Anyone pump but not BF?

Considering this as a possible option and would love to hear personal experience. How often you pump, if you supplement at all, etc

Anyone pump but not BF?

I pumped for 10 months for ds but acquired enough of a stash to last him til 13 months. In the beginning, I pumped every 2-3 hours around the clock to build my supply. After 12 weeks I dropped down to 6 pumps a day. By 8 months, I was down to 3 pumps per day. It was a great experience for me. Of course some days I hated the pump, but I would do it again If we have another baby.
When ds was born my dd was only 16 months. It was way easier to pump.

Anyone pump but not BF?

I did this with my first child and it wasn't for me. It was a nightmare. Twice the time (pump then bottle feed), washing bottles, worrying if I pumped enough. It was so stressful.
I pumped 6x a day--always including an overnight--and never built a stash. I lasted 9mo with supplementing then went to full formula.

Anyone pump but not BF?

I didn't do this but I give anyone who does a TON of credit. As a pp mentioned, it's basically twice the work and time. I pumped here and there and at work, I hated sitting there pumping plus then you're constantly washing the pump parts, plus bottles, not to mention then feeding the baby the bottle. I don't know how people do this exclusively!

Anyone pump but not BF?

I did this for 2 months. I tried BF but DS had a shallow latch and it was very painful. Pumping was very time consuming and I agree it was double the work. During the night I would pump and feed DS at the same time. I pumped 7x a day and by the time we reached 2 months I was just barely keeping up with what he was drinking so I never built a supply. I would recommend trying to breastfeed before considering exclusively pumping.

Anyone pump but not BF?

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Message edited 11/15/2015 9:09:20 PM.

Re: Anyone pump but not BF?

Anyone pump but not BF?

I despised it. Got mastitis when DD was one week old. I had started pumping because my nipples were bleeding and the infection did me in. I pumped for 7 months and hated every second. I was too scared once my nipples healed to try to latch her again. It was agony for me and DH would yell at me for crying and scaring DD when she latched because it was so painful. It's so time consuming and I would cry so much because I didn't want to do it.

Now I'm pregnant again and I don't know what I will do. I want to give DS the best start I can but I can't imagine pumping and taking care of both kids without losing my mind. And the idea of latching horrifies me.

If you have a good supply it might be worth it. I never got more than 2 oz at a time.

Re: Anyone pump but not BF?

Ty for the input. I have zero desire to nurse and just thought this might be a big money saver, but now I'm rethinking it. Thanks for the honesty!

Re: Anyone pump but not BF?

honestly, with my first, everyone was guilting me into nursing cuz "it's better for the baby."

I couldn't sit there forever with a baby latched on and then 45 minutes later need to feed again. I just couldn't do it.

A friend lent me a pump to try (with new attachments of course) and I took one look and figured i'd now have to sit there, pump, and clean all the contraptions and then wash bottles.

After being miserable for about a week, crying all the time over it, I decided to do formula.

I was raised on formula back in the day, so were my siblings, and we are all fine.

It's not necessarily "the best start" for your kid if you are miserable all the time.

Anyone pump but not BF?

I did it for 8 weeks. but not by choice, my ds was born premature and was in the NICU. Everyone has their own reasons and opinions. I hated every moment of it. It was stressful and time consuming and I cried each time. The LC at the NICU told me to stop, I needed to be healthy and happy
to take care of my kids. Yet there were nurses at the NICU that themselves were pumping for their kids going on over 12 months. They weren't able to breastfeed so they pumped. To each their own. My First daughter was given formula from day one and she is smart, happy and healthy.

Anyone pump but not BF?

I'm still nursing my 18 month old DS, but HATED pumping. The last day I pumped at work (when DS was 14 months old) was a very exciting and happy day.

Anyone pump but not BF?

