Exclusively pumping

[Jellybean2017]

I have been exclusively breastfeeding for six weeks, baby has had tongue tie division, I have been to lactation consultant and peer supporters but just cannot get latch right. Baby and I are both getting frustrated and something needs to change. Now my supply is established, does anyone have tips on how to exclusively pump so I can carry on giving breast milk but spare myself the intense pain :(

[furryelephant]

Oh that sounds so hard my DD also has a tongue tie and we've been using nipple shields exclusively since birth pretty much! Have you tried them?

As for pumping exclusively, it can be so hard but definitely do-able. I think they say to pump every 3 hours or roughly when your baby would generally be feeding from you, and the early hours of the morning is when it's most important for your supply i believe. The kellymom website has loads of great information if you haven't already checked it out

[thesleepsheep]

Nipple shields worked a treat for us. Definitely worth a try. And if you still want to exclusively pump, I would recommend a double pump else it could be a lengthy process.

[Jellybean2017]

Tried nipple Shields :(

[Spinningpenny]

Hi, I exclusively pumped with my first, as she wouldn't latch at all. If I'm honest it was really hard work. She was non put down able baby so I had to try to juggle her and hold the pump at the same time (unless someone could help me)

Saying that, I did manage it for 6 months, before switching to formula.

The only tip I would give is do what you can and don't feel bad if you need to supplement with formula. You have done so well getting this far with bf. Definately try pumping and I hope it goes well for you. But don't beat yourself up about if it doesn't work for you.

[Jellybean2017]

Thanks everyone. Spinningpenny it's good to hear it can be done even if hard. Worth a go before switching to formula I guess. Pumping as I type before he gets hungry!!

[BipBippadotta]

I second the hospital grade double pump suggestion. I had a similar start to yours with my baby, and my milk supply was diminishing. Got one of those big bastard pumps and it got my milk up and running again for a week during which I gave up trying to breastfeed entirely. I was pumping about 8 times a day with the odd formula top-up.

After a break I felt sufficiently recovered to try again, and it gradually became easier. It really clicked when he was somewhere around 12 weeks old. I think his mouth just needed to grow.

Don't beat yourself up at all for any decision you make. You've done brilliantly to get to 6 weeks in nipple agony.

[Billygoatfluff]

Get a hands free double bra (e.g. Simply wishes one on amazon) and a double pump that clips to your jeans (e.g. Medea freestyle) then you can multitask and not be stuck a meter from a plug socket, holding funnels. V pricey but worth it if long term pumping. Put kit in fridge between expressions and sterilise once a day. Once supply established at 2.5-3 months you can probably drop to as few as 4 expressions a day. Good luck if you go down this route as it can be really annoying, but I got into a routine and did this for 8 months. I have expressed in the passenger seat of a car on journeys, in front of all my relatives and parked in a car park while waving toys at dc in the car seat....and it's not funny when the postman comes to the door or dc starts crying 5 minutes into expressing! Good luck.

[Billygoatfluff]

Trying to work through the problem with the latch would be better if at all possible, but exclusively pumping is doable, just.

[Sugarcoma]

I had similar issues to you except he would barely latch at all for the first 8 weeks or so so I was Pumping for most of that time.

I rented the Medela, cut holes in an old sports bra so I could go hands free and ate tons of oats, drank lots of milk/dairy and took fenugreek supplements. I power Pumped (because I hadn't been able to establish my supply through bf) which was 40 mins of pumping every 4 hours roughly (including through the night). I almost lost my mind doing it and couldn't have done it without a lot of help from my DH, my dad and at one point a mother's help.

I also kept putting DS to the breast every now and again. At around 8 weeks he started to get the hang of it. By four months he was EBF and no problems with latch.

So I would definitely recommend Pumping for a bit to give yourself a break but don't give up on BF just yet - try it every now and again and it will hopefully get better.

[kitchenarggghh]

Apologies for butting in!

I'm also expressing due to problems with latch. Can I ask whether I need to sterilise the bottles after each pumping session or is once a day ok?

We feed him using mam bottles so the medela ones are only used to collect the milk.

Feels very relentless at the moment so any chance to reclaim some time would be great!!

[Grandolddukeofwesteros]

Once a day is ok if all the kit has been in the fridge the whole time apart from expressing. This approach helped keep me sane and we had no problems.

[kitchenarggghh]

Thank you! That will save me a few minutes each time

[Writerwannabe83]

Just wanted to send my sympathies.

My DS was diagnosed with a TT at 9 days of age and had it divided then.

It's been almost 4 weeks since he had it done and his latch still isn't right. He's ok on the left breast but we have issues with the right one in that he can't attach well and milk will be dribbling out during the entire feed. When he de-latches at the end of the feed his lower face will be covered in breast milk. He still makes the clicky noises associated with TT feeding too.

When I had his division done the last did tell me it isn't always a complete fix and a large number of post TT division babies will always have some minor problems with their feeding. She told me it's perfectly possible to continue to BF a TT baby (pre and post snip) but it's dependent on how well baby and mother cope.

Feeding DS is now pain free (whereas before it was agony beyond description) and although he has his latch issues he is still gaining weight really well. I know his feeding technique is far from perfect but I have come to accept it never will be.

I just take it day by day and if there comes a point where continuing to breast feed is causing either myself or DS issues then I shall swap to expressing as you plan to.

BF'ing a TT baby can be an absolute nightmare so be proud of having persevered and be proud of what you have managed. Unfortunately some things are just beyond our control