Anyone exclusively pumping to feed ?

[Mum23boys]

Amy is breastfeeding constantly !!! Yet if I express and give her expressed milk in a bottle (2oz) she then goes 2 hours between feeds yet with breast feeds she doesn't for some reason I think she gets too cosy and lazy and sleeps !! I like the idea of pumping and being able to see howuch she is getting each feed but I've also heard its alot harder than breastfeeding and can affect supply ? I would continue to breastfeeding at night ..... But bottles of expressed milk in the day . Can anyone offer advice ? Thanks

[Dreamofpink]

If you want to do this I'd advise getting a good electric pump. I expressed for 6 weeks solid whilst ds1 was in the NICU as he was too little & poorly to bf. I had to get up in the night & expressed 4 hourly round the clock but I established a very good milk supply. He learned to exclusively bf at 6 weeks old & spent the next 9 weeks feeding 2 hourly round the clock. He was only 3lb 15lb when he came home from the NICU & after the 9 weeks of utter exhaustion he finally got up to a good enough weight so that I could start to stretch his feeds out by 5 mins each time. He never made it to 4 hourly feeds as he was starting to wean at 6 months by then. Good luck with the expressing, it's hard but worth it in the end. :)

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[Mrs_P]

i did it with my eldest as he really struggled, fed him til he was 9 months, first bit was the hardest til my boobs got used to the pump and the supply upped. Best bit of advice is get a good pump, 8 years ago i really struggled and had something the size of my momssewing machine from nthe hospital, endede up ordering a hospital grade amedga pump from america cost me a fortune but was so worth it, they've come on a lot since then.

I expressed every 3 hours until nothing came out and it soon increased it, after the first week i didn't do it at night but would get a good 26-27 ounces off first thing so my body still produced it as if were being emptied 3 hourly. I fed him roughly the equivalent in ounces of what it said to give formula fed babies

[Dreamofpink]

Yes, I agree Mrs P. I borrowed a hospital pump too which was brilliant. I did feel a bit like a milk machine but it really made a difference. It broke my heart that there was no milk bank I could donate my excess milk to. I remember taking it out of the hospital freezer & putting it all in the bin when ds1 came home.

When I tried to express using a hand-pump for ds2 it was so much harder to get anything. I only did it a couple of times for him when we went out & left him with family. He was full-term & I had problems getting him to latch on as he was so much bigger than ds1!

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[Kitty0911]

I pumped full-time with DS2. I pumped every 6 hours during the day (6am, noon, and 6pm) and breastfed him at night. I was able to pump about 10 ounces at a time, but I over produced milk like crazy. I would definitely invest in an electric double pump. I bought a pumping bra so I could do things as I pumped instead of trying to hold them. I also invested in some mother's milk tea when my supply finally decided to drop off a bit. I was able to "breastfeed" him for 8 months before my supply dropped. He stopped waking up for night feedings around that time as well.
I wish you luck! I found it easier to pump and bottle feed because my little one wasn't attached to me all day. It gave me a lot more freedom, but I still cherished the nighttime feedings.

[Bigwish]

I would recommend to contact an ibclc certified lactation consultant. I can imagine there is something with her latch.

A high chance exists that when giving her bottles, things get worse with her latching on. And pumping may decrease your supply unfortunately.

I would def see a lactation specialist. Some little tricks or check (like tongue tie or lip tie) with latch can make a difference.

(i want to talk and ask you 100 things more, but as english is not my mother language i don't now how.. sorry!) Hope things will turn out just fine. GL too you!

[5boysandcounting]

I am pumping and feeding Jessica my milk in a bottle at the moment. I did this with my last baby till he was 6 months old also. I started off bf in hospital but my nipples became really sore and due to lack of support and Jessica being really sleepy and ended up with jaundice I switched to formula while I was still in hospital. I really regretted this when I got home and when she was 10 days old I decided to start pumping. I got out my trusty ameda lactaline again!

I started off pumping every 2-3 hourly through the day and let myself have one 5 hour stretch through the night. I was only getting 1/2 ounce at first, and I was having to supplement with formula but now it has increased to 2 ounces every 2 hours and i am able to feed her just breast milk in a bottle :)

I still nurse Jessica when I can but she just does not seem satisfied when I do. She feeds for an hour and then cries for more milk so I end up giving her a full feed of ebm which is disheartening after her nursing for so long!

She is having 4 oz expressed breast milk per feeding and will go 3-4 hours between feeds through the day and 5-6 hours through the night!

I am finding the pumping schedule hard but it has got easier as I have found a routine, tbh I find it easier than bf.

I would love for her to nurse and be satisfied, she still latches ok and has not had nipple confusion etc but she is just so hungry still when she feeds from me which makes me think I haven't enough milk.

I am taking fenugreek, blessed thistle etc to try to increase my milk supply and I have just ordered an sns (supplemental nursing system ) to cut down on the pumping and keep her at the breast but I'm not sure how this will work out as it looks like it can be quite fiddly to use. I'll let you know how I get on with it!

If you do decide to go down the pumping route I would love to know how you get on and it would be really great to offer each other support as it can be hard going at times.

[Mum23boys]

I'm the same she will guzzle a 3ozbottle of even but be attached to me for hours and not be satisfied... I need a decent pump which one do u have us it a hosp grade elite or the personal one and how do u find it ? I only have an avent Isis duo electric but I find it more effective pumping manually

[5boysandcounting]

I'm the same she will guzzle a 3ozbottle of even but be attached to me for hours and not be satisfied... I need a decent pump which one do u have us it a hosp grade elite or the personal one and how do u find it ? I only have an avent Isis duo electric but I find it more effective pumping manually

I have the ameda lactaline personal one which I also used to Exclusively pump with my son for six months. It is a double pump and I find it really good. I did rent the ameda elite Hosp grade one for two weeks as I thought it might be more effective - it wasn't. I didn't get any more milk out with it than mine. I definitely would recommend using a double pump though if you are thinking of pumping exclusively as its much more effective than a manual or a single electric pump.

[Mrs_P]

thats the one i had too (although just realised i got the name wrong, amedga make conservatories -oops not much good for feeding although they are rather pretty), well worth the money - i lent mine to a friend and nevr got it back so switched to a manual one with the others, never as good but ok for the odd bottle.

they sell that one in argos at the mo £110 (on sale from £140) not cheap but worth if you'll do it for months x