Philadelphia Nesties
larrysdarling
member
Kimbatron:MsTammy:Thanks so much for all the advice!! I really appreciate it. I may be a 4th time mom, but this is my first try at EBF, so it's a whole new world for me.When I do begin pumping, do I just pump after the baby eats and empty my boobs?Also - for those that aren't my FB friends, I bought a pump, opened it, and it was USED. So shady bastard broke into it from the bottom and taped it back up. No lie there was crusted breast milk on it. Now I have to go buy another one. ugh.That is horrifically rank re: crusted breast milk. I'm curious to know about when to pump as well - I had thought you would pump in lieu of feeding the baby but that was just a thought not based on any real information.Hey girls, In re to your post below about when to pump. It depends on WHY you're pumping.If you're pumping to build your stash, you pump IN ADDITION to feeding the baby. For example, you can pump on one side while you feed from the other (if you feed from one side per feeding). You can add a pumping session when the baby's sleeping. Or you can pump after you're done feeding. Pump until you're not getting anything else out - sometimes you can actually stimulate a 2nd letdown with your pump and get more out. You can use breast compression (gentle squeezing/massaging) to get more out as well. For me, I built a stash by pumping right after the first morning feeding. You tend to have more milk in the morning. I also pumped at night when the baby went to bed, around 11 or something. I know other moms who woke up and pumped when baby started sleeping longer. I liked my sleep too much, though.You can also pump INSTEAD OF feeding the baby directly at the breast. Some moms do this if they can't get baby to latch, have super sore nipples that need a break, etc. Women who EP (exclusively pump) are my heroes b/c it's super hard - not only do you have to pump you also have to feed the baby so you're essentially spending twice the amount of time feeding the baby. It can be hard to build a stash if you're an ep'er b/c everything you're pumping goes right to the baby - unless baby doesn't eat everything you pump.Also, one thing to keep in mind is the baby is ALWAYS more efficient at emptying you then the pump is. So what you pump is NOT a good indication of how much the baby is eating. HTH and great job!
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Tammy and Kimbatron re pumping
Kimbatron:MsTammy:Thanks so much for all the advice!! I really appreciate it. I may be a 4th time mom, but this is my first try at EBF, so it's a whole new world for me.When I do begin pumping, do I just pump after the baby eats and empty my boobs?Also - for those that aren't my FB friends, I bought a pump, opened it, and it was USED. So shady bastard broke into it from the bottom and taped it back up. No lie there was crusted breast milk on it. Now I have to go buy another one. ugh.That is horrifically rank re: crusted breast milk. I'm curious to know about when to pump as well - I had thought you would pump in lieu of feeding the baby but that was just a thought not based on any real information.Hey girls, In re to your post below about when to pump. It depends on WHY you're pumping.If you're pumping to build your stash, you pump IN ADDITION to feeding the baby. For example, you can pump on one side while you feed from the other (if you feed from one side per feeding). You can add a pumping session when the baby's sleeping. Or you can pump after you're done feeding. Pump until you're not getting anything else out - sometimes you can actually stimulate a 2nd letdown with your pump and get more out. You can use breast compression (gentle squeezing/massaging) to get more out as well. For me, I built a stash by pumping right after the first morning feeding. You tend to have more milk in the morning. I also pumped at night when the baby went to bed, around 11 or something. I know other moms who woke up and pumped when baby started sleeping longer. I liked my sleep too much, though.You can also pump INSTEAD OF feeding the baby directly at the breast. Some moms do this if they can't get baby to latch, have super sore nipples that need a break, etc. Women who EP (exclusively pump) are my heroes b/c it's super hard - not only do you have to pump you also have to feed the baby so you're essentially spending twice the amount of time feeding the baby. It can be hard to build a stash if you're an ep'er b/c everything you're pumping goes right to the baby - unless baby doesn't eat everything you pump.Also, one thing to keep in mind is the baby is ALWAYS more efficient at emptying you then the pump is. So what you pump is NOT a good indication of how much the baby is eating. HTH and great job! 
Re: Tammy and Kimbatron re pumping
I wanted to EP because of our latch difficulties but as you mention, it was so hard because I still had to feed the baby then worry about pumping. I was also worried that my breastfeeding supply would never be well-established because the baby is more efficient than the pump and it's so early for me still (he is only 2.5 weeks old).
This is great info - thanks!
Whew, you've got a lot going on there, huh?! Good job powering through it. Sounds like you guys are still doing good if he's gaining and peeing!
Can you get a 2nd opinion on the tongue tie? It can be so much easier and less painful if it gets clipped. Personally, I wanted at one point to EP and Amy#'s just encouraged me to stick with it so I did. I would have a 2nd look at the tongue tie before switching to EP, IMO.
Hopefully the OALD will go away once your supply starts evening out a little. I dealt with it and block feeding fixed it for me, for the most part. I can still squirt milk clear across the room from one boob, though ;-)
Block feeding is basically feeding off of one side for a period of time, say 3 hours. For instance, you'd feed off only one side then if he wants to eat an hour later you feed on the SAME side. If he wants to eat 2 hours later then you switch to the other boob. We did it and never went back to two sided feeding. You're super engorged at first but it levels out after a few days.
Also, if you have OALD, pumping can make it worse. Just an FYI.
Feel free to ask questions at any time! I am by no means an expert but there are plenty of boob feeders here that helped me and can help you, too, if you need it!
Thanks!!!
I wonder if I have OALD because I started pumping on day 3 (PED's orders).
Could be, if you're pumping in addition to feeding directly. I would imagine it depends on how often you pump and how often you feed at the breast.
Thanks so much for all your help and info LD!
I jsut got my new pump (brand new and not secretly used!!) and since I have so much milk, I'm gonna start building my stash now.
I can't believe it was used.
GL. I found pumping very gratifying at first. Seeing all those little bags filled was a good feeling!
My advice to anyone, if you evenly mildly suspect a tongue tie, is to see an ENT about getting it clipped. I can not even begin to express how much easier breastfeeding was once we got that handled. and especially if your pedi is suggesting to "just pump" instead. EPing is really hard work, and to be honest unless your pedi has done it, they probably don't get it.
I needed to pump to build supply prior to the tongue tie being snipped, so I pumped after every feeding and was supplementing with breast milk. once that was under control, I pumped after the morning feeding. Sometimes I would pump during the day if he took a monster nap.