Yes for both my kids and planning on the same for my third. Once you get into a pump routine it was like second nature. The only thing I did was strictly nurse in the hospital and for a few more days when I got home. I was not a fan of nursing, pumping came so much more natural to me. I liked knowing how much they were eating feeding.

Re: Anyone pump but not BF?

I've been breastfeeding for 7 weeks and although she does great, I hate not knowing how much she's getting each time. This week I'm transitioning to as many bottles as I can handle per day. Yes, it's twice the work but for me it's worth it. I don't want to switch to formula but I really want her on bottles. Try it! You can always change your mind.

Re: Anyone pump but not BF?

Did with my first and stopped when I was returning to work. For me it was exhausting , time consuming, and I didn't like pumping. First Kid didn't latch. Second child didn't latch, I pumped for 2 weeks and stopped.

If this one doesn't latch, I'll pump for 2 weeks and likely pack it up.

I think you should try, you can always stop when you want

Message edited 11/15/2015 8:09:23 PM.

Anyone pump but not BF?

Only because I feel as if you're getting a lot of awful stories, I'll chime in.

If you're doing it to save money, pumping probably isn't for you.

If you're doing it because breastmilk is scientifically proven to be better for your child than formula, then you may have a better chance of succeeding.

I bf dd for over 13 months, and pumped while at work and just to build a supply. I actually don't feel as if pumping was more difficult, but i rarely gave her bottles-someone else usually did bc I wasn't around.

And I didn't even like bf. I was happy as a clam once I stopped, but again, I think a large amount of your success depends upon your motivation.

Re: Anyone pump but not BF?

For my first child, I pumped only (no actual bf-ing) for almost a year. At the time I thought it was totally fine, though very time consuming with the constant washing bottles/pump parts & I'd actually pump 30+ minutes each time. My perspective now is very different because with ds2 I bf when I'm with him & only pump at work, and I only need to pump for 5 minutes or so each time to get the same amount of milk it would take 45 minutes to pump when I used to pump exclusively for my older son. I prefer breastfeeding by far, it's sooooooo much easier & I would never be able to devote the time & energy to pump full time again like I did for ds1. So I'm not going to tell you not to do it, because breastmilk is obviously great for the baby & if you're willing to do all that work, then go for it... but having done both, I would say bf-ing is by far preferable for me as far as ease, convenience, everything.

Anyone pump but not BF?

I only nursed for the first few days then began exclusively pumping.. I was having a hard time nursing, so as much of a pia it was to pump and wash it was way easier than nursing was for me. It definitely saved me a ton of money bc I only pumped for 6 months and my DD had enough breast milk to last her till 11.5 months .. I was determined to succeed with pumping though only bc the benefits of breastmilk..

Anyone pump but not BF?

I exclusively pumped with DD, and it was not by choice. It was by far the hardest thing ever - you will live by that pump. If you choose to supplement with formula, you will get a breather also if you child is decent eater around 6 months, it will give you some respite. My DD was a horrible eater, and relied solely on BM so I pumped for a LONG LONG time. I would have loved to nurse her, and then pump while at work or at night or something but her refusal to latch made it very hard but I would never discourage a mom who wants to pump if that's only way she can get breastmilk to her child, and if she wants to give breastmilk.

ETA: it is also time consuming - 30 mins to pump, and then 5 mins to put all the parts together, then washup etc.. it adds up. It's a commitment.

Message edited 11/16/2015 10:10:05 AM.

Re: Anyone pump but not BF?

I give EP moms a huge amount of credit -- it's the hardest possible option IMO. I do have a few friends who exclusively pumped, and one had a massive supply and was eventually able to pump 2-3x a day and get enough for the day from that. Having done a mix of BF and pumping, pumping is a hassle. It seems to me like a combination of all of the hardest and inconvenient aspects of BF coupled with all of the hardest and inconvenient aspects of FF with few of the benefits of either.

