Breast pumping advice

[Yas0000]

Hi there
I’m going to give pumping a go as my boy is now 3 weeks old and I’d like to get him used to a bottle.
Can anyone give any guidance on the below?
Can you pump from both breasts into the same bottle?
How much should I look to pump off and freeze into one freezer bag?
If I am pumping a couple of times a day do I need to clean and sterilise the bottle attached to the pump for each time I pump?

Any other advice and guidance is appreaciated too.

Thanks

[mindutopia]

Yes, you can pump as much as you want and from both breasts. I think no more than 20 minutes per side is usually recommended. You don’t need to clean the pump between sessions. Just put it in a big ziploc bag and into the fridge. Wash well at the end of the day. I’d start off slow though, just once a day and see how you get on.

[Merename]

Kellymom is a great resource for practical advice about dealing with breast milk and pumps. For freezing, I’d freeze a range of small amounts, 1, 2 and 3 oz max, as you can combine thawed milk, so when you are practicing you can just offer 1 or 2 oz to start off with, without wasting much if baby doesn’t take it. I’d clean the pump if there is several hours between sessions, but warm soapy water would do. Like pp says, it’s a good idea to start slow and see how it goes, as you risk creating an oversupply problem if you pump too much. If you plan to pump twice a day, you need to be confident you can maintain that, as your body will soon start to make extra milkfor that demand and if you’re not consistently pumping it you’re at risk for blocked ducts and mastitis. I’m saying this as someone who has oversupply though, I know some women never have this problem even if they pump a lot, so you should tinker about and see how it goes. Pumping is a pain for most mums so committing to twice a day unless you need to seems a lot. If you are a leaker, there are devices you can get that catch the leaks without you pumping at all, as another option.

[han01uk]

Hi,
I will answer your questions directly-
Pumping into the same bag/bottle from both breasts is fine
If decanting into a bag to freeze make sure it's not too full as it will expand
You must wash thoroughly and sterilise equipment after each pump/before the next I'm afraid
Try and fit this into your schedule so you can bottle feed your baby with your expressed milk when they would have been at the breast,so you don't get oversupply issues (perhaps if they go longer at night fit in an expressing then,or feed from one side and express the other and then offer that in a bottle)
Would also help it wasn't you attempting the bottle feed at first
Good luck!

[Yas0000]

Great thank you!
A couple other questions - can you mix defrosted breast milk from different pumping sessions?
Also how often should I offer baby a bottle?
My and my partner have a trip to the theatre planned in July so we want to make sure he is feeding ok with a bottle for this one off occasion...

[han01uk]

If milk has defrosted at the same time then yes you can mix them. I would offer one bottle a day.