump for emergencies would be all I would need. Thankfully, Mr. Lion won that disagreement, because in Little Lion’s first year of life, I spent a great deal of time with that double electric.

LL was born 5 weeks early, and thus he began his life in the NICU, where I was instructed to pump frequently. I was loaned a hospital pump and taught how to use it, while also learning the ins and outs of breastfeeding a preemie, nipple shields, and supplemental nursing systems.

Post-bottle snuggles with Daddy

Long story short, nursing never really got easier for us over the first few months. LL had a teeny mouth and required a nipple shield to nurse at all, and eventually I decided that for my sanity, I would become an exclusive pumper. I was already pumping frequently during the day, and this decision was lifesaving for me.

While this solution did make life so much easier and less stressful for us, it was far from easy. But I did learn a lot about how breast milk is produced by the body, how to maximize output, and how to save time (which is very important when undertaking such a time consuming commitment!) I thought it may be helpful to share what worked for us during our pumping journey!

2. Pump A LOT in the beginning – In the beginning especially, breastfeeding is a supply and demand operation. When milk is removed from the breasts, your body is signaled to make more. When milk remains in the breasts, your body is signaled to make less. Just as baby needs to eat every 2-3 hours, I needed to pump every 2-3 hours in the beginning. I didn’t go by the clock when pumping, but rather went by what I was pumping. I would pump until the milk stopped flowing, and then for a few minutes after that. Many experts recommend pumping between 15 and 20 minutes, and this was roughly how long it took me too in the beginning. You will need to pump in the middle of the night too in the beginning, until your supply is well established.

3. Power Pump! – This was something I did a lot in the early days, at the recommendation of the hospital LC. The purpose of this is to imitate cluster feeding, which is when a newborn nurses on and off for long periods of time. Find a comfy spot where you can relax, and alternate between periods of pumping and breaks. The LC recommended watching a tv show and turning the pump off during commercials and on again when the show resumed. During this time you would continue pumping even if milk is not flowing.

4. Massage, Massage, Massage – This was another great tip I got from the LC in the hospital. Massage really helps to remove milk from all parts of the breast, which in turn increases supply (remember, any milk left behind will stimulate your body to make less!), prevents clogged ducts (they can’t get clogged if there’s nothing in there!), and in turn, prevents mastitis. There are lots of youtube videos available that show how to do this. I didn’t go a single pumping or nursing session without massage, and I think it made a huge difference in maintaining my supply pain free!

5. Get a hands free bra, and wear a cami every day – The hands free bras were an absolute necessity for me. You cannot both hold the bottles and successfully massage while pumping both breasts at once. I survived with just one hands free bra, but if I end up EPing for baby #2, I will invest in a second. Without it, I was only able to massage and pump one side at a time, which takes twice as long. Also, unless you like sitting around your house completely topless (no judgment here if you do!), the camis will help keep you covered up a little. I was able to take off my top layer and then pull the straps down around my arms so that my mid section was still covered.

6. Designate a location – I hated putting the pump away and getting it back out every time I needed it, so I set up a station in my living room. I took the pump itself out of the giant bag it came in (I was only pumping at home, so portability was not necessary for me) and put it in a small basket so that it took up less room. Make sure you have a flat surface nearby so that you have a place to set the bottles when you are disassembling.

7. Store pump parts in the fridge – Lots of people buy extra parts so that they don’t have to wash so often, but I found that storing the parts in a container in the fridge was much more time saving. Most times I would start one morning with clean parts and then use them for two days before washing. I would hand wash them the second evening, and they would be ready to go the following morning. You could wash more often if you wanted, but I wouldn’t go longer than 48 hours.

8. Don’t be afraid to drop sessions – Once your supply is established, it isn’t always necessary to continue pumping around the clock. For me, I was eventually able to drop down to only 4 sessions a day without compromising my supply. To decrease the total number of sessions, drop no more than one, and keep your new schedule for 3 days. This will give your supply time to adjust. If your output stays the same after 3 days you are fine to try to drop another. If your output does decrease, you can add that session back and your supply should increase again within 3 days. Dropping sessions takes some trial and error, but when EPing it is FAR more manageable when you have to stop your day to pump 4 times vs. 8!  Also, if you need to miss one session occasionally, it is unlikely to do any damage to your supply. Just get back on track the following day.

9. Try not to quit on a bad day, but it’s okay if you want to stop – EPing is really really hard sometimes, just like breastfeeding in general. There were lots of times I wanted to throw in the towel after a hard day, but I was glad the following day when I had a chance to see the bigger picture that I didn’t. Eventually I did decide to stop and switch to formula at 10 months, but it was after a lot of consideration, and not out of frustration. When I did stop, I had no guilt. I knew I had weighed the pros and cons, and made the best decision I could (isn’t that all we can really do as parents anyway?) If you find that it just isn’t working out, it is more than okay to stop, whether it has been weeks or months! Your baby needs a happy healthy momma more than he/she needs breastmilk! Any amount of EPing should be celebrated, because it is really a tough job!

10. Enjoy the benefits of bottle feeding! – Breastfeeding gets a lot of the glory (with good reason!), but there are some really great things about bottle feeding too! One of the most wonderful things I witnessed when LL was tiny is watching him bond with his daddy in this way. Let’s be honest, there isn’t a lot of interaction going on when babies are newborns, and feeding is probably the most interactive part of the day. I am glad Mr. Lion didn’t miss out on this experience. It also allowed us to leave home sooner, and I was able to get a lot more sleep than I would have if I was exclusively breastfeeding because we could share the middle of the night feeding responsibilities. These, of course, are in addition to the fact that nursing was stressful and emotionally draining for us, so my most calm moments of the day were when I was snuggled up with LL as he contentedly drank his bottles.

Despite the inconveniences and time consuming nature of exclusively pumping, I am so grateful that I was able to make it work so that LL could have breast milk for most of his first year. Do you have any tips to add for making EPing a successful experience?