Exclusive pumping?

[1sttimemumma]

After not pooping for her first 48 hours we have had to spend a few days in hospital being treated for jaundice, happy to say we are finally home!
Whilst there we though I was constantly pumping and bottle feeding to ensure that she was getting enough to recover and bring my milk supply in. I've actually found this really works for us and for me, is preferable to breastfeeding, where I constantly worry she isn't getting enough. She is also now lazy on the boob and it stresses both of us out which doesn't seem worth it when there is a simple option which still provides breast milk. Does anyone have any stories about doing the same? Or anything they can tell me? I'm nervous as the midwife keeps pushing going back to breastfeeding and I know it's what everyone feels is best.

I nearly ended up exclusively pumping as DS didn't latch for his first few days, and was hot and miss as to whether he would for the first two weeks, so I bottle fed him expressed milk for those two weeks. I figured it would be fine as he was still getting breast milk but ultimately it was exhausting knowing that I needed to pump every X hours to keep up my supply. I found it far more exhausting because each time DS woke for a feed I needed to bottle feed, change nappy, wind, settle, then instead of going back to sleep, express, refrigerate, go back to sleep etc, giving me barely any sleep before he woke again. Exclusive pumping is admirable and gives you the best of both worlds in that others can feed baby, but is exhausting.

I exclusively pumped initially but as a PP said it is exhausting. I also don't think I produced as much through pumping as I do breastfeeding.

I used nipple shields to transition DS back from a bottle.

Direct breastfeeding has benefits as the milk can adapt if needed.

Your baby will be able to get a lot more milk from breastfeeding than from pumping. I spent hours pumping but got very little milk my baby would get a lot more to eat if he spent that amount of time on the breast.
I have two friends who have exclusively pumped as their babies couldn't latch but they ended up topping up with formula as their supply dipped.
I do understand your point about knowing how much they are getting especially with jaundice. My little one gained a lot of weight when he recovered from jaundice. I used nipple shields and the transition from bottle to breast was easier.

I've just stopped exclusively pumping, DD has just turned 1. She was exclusively breastfed from 8 weeks until 9 months and then I chose to cut down because of work commitments.
The first 8 weeks I really struggled to get my supply to meets DD but after switching to a hospital grade spectra S1, I ended up over supplying so we now have enough milk frozen to give her 300ml a day until December.
It's definitely possible and your milk still adapts in the same way if your baby is poorly.
I went back to work after 8 weeks so really we wouldn't have ended up in a similar position even if DD hadn't struggled to latch.

*would have ended up

I did it for 8 weeks and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Nearly drove me over the edge and gave me pnd. Formula is fine if you don't want to bf... but I'd second the nipple shields suggestion. Babies can get much more milk out that you can pump.

I know a lot of people worry about them not getting enough but when I tried pumping with both of mine the amount I got out in about an hour was pitiful and made me worry that I wasn't producing enough. But both of my babies put weight on from day 1, so they must have been much more efficient directly on the breast.

I think you'd need Hermione's time turner to keep exclusive pumping long term.

I would put baby to the breast and do the odd bit of pumping. The latch might get better with time and as long as the nappies are being filled and your baby is having her weight monitored you can be confident she is getting enough.

I exclusively pumped for 2 weeks but found it harder as time went on (found the first week fine) I then made the switch back to breastfeeding, as with a PP I used nipple shields to aid the transition.

Given the choice I wouldn't exclusively pump. It's double the work as you have to pump and then feed and get up overnight to pump, and then wake up again to feed. Having regular wet and dirty nappies and weight gain is enough to know they're getting enough.

Thanks ladies, it's really interesting to hear people's opinions who have tried before. I'm going to try nipple shields and see if that gets her back with it.
The midwife has just been round and says I'm doing everything right in how I'm holding her etc, she just doesn't seem interested so it is best to keep expressing and bottle feeding until she is so I guess I'll keep putting her to the breast before I pump and see what happens.

I had the same with my now 3 week old dd. She woyldbt latcg prooermy and midwife said i was holdi g her correctly etc. and after not having a wet nappy for over 24hours we ended up back in hospital and with what turned out to be sepsis. But I had to pump and then top up with formula and I literally had no sleep for the 4 days we were in. Also when we left I didn't have a breast pump to continue and couldn't afford to buy one so I ended up for up a feeding as dd still wouldn't latch. I was really disappointed but at least now I know for certain how much she is taking

Lots of people on here have said that pumping didn't work for them: took ages, didn't get enough milk etc. However. if you feel that pumping is going to work best for you, I think you should have the confidence to do it.

Someone in my NCT class had trouble breastfeeding due to inverted nipples or something like that, and fed her child exclusively pumped breast milk. From about 3 months she was pumping 24h's worth of milk in a single sitting of less than an hour's duration.

