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The Ultimate guide to exclusive Pumping:

I’m going to review everything you wish you had known and nothing anyone bothers to tell you.

Are you considering pumping and why?

There are several reasons you may consider pumping.

Latching issues

Breast engorgement

Low supply

Returning to work full time

Hemmorrhaging affecting milk supply

Just your preference

Whatever the reason I’m going to discuss with you how to pump correctly and efficiently.



What kind of pump to buy

There are a few options out there I’ll cover all of them what their benefits are and help you decide which one best fits you and your lifestyle.

Hospital Grade pump: These pumps are large heavy duty and help with giving more “sucks” per minute. If you’re looking to use a hospital grade pump then you’re better off renting one. The cost to purchase one is about $1000 and up. The other downside is portability. They’re not easy to take on the go.

Electric breast pump: these are the most common, easy to find. They can be prchased at many large local retailers (Walmart, Target, Amazon) they’re portable, easy to use, usually come with different speeds for comfort. Many models have battery packs that help you with travel and making sure you’re not stuck looking for a plug.lots of them come in cute carrying cases with coolers to store your milk on the go. These are great overall pumps and if you’re insured most insurance plans cover them so definitely look into that.

Wearable electric breast pump: these are the newest of the bunch. Usually smaller, hands free and easy to hide within your bra. Many of these new pumps allow you to pump “anywhere” discretely.

Manual pumps: these pumps use the pressing motion of your hand to suction the milk. Some only need one hand, some need two. These are often used for women who rarely pump or only need it occasionally, and don’t recommend it to women who will be regularly pumping.

My favorite travel pump below

Medela Pump in Style Advanced with Tote, Electric Breast Pump for Double Pumping, Portable Battery Pack, Adjustable Speed and Vacuum, International Adapter, Built-In Bottle Holders

How to upkeep your parts

Your pump will be used everyday several times a day if you’re an exclusive pumper. Your pump and pump parts will need TLC and some parts an occasional replacement. Wipe down your pump after each use with a wet cloth, clear off any milk residue or dust. Your tubing, phalanges and bottles should be replaced every 3 months, this helps maintain prime suction. Poor upkeep can affect the overall performance of your pump and therefore lead to a drop in milk supply.

How often to pump

The basic concept we need to understand is by exclusive pumping we’re trying to mimic the suckling of our baby. Milk supply is a basic supply and demand situation. Your body produces the milk you tell your body you need by the action of pumping. The 1st few weeks are the most important. Newborns breastfeed every 2-3 hours therefore your pumping schedule should try to mimic this as close as possible. It’s recommended you pump every 2 hours, try not to go past 3 hours (sorry you’ll be suffering lots of sleepless nights) for 20 minutes. The key is trying to make sure you empty your breasts and having enough nipple stimulation, which helps signal your body to make more breast milk. Different pumps have different types of settings, but the best one is one where you feel a slight discomfort. You shouldn’t be feeling pain when pumping.



When and how long

The morning hours are best for exclusive pumping, this is when your body produces the most milk. Usually between the hours of 1am-5am. Make sure to include an exclusive pumping session at one of these hours. Again in the beginning when you are trying to establish a milk supply you will need to pump every 2 hours for 20 minutes. Once your supply is established which takes a few weeks you can accommodate your schedule to best fit your milk needs. Again the body makes milk based on the need for it. The more you pump the more milk you are telling your body to make.



How much milk should I be making

One of the upsides of exclusively breastfeeding is you never see how much milk you are making. When you exclusive pump you can see the amount in the bottle, and some moms suffer from milk performance anxiety. They start focusing on those little lines on the bottle and aiming to fill those bottles. Keep in mind when a baby is first born their stomachs can only fit up to about an ounce or two of milk per feeding. So if you see a few drops don’t get dismayed or scared. This is biological and as you babies physical demand for milk grows per each feeding so will your bodies supply of milk meet its demands. Remember we’ve been doing this from the beginning of time.

In the beginning you’ll most likely see 1-3 ounces of milk output per exclusive pumping session. Again don’t be frightened this is normal and you will meet the demands of your newborn. Most women do pump bottle to bottle, meaning they pump enough for just one bottle and pump for the next feeding so don’t let numbers overtake your pumping life. Remember anxiety, anger, emotions all have a strong effect on your milk supply so “Keep Calm” and pump away.



What bottles to use

When it comes to bottles you’ll want a bottle whose nipple mimic the shape and feel of your natural nipple, and a bottle that helps prevent gas. Another factor to consider is the flow of the nipple. If your child seems to be having a problem with the rate of the milk you can try slow flow nipples which allow the milk to exit at a slower rate. My personal favorite is Dr. Brown’s (not sponsored) I tried Aventi early on which were also great except later my baby just no longer preferred it. Again when it comes to bottles unfortunatley it is a trial and error situation. Every child is different and every child has different preferences.



My all time favorite bottles to help prevent gas

Dr. Brown’s Baby Bottle, Options+ Anti-Colic Narrow Bottle, 8 Ounce (Pack of 4)

How to store pumped milk

When it comes to exclusively pumped breast milk it’s better for your baby than formula. Freshly expressed breast milk is preferable to refrigerated milk, and refrigerated milk is better than frozen milk. That’s because freshly expressed milk has been known to have better bacteria-fighting properties with higher antioxidants, vitamins and fat than milk that has been refrigerated or frozen.If you have pumped breast milk cleanly and safely, you can store it at room temperature, in the fridge, or in the freezer, depending on how soon you want to use it.



At room temperature up to four hours is best

In the refrigerator up to three days is best

In the freezer up to six months is best

Previously frozen breast milk thawed in the refrigerator: Up to two hours at room temperature, Up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Do not refreeze

When freezing pumped milk use bags made for freezing milk. They can be purchased at large retailers and amazon. Also date your bags and put the time the milk was pumped. My personal favorites are the Medela freezer bags. When feeding your baby frozen breast milk follow instructions on how to thaw it correctly. Breast milk can be defrosted in the fridge, normally in around 12 hours. Another method is to hold the bottle or bag of frozen milk under warm running water (a maximum of 37 °C or 99 °F). Don’t leave frozen breast milk to defrost at room temperature.

When your baby bottle feeds pumped breast milk from a cup or bottle, bacteria from his mouth can naturally end up in the milk. For this reason, it’s best to throw away any leftover, partly drunk milk within one to two hours of their initial feed. You may notice that your refrigerated or defrosted breast milk can sometimes smell spoiled. This is because an enzyme called lipase breaks down fats and releases fatty acids – a process that helps prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. If you’ve followed safe storage methods then your milk should be fine.

Definitely one of my favorite freezer bags