Pumping?

Question

I just had my baby a week ago, and I’m EBF, but I do want to start a stash for when I go back to work, and if I ever want to leave the house without a baby permanently attached to me. 
When did you start pumping? And ow much did you pump out? If you don’t get a full bag, do you just freeze what you have and then add to that bag?

Answer

My breastfeeding instructor recommended not to start pumping until two weeks before you go back to work and then only once a day. You only need enough milk in the freezer for the next day, although I’d like to have a little bit of a buffer. If you start pumping now, you can end up with an oversupply because your body thinks your baby needs more milk than he or she really does. I waited until my supply was pretty regulated to start pumping (about 6 weeks). Now I pump once a few hours after my son goes to sleep at night because he’s sleeping about 6-8 hours now. He’s only gotten a few bottles so even just doing that I have quite a stash. You shouldn’t mix milk that’s different temperatures, so in the beginning when I would pump after a feed and only get maybe .5-1oz (which is a normal amount to pump after feeding!!), I’d dump it in a storage bag in the fridge and then chill the next .5-1oz, combine them and label accordingly for the freezer.

Answer

I started pumping pretty early on (about a week in) and have varied how much I pump depending on what's going on with the schedule that day. I pump into the Medela bottles then keep one in my fridge and add to it until there's a full feeding to freeze. You are not supposed to add to milk once frozen, so you need to chill it all first. I have pumped usually 1-2 times a day and occasionally once halfway through the night now that my son sleeps through. I have had enough to keep several days worth for my son plus donate to a local adopted newborn. The more you pump, the more you'll produce!

Answer

i started pumping inside the hospital not even 24 hours after i pushed my son out he was tongue tied & had a BAD latch in addition to me having short nipples so i pumped & fed him whatever i could get in a syringe. then continued pumping when i got home. however my son started refusing a bottle at around 3 months old so from 3 months to almost 7.5 mo it’s been only breast. if i had this huge stash built up i would have no use for it & would probably have to donate it. 
I also introduced a bottle to my son at around 2 weeks old, & he was almost exclusively bottle fed ( breast milk) for 2 months of his life before i started incorporating the breast again. so it wasn’t that he had nipple confusion he just knew what he liked...

Answer

I don’t pump much as i am a sahm so don’t need a huge stash. I pump in the morning because supposedly that’s the best quality milk. I bought these trays (milkies) that freeze the milk in 1 oz cubes. Then I put 3 or 4 cubes together in a small ziploc and then put all those into a larger ziploc. I keep it separated by month and label the big ziploc so i know what to use first. I also use the bags and put 4 oz into each of those. I only usually pump about 4-6 oz per day. It’s just for me to have for a random day or night away from baby.

Pumping?

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