Breast Pump

[snoopy18]

Hey ladies

Baby was born on Friday and I’ve got him going on the boob - getting there with it but wondered what your experiences are with pump machines? Which would you recommend? I’m new to it all - first timer!

Many thanks

Ideally midwife said don't pump for first few weeks so maybe don't worry about it yet? Congratulations on your baby that's great news you established breast feeding.

I was aiming to wait for 6 weeks or so to establish a fuller supply sort of thing & then purchasing something to help pump 😊

Thank you so much! So in love with him he is amazing 💗

I can recommend the Medela Swing. I pumped from week 2 and introduced a bottle of expressed milk then with No issues, good luck! Remember pumping is a skill - it could take you a week or son to get significant volumes. So don't be disheartened if you get only 20 mls at the first session

I have the Medela Freestyle it’s pricey but brilliant. I am however exclusively pumping so you may not need one as efficient as this if you’re feeding from the breast too.

I had already brought tommee tippee bottles so I brought that pump. It worked well enough for me but I just went with convenience, not sure how that measures up to other brands

www.medela.com/breastfeeding/products/breast-pumps/freestyle

It's expensive but brilliant. Pumping is time consuming even with an electric pump, so you do need a good one. Handheld pumps don't yield the same volume and take forever.

Good luck with your decision.

Amazing thanks so much all really appreciate it!

Do you have any tips? New to this :)

I hope to keep him on breast too during the day but he’s taken to bottle already also so night time would be good to have expressed milk

I tried hand expressing but it took forever plus I’ve only just established a supply so I’m guessing that’ll effect how much comes through too so I think electric one will be the best one

Hey. A few tips that worked for me. Try not to look at volume in the bottles while you're pumping - it used to stress me out and I'd get less milk. Watch telly or do something relaxing.

It's hard to figure out when to pump because you want full breasts, but that's usually when your baby is hungry. Not for everyone, but for a couple of evenings, I gave a bottle of formula at 10, then pumped so I had one on hand for the following evening. Once you have a few in the fridge/freezer, you can stay ahead easily enough without needing formula (though I never panicked about giving a bottle here/there when required). It is really difficult to get enough by trying to pump a little here and there between feeds.

Medela breast milk storage bags are good.

Don't think that a higher setting on an electric pump will yield more milk. I made that mistake and really damaged my nipples (they cracked and took a few days to heal). I found a setting of 6/7 reasonably comfortable and produced the most milk, but you need to find the setting that works best for you.

I never pumped for longer than 15 mins. Diminishing returns after that point. Most volume of milk came in the first 5 mins, but the creamy, heavier milk comes later and you need to wait for that as it fills them up.

Good luck.

@snoopy18

I pump after my son has finished feeding... small and often I find better.

Only thing I’d say is when our little one was born my partner gave a feed in the night to give me a bit of sleep however my breasts became so full I was saturating the bed and I remember one time I actually had to pump whilst he was feeding him a bottle of my milk which seemed ridiculous! If you wait long between feeds you can end up in a bit of pain or with mastitis.... just to be mindful.

Awesome thanks for these tips I really appreciate it!

I’ve found my boobs are getting a bit sore between feeds at the moment and he’s waking up every 3 hours to feed so I’m hoping the pump will help in some ways with that too!

Pump should be here this coming week

I had the opposite advice and was told to pump from the start to aid with establishing a good supply. Was told to pump after every feed, to empty the breasts, which would stimulate supply.

I had a Medela Swing which I bought new from Ebay for £60, but after a week or so it was so annoying having to pump first one side, then the other, I upgraded to a Medela Freestyle (double pump). Have not looked back. I think the Freestyle has better suction than the Swing, and it's great to be able to do both sides at the same time.

I fashioned myself a pumping bra to hold the bits in place, by cutting small holes in a soft cup M&S feeding bra. The breast "trumpets", as I think of them, go through the holes so that I can pump hands free. Not an attractive sight but it works!

Congratulations on your new baby.

Hands free sounds like heaven!

I ended up ordering the bellababy one on amazon - will be giving it a try today. Hopefully goes well 🤷🏾‍♀️