Exclusively pumping?

Question

Any moms that exclusively pump and feed baby bottle? How did you start out and what exactly is your method? I want baby to have breast milk but I’m not all about “the bonding”. I’m having a hard time keeping up with need of baby, not supply wise, but sleep wise. She feeds every 2-3 hours for 45 mins. I would rather hubs be able to give her a bottle of breast milk at night than staying awake at all hours. That might sound bad but I hope yAll understand 😞

Answer

Agree with all the other comments. The night pumping sessions are crucial. I exclusively pumped for 8 months with my daughter when she wouldn’t latch. One trick I learned is you don’t have to wash and sterilize the pumping parts after every session. You can rinse them in hot water and then store them in the fridge to prevent bacteria from growing. I would do this and wash and sterilize them nightly. It helped me to not go insane washing the parts on top of all the bottles. Good luck!

Answer

I’ve been exclusively pumping for 4 months now. My husband had 3 weeks off after LO was born and helped sooo much. I would pump when he would feed. That way I was mimicking breastfeeding as much as possible. As for night feeding my husband and I would take shifts. I would pump at 7pm then sleep till 11pm and during that time he would feed baby whenever he got up. Then from 11pm to 5am I would pump every time after the baby would eat (usually every 2 hours). It sucked but those 3.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep would really help me push through the rest of the night. Then at 5am he would take over and I would get 2 more hours of sleep before we started the day. Once he went back to work we kept the same night schedule but at 5am I would need to get up for the day. I still pumped during the day every time baby ate till he was 2 months. Then I went with more of a schedule because baby was starting to fall into his own schedule and it got easier to plan around. Now that he’s 4 months and I’m back to work I pump 6x a day (1am, 5am, 9am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm) that’s what works for my schedule. Hope this helps!!

Answer

I exclusively pumped with my first for similar reasons. It was a terrible experience. For my second I exclusively breastfed and it was also a terrible experience lol feeding babies kinda sucks. The thing to consider about exclusive pumping is you never get a break. You have to stick to a strict schedule and you have to pump for approx 30 to 45 minutes ever three hours for the entire time you want to provide breastmilk. Whereas with nursing you get to cosleep and baby can side lay nurse and dream feed which saves you so much sleep. The first few months are hell no matter the method. Pick your poison lol for my third I am doing a little pumping so I can have a break or two every few days. But mostly nursing because it is actually the easiest of the hard choices.

Answer

you have to pump every 2-3hrs i would always put my alarm for 2hours after each pumping i would do 15min each breast at 3mo pp i started taking moringa capsules to help me produce more milk and it worked great i was pumping up to 28oz every 3hours. it would be almost the same if you are bottle feeding you have to keep up with a schedule to have good milk supply

Answer

You need to be pumping every time she’s eating. You need to pump to match her feeding schedule to trick your body into making more. 
Don’t skip night pumps. Those are crucial in the beginning and they matter. 
Add one or two power pumps throughout your day. Keep hydrated and make sure you’re eating enough calories.

Answer

I don’t know if exclusively pumping is going to be any easier! I pumped for a short period when my baby was first born because we had some latching issues and now I pump 3-4 times a day while at work! To me breastfeeding is so easier than pumping (I hate pumping)! With pumping to me it’s like twice the work and you don’t really get a break unless you want to jeopardize your milk supply! You have to wash all the pump pieces and the bottles! With breastfeeding I just take out my boob and put it back when he is done! No cleanup required! My baby is a little over 4 month and I can tell you I wouldn’t have been able to exclusively pump this whole time! I give the women that do a tone of credit because it’s a full time job on top of the full time job of caring for the baby! I do pump now that I’m back at work, but my mother in law is giving the bottles, so I feel like the work is not as much and the clean up is doable!

Answer

I exclusively pump. I pump every 3 hours for 20 minutes. If hubby is helping, he will bottle feed while I pump which usually takes about the same amount of time. That does help me get more sleep. The baby feeds every 3 hours most of the time so I get to sleep 2 to 2.5 hours in between feeds depending on if hubbs is helping.

Answer

😬 this is not what you want to hear right now, but even if you exclusively pump, you’ll have to do so every 2-3 hours to establish your supply regardless. If you cut out your night pumping sessions your milk will absolutely cut down significantly. You can get away with every 3-4 hours at night sometimes, but it’s still tricky if your baby is still new and your supply isn’t established.

Exclusively pumping?

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