Girls who exclusively pump....

I'm really interested in hearing from those of you who exclusively pump for your babies. I was going to BF, but Ava has some issues with her lower jaw that makes it near impossible for her to latch onto my ginormous boobies. I have no problem with exclusively pumping, but I'm wondering what your experiences have been? Do you produce enough milk for the day, etc..? My milk literally came in this morning, and so far today, I've gotten 10oz. We rented a hospital grade pump that seems to work really well, so I'm hoping that if I pump every three hours, that will help get my milk supply up.
I don't even know if 10oz. is good for now, but I felt proud for my first day of trying!
Anyway, any advice, info, etc, would be greatly appreciated! TIA!

Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

10 oz is terrific! Man, you are going to drop that baby weight quickly!! Excellent job!

eta. the more you pump the more you produce. It's supply & demand.

Message edited 6/16/2006 9:38:39 PM.

Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

I have been exclusively pumping since day 2 in the hospital. I was producing 5-6 ounces per side every 6 hours up until about 2 weeks ago. While on vacation, I didn't pump as often as I should have so my supply has dipped and I am working to get it back up. I am still producing more every day than DD can drink though. The whole bottom drawer of my freezer is full of milk. DH and I are going tomorrow to look to buy a freezer for the garage. I am just OUT of freezer space.

As far as my experience with it, it has been okay. It is alot of work -- having to pump several times a day in addition to feeding. Not to mention, having to wash extra bottles (the collecting bottles), and all of the pumping equipment. I suggest buying an extra set of breastshields, etc. so you don't have to wash everything EVERY TIME you pump.

I would recommend it to somebody though whose child can't latch or who can't BF the conventional way for whatever reason. Despite all the work involved, it gives me satisfaction to know that I can make the nourishment for my baby. It has also eased my mind a bit as far as worrying about this formula or that formula upsetting her belly.

Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

rach you know i do not have ginormous boobs but produce alot i was pumping early morning afternoon and evening. morning you produce the most milk in the morning i pump 18 oz afternoon it was 8 and night 15oz i dropped the afternoon pumping becuase im pumping all this milk and the baby doesnt drink that much and my families and my freezer is packed. at the beginning try every 3 hours its ok if you switch to 4 when more milk comes in. they also make this great handsfree bra so you can be on LIF or do other things ill post it for you

BRU sells these

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Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

10oz is awesome for the first day.
You might want to FM Michele31. She had great success with pumping for a year. She started with the hospital grade but eventually switched to a Pump in Style.
Have you seen a LC? Maybe they could help with Ava's latch. There are lots of tricks out there.

Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

I didn't pump in the beginning - so I don't know whats normal, but I eventually went that route, b/c it was easier for me.

I started pumping at 4-6 weeks and got I think about 20-25 oz. by 5 months I was upto almost 50 oz a day (even with the dropped nighttime pump) - and built up a large freezer supply.

My son had EBF until he was almost 12 months. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns

Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

Righty ho...I am going to answer this the bestest I can...with honest answers.

As you know (I sound like a broken record already) I have been exclusively pumping for 5 months. I have large boobiedoobies also, but that wasn't the problem with us breastfeeding...the issue really was that Noah is an evil genius who works day and night to make my life more and more difficult! Actually, he was tongue tied and never could latch on or s.u.c.k. So I started pumping because they wouldn't let me out of the hospital unless I had a feeding solution and really, formula isn't for me. So I started to pump but tried to get him on the boob everyday until about month 4...

Anyway, for the first month I used a Medala Single hand pump and I had an incredible amount of milk, maybe close to 50+ oz a day! It was unreal. Now that I am regular with a pumping schedule I pump 30 oz a day, which is enough for us. BUT if Noah did take formula, I would have no problem supplementing. 10 oz is great for your first day, have you been engorged at all???

There are a lot of downsides to pumping...I am a slave to the pump and I have to make sure that I am home to pump at certain times. When I take Noah out for the day, I constantly worry about running out of milk, if he decides to have lots of milk while we are out, I am screwed because I would have nothing for the little mite to eat. I always think, what if my car broke down??? He would be starving! I think washing the bottles are a real hassle (although, bottle washing is a mans job!!! Tell that to JT) washing the horns on the pump is a pain also! Its a constant worry that my milk supply will dry up...sometimes, if I am very tired I won't get as much milk and then I worry all day that he won't have enough to eat! And also, my entire freezer stash (which was maybe 50 bags of 10 oz) is RANCID. Which sux. Also, with pumping you get your AF back really quickly because the hormones that your body produces when you actually BF your baby are different when you pump, I got mine at 8 weeks pp.

This sounds really negative, but I would not choose to pump, its so tiring and stressful, but I am at the point where I think, well I have been doing it for this long...when should I stop? Should I stop? The disappointment of not being able to BF Noah will probably haunt me until I am dead because I wanted to BF so desperately!

The upsides are knowing that your baby is getting the best from you and that you are doing the best thing for your baby!! It is very rewarding, I any have to look at
noahs chubby thighs and tubby belly to know what an awesome mother I am and how hard I have been working! I hope he realises this before he puts me in that nursing home!

Anywho...now the evil genius is crying and playing at the same time in his exersaucer.

I think you should pump, I don't want you to think that I am saying DON'T DO IT...do it, enjoy it! BUt I am turning into a cynical old beeeyotch!!!

Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

10 oz YEEHAW!! Thats great!! I exclusively pumped from day one and had no problems. Good Luck

Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

I pumped exclusively also and had no problems with milk supply. I was also supplementing with formula 1 bottle a day and slowly increasing that until I weaned. With a hospital grade pump and a 10oz pump the first day - you should have no problems at all!

Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

Holy Crap, I didn't mean to sound so negative!!!

I should have given the short answer!

Re: Girls who exclusively pump....

Thank you so much to everyone who answered. I want to hear it all. Everything from the positives to the negatives. When it comes down to it, everyone's experiences will be different, I know that, but it's still good to know people are doing it and it's successful. I will not stop TRYING to BF, but with her issues, right now I don't know if the frustration is even worth it. I need to meet with another LC and see what they say. She is developing a stronger s-ck now (she could barely **** on Monday and Tuesday), so it's probably best to get someone here soon.
Till then, I'm just going to pump away. I've gotten 8oz so far in two pumpings since about 3am, so hopefully that'll continue to work until I can figure out what exactly we're doing over here!
So thank you again. Any and all info/advice is welcome!