Does anyone BFing not use a breast pump?

[Quilty]

Just wondering do any of you EBF mums out there feed straight from the boob only, i.e. no expressing and bottles?

Everyone I know seems to express their milk. I don't have a problem with BF in public, (just need to get hang of it more!) so I'm wondering if I really need a breast pump? It seems to be something everyone gets, am I missing the point?

[Flossie82]

I would like to be able to leave DS (8 nth) with someone else occasionally, so would express for that - except he refuses to drunk milk from bottle or cup, so I can't!

[neontetra]

You don't necessarily need one, unless you are going to be away from the baby when it might need to feed (or for long enough that you might feel discomfort from engorgement. So it just depends on whether you plan on leaving the baby with someone else for any length of time, really.

[ValiaH]

I used mine once or twice, but dd wont drink my milk from anything- she does drink other things from a cup now but even at 11 months eont drink my milk from anywhere! I dont think its essential unless you anticipate being away for more than a couple of hours at a time before 6 months.

[NaturalBlondeYeahRight]

Never got the hang of pumps, only managed about 1 oz. The few times I needed a back up I used some ready made formula.

[notanyanymore]

nooo never, tried it once with dd1, made me feel like a cow and freaked me out the way my nipple seemed to stretch beyond all reasonableness!
i'm happy to bf any time/any place, dd3 is only 4.5 months and am happy to take her with me everywhere I go! If she can't come, I won't go. She'll be 8 months when I go back to work.

[cassell]

I only express when I'm going to leave dc for longer than a couple of hours so if you're not going to need to leave them at all then no it's not necessary but if you are then it is. With both dc I didn't express on a regular basis when they were small babies. With ds1 I had to leave him with dh overnight at 4mo and that was a nightmare expressing for, other than that didn't really use the pump. With ds2 he refused bottles so didn't leave him for more than an hour until he was about 7mo and could drink from a cup. I now express regularly for him as I'm working part time so he is still ebf at 14mo but his nursery feeds are ebm in a cup - still won't take a bottle.

It's much much easier IMO to just feed them and not bother with the faff of expressing and bottles so you only need to do that if you want to be able to have any time apart from them or if you want your oh to be able to do night feeds (that was too much effort for me much quicker and easier for me just to bf them).

[Believeitornot]

No expressing for my second. Did a bit for my first.

With my second, I used to give milk in a beaker as never left her for that long anyway.

[MakeTeaNotWar]

Nope never bothered

[gwenniebee]

At first I was extremely sore so expressed every day so that my dh could give dd her last feed before bed. Also meant I could get ready for bed and maximise sleep! When it wasn't so sore we had several months where I didn't express other than a tiny bit to mix her gaviscon into (refluxy baby). I wouldn't have needed it other than that. By 8mo when she then refused to take ebf at all, I began to find it a bit restrictive not being able to leave her for more than a few hours, but we got through it - it wasn't long before she had cows' milk anyway.

[noblegiraffe]

Nope, tried with my first and couldn't get a drop out, now ebfing my second (5 months old) and haven't bothered trying. I just take the baby with me everywhere and I don't go out in the evenings anyway.

[PrincessScrumpy]

Didn't with dd1 but did with dtds as I used it to help milk come in as they were prem and tube fed at first.

[MeeWhoo]

DS is 21 month old and I have never expressed, although, as someone mentioned, if you want to leave them with someone else it is an issue.

[LifeOfPee]

I used a pump with DD but not to express milk for her, it was to express milk to donate.

DS is 13wks. I sterilised the pump about 6 weeks ago intending to express some milk but harven't got round to it. There's about 200ml of ebm in the freezer which I collected by just holding a clean cup under the boob which wasn't being nursed from several times.

You could try hand expressing before buying a pump - you may get on well enough with that and not need to buy a pump.

[FadBook]

I brought a basic Avent one just for when I needed to go out (went back to my sports team at 9 weeks) but dd was more or less a bottle refuser from the start so it has sat in the cupboard for several months.

I have always found that hand expressing was easier for me anyway.

Still feeding now at 23 months and it was a purchase I probably could have got away with not purchasing!

[Honsandrevels]

I did when dd was in neo-natal but never bothered once she was home. A decent pump is expensive (mine was 60pounds!) and rubbish compared with the one in the hospital. I keep meaning to offer mine to the unit to loan out to other premature baby mums.

I wouldn't bother and spend the money you save on something nice!

[Nicknamegrief]

Nope.

On my fourth too.

[badguider]

DH and I need to share childcare and I'd rather not use formula. But if I'd had the kind of job that gives months of maternity leave or if I was a sahm then I probably wouldn't bother.

[Dorris83]

Nope I haven't bothered yet (ds is 3 months) We haven't bought any of the equipment so I just do all the feeds. I love feeding him myself.

He'll be 9 months when I go back to work and I want to bf him up to a year at least so I guess il have to express when I go back to work. I don't plan on bothering until them though.

I totally know what you mean though, I did worry that I was missing something by not expressing and bottle feeding!!

[Dorris83]

Btw it probably helps that DS sleeps well at night so I don't need to get help with night feeds. If he was still waking every two hours I might have introduced bottle with daddy!

[CointreauVersial]

I could never get the hang of it. No problem producing milk with a baby on my boob, but the taps switched straight off when I tried to pump.

[mrsmartin1984]

My DD refuses a bottle and I find pumping hard work. So I just don't bother. Far less hassle

[HadALittleFaithBaby]

No you don't need to, not for the sake of it.

I do - DD needed top ups and had formula top ups for a couple of days. I then started expressing when my milk came in so she could have EBM top ups instead. From 3 weeks we introduced a bottle in the evenings - she cluster feeds and I was shattered, the bottle after her bath gives me a brek! It's helped me go out a couple of times leaving her knowing she'll take a bottle. But it's not a must do. Totally your choice.

[KnittedWaffle]

Nope.
3DC here and I tried it for a short while with DD but it is the most boring thing on earth. I kept thinking 'might as well be feeding them' .