Pumping in Hospital Question

Hi everyone!

I'm currently pregnant with my second to be born in June. I didn't know much about BF before I had my DD 4 years ago so I'm just wondering--would you try to start pumping in the hospital? Or wait until you get home with baby? I plan to BF in the hospital as well but would it be a bad idea to try to get more out while I'm there?

Again, it's been 4 years since I've had a baby and I'm having a hard time remembering even how much milk I will have right away!

TIA ladies.

Re: Pumping in Hospital Question

No, I would definitely not pump in the hospital unless you are planning to exclusively pump and not nurse at all. You'll only have colostrum in the beginning until your milk comes in and even then it will be very little. Your supply grows with your baby's appetite so pumping early and often could give you an oversupply leading to engorgement, clogged ducts, and mastitis.

ETA: Congrats!!

Message edited 3/21/2018 11:21:00 AM.

Pumping in Hospital Question

Congrats! I would pump only if there is a latching issue or some other issue that would lead to the baby being constantly hungry my twins were in NICU and one had latch and feeding issues and was tube fed so I pumped for his tube, the other I breastfed

Message edited 3/21/2018 11:55:10 AM.

Pumping in Hospital Question

I would wait a few weeks to establish nursing and your supply naturally before touching a pump. Just plan on breastfeeding on demand (ie - a lot) in the early days.

I had to pump with dd2 bc she was in the nicu and couldn't nurse and it definitely led to oversupply which I had to correct bc I was getting clogged ducts.

Wanted to add you may want to read up as a refresher. I loved the book Breastfeeding Made Simple.

Message edited 3/21/2018 11:44:16 AM.

Re: Pumping in Hospital Question

Posted by Momma2015

No, I would definitely not pump in the hospital unless you are planning to exclusively pump and not nurse at all. You'll only have colostrum in the beginning until your milk comes in and even then it will be very little. Your supply grows with your baby's appetite so pumping early and often could give you an oversupply leading to engorgement, clogged ducts, and mastitis.

ETA: Congrats!!

Re: Pumping in Hospital Question

Agree with what everyone else is saying about not pumping in the hospital unless there's an issue and you need to stimulate your breasts to make milk if the baby can't. I breastfed exclusively and successfully with #1 but one thing I did a little differently with #2 was to throw any type of clock watching or scheduling out the window in the beginning. The key to establishing a solid milk supply is to put the baby to the breast often. I remember my first crying in the hospital overnight and I couldn't soothe him with rocking or bouncing and, duh, he probably just wanted some boob but in my head i probably thought "well it's only been 90 minutes since the last feeding he shouldn't eat yet..." Basically any time #2 cried I put him to the breast. So.much.easier. and my milk came in fast and furious and have never had any supply issues. I also didn't break out the pump until after 6 weeks because I just couldn't find the time with feeding every 2 hours around the clock most days. I needed at least a week's worth of frozen milk on hand for when i returned to work & work travel and easily got that with pumping once a day for a couple months.

Re: Pumping in Hospital Question

I nursed my first for 2 1/2 years and I DID pump at the hospital and after I returned home. My supply was lagging in coming in, and my ds’s latch was hurting me, so pumping for me was a good alternative, in addition to nursing him directly. It did not effect my ability to nurse long term. I would try and see if you need to though. I wouldn’t go in with the plan or pumping so soon, but just with an open mind.

Edited to add. I could have stopped pumping after the first month and I DID ultimately have an oversupply until I weaned off the pump, but I actually didn’t mind pumping and accumulating bags of frozen milk. I was able to donate at least 100 ounces in th end to a local mom.

Message edited 3/21/2018 11:07:43 PM.

Re: Pumping in Hospital Question

Thanks so much ladies!

I definitely feel more prepared this time--last time was tough for me since I had no idea what I was doing and DD's latch wasn't great in the beginning.

I will plan to just BF in the hospital but will be prepared just in case :)

Pumping in Hospital Question

Even if you end up pumping for whatever reason, they will provide everything you need. The only thing I used from home was the hands free bra.

Re: Pumping in Hospital Question

Re: Pumping in Hospital Question

I. It’s sand pumped for two days in the hospital. I think it was to show
Me how to do it ??