I'm getting around 110 mls in about 15 minutes so my supply is pretty strong for day 5 I would say! Perhaps I'm being over confident though? I just want to do what's best for her!

My cousin did it as wanted to know how much the baby was getting etc but only lasted a couple of weeks as she just couldn't keep up with pumping and bottle feeding as wasn't getting much sleep. So then had to go to formula. I wouldn't recommend it long term but if baby won't breastfeed then it's good to try to do.

I mix fed due to feeding issues, so she had some formula and some expressed milk. I made It to 3 months.
Sadly it was causing me problems so after 3 months I stopped. I'm just happy I was able to give her a good percentage of breast milk x

Honestly, it's utterly exhausting long term. It's far easier and less work to feed from the breast, so I would attend bf support groups and get as much help as possible getting her re-latched, or else see how you feel about formula. It can be done and there is some great online support (it's more common in the US), but it takes serious commitment.

Look up ‘paced bottle feeding’ and make sure you are doing this with any bottles you give in order to give you the best possible chance to get her back to the breast.

In the long term, pumping is tiring and harder. Finding time to pump when the baby gets mobile, etc. It may also be harder once you want to start going out and about more.

Your baby will be more effective at getting milk than the pump so you may struggle with supply during growth spurts, etc.

Also, in terms of what is more beneficial, obviously expressed milk is better than formula and it sounds like you’re doing an amazing job but there are benefits to breastfeeding that can’t be replaced by expressed milk. Things like when the baby gets sick, if they are breastfeeding they tell your body what antibodies to produce, reduction in ear infections, milk directly is also more nutritious than chilled or frozen breastmilk.

As the baby gets older, if you are breastfeeding you’ll have the benefit of being able to feed while they are sick, feed when hurt, when tired, scared, to stop a tantrum, etc. Often expressing can be the worst of both worlds.

If you do want to try and get her to breastfeed, I would see a qualified lactation consultant as unlike a midwife, this is their specialty and they will likely have more success in getting her to latch and feed.

I did it with both mine till they were a year old. I was able to produce plenty and even started to let down when I heard the sound of the pump.
For a while I had to get up in the night to pump but then as long as I pumped last thing at night and first thing in the morning there were no issues with supply.
So it is totally doable and when I was a pro at it I could feed and pump at the same time. DC1 just never got the hang of it despite us getting help and so it was the easiest for us. DC2 started off well then was in hospital for ages and so
I just carried on with the expressing as I was anxious about his health issues so, like you, wanted to monitor. Then I had to keep going for a year because I had with my first and had to treat them equally

I pumped for 12w with DD1 as it took her that long to learn to latch on.

I really wouldn’t recommend it. I think the people who make it work are in a minority. It really is the worst of both worlds. You may think that you have enough milk now but it’s very early days. And when the baby starts cluster feeding and having growth spurts you will struggle to keep up. According to Kellymom website you need to pump 6-8 a day to establish supply and need to have at least one session a night at around 2-4am from recollection as the body learns from night feeds how to adjust supply. Doing that long term is hugely draining on top of everything else that a newborn brings.

I think it’s great that you’re so keen to give breastmilkbbut I would really try to establish BFing instead. I used nipple shields and would really recommend them if baby is struggling to latch.

And well done - you’re doing a great job, BFing can be really hard at the start!

I should say that I had a hospital grade pump too and it was still exhausting. If you’re adamant about pumping I would hire a hospital grade double pump.

Little peach London on instagram offer free exclusively pumping advice. She’s a lovely knowledGble woman

Another one who went back to bf after 2 weeks of expressed in bottles. Very similar situation to you I think, jaundiced baby was too sleepy to latch. I can sleep so much more/better now when I wake up, pop her on breast for 20 and then go back to sleep. Honesty those 2 weeks of pumping every couple of hours, then feeding, then sterilising were the worst! I couldn't have kept it up long term.
Also used nipple shields to transition back.
Good luck whatever you end up doing

I've been exclusively pumping for almost 14 weeks as my son wouldn't latch. Turned out it was tongue tie which didn't get cut until 10w. I have tried nipple shields but I honestly think that ship had sailed by the time his tt was cut.

I won't lie, it's tiring but totally do-able with a good double pump and some support at home. There is a Facebook Group called Exclusively Pumping Mums UK they are fab.

Plus once they start gaining weight consistently you'll find you stop worrying that they're getting enough. I understand that quantifying it is reassuring but there's no need to if they're gaining weight. My daughter took 3 weeks to get back to birth weight despite me feeding her the paediatricians prescribed arount of expressed milk every 3 hours.