To me, a big part of what I like about BF is the special bond you form having the baby at the breast, plus the convenience of always having baby's food ready, the right temperature, etc, not having to pack much when you leave the house, not having to wash bottles, really easy to do nighttime feeds, being able to wear baby while feeding, etc. I do pump too, but only to have a stash when I am not around or if I was engorged in the beginning. I dont know what you do if you are out for a day and need to pump. Nursing in public can be discreet, pumping not as much. So you need to find a private place to pump, have a way to store the milk, a place to prep a bottle, lug the pump around with you (although the medala freestyle is small, the parts you need with it add up), factor in the time to pump and then to feed baby, etc. People do it, but man it sounds like a lot of work to me. Even prepping formula bottles seems like a lot of work to me. I think a lot of the people who succeed with EP are those who are extremely passionate about BF their baby and baby had trouble latching or something else prevented them from BF direct from the breast. Hopefully a few EPers can weigh in

Re: Anyone pump but not BF?

Anyone pump but not BF?

I pumped with both my DD"s. With my first I could NOT get her to latch-- I ended up EP'ing for a year. At first I pumped every 3-4 hours during the day and 1x at night. After 4 months and DD sleeping through the night I dropped the middle of the night pump, by about 6/7 months I was pumping 4 times a day. After the first month or so what I pumped was enough to not have to supplement and eventually to form a stash. DD1 was a HUGE eater but tapered down by about 5/6 months and the intro of solids. DD2 latched but not well and was a slow eater- so I cant say that I couldn't nurse her but I had a very difficult time with it bc I felt like I would constanly be on the boob (still not sure if she was actually transferring). I had no patience and I knew the pump well. With DD2 I also pumped for a year but I dropped down to 4 pumps from very early on and had a good stash right away--somehow my body was used to the pump and I would get quite a bit of return for only 10-15 minutes on the pump-- that combined with DD2 not being a huge eater made pumping for her much easier than pumping for DD1- My first time around was very difficult- I hated my pump and so did my husband! But I liked that it was black and white on a schedule and pretty much under my control. I still wish that nursing had been an easier experience for me bc I would have preferred that to the pump if it were,

Message edited 11/19/2015 3:51:36 PM.

Re: Anyone pump but not BF?

I exclusively pumped for DD1 and am BF for DD2. DD1 was a preemie and BF did not work out for us.

Pros/Cons

EP - much bigger supply, had hundreds of extra ounces to donate, at the end I only needed to pump 3 times a day, I lost a ton of weight - like 20lbs less than my pre-pregnancy weight, it hurt - even after a long time - like in month 11, my kiddo slept so much better when I EP'd

BF - it hurt for about 2 weeks and then it stopped hurting ever (I used an insane amount of cream in the beginning), so much easier to not have to use wash the bottles, my husband didn't bond as well because he wasn't giving regular bottles, in the beginning the feedings were so frequent because the breast milk digests faster and the 24/7 aspect is tough

Anyone pump but not BF?

I EP for 4 months with DD. I tried to BF and she would take an hour to feed, I didn't know how much she was getting, latching wasn't super easy, it was just frustrating. After 4 months of EP, I switched to formula. She was sleeping through the night, and I was tired from having to wake up in the middle of the night to pump.

4 months was good enough for us. I was never 100% for breastfeeding, I always said if it works it works, if it doesn't it doesn't. I am going in with the same attitude with this baby. I can't drive myself crazy over it, my sanity and sleep are important, especially since I have a 4 year old to take care of as well.

Anyone pump but not BF?

Yes for about 2-3 months and then I was able to switch to BF. I want to say I pumped around 6-8 times a day early on, then dropped to about 3-4 times a day. Now at 7 months only when I travel for business. But I am now supplementing with formula about 50-50. I work from home, so I suppose I could've pumped freely throughout the day, but to be honest I am just over it!

Honestly, pumping is hard work and can be VERY annoying. Part of me wishes I kept it up. My supply has since dropped significantly once I stopped pumping. I am getting about 16oz a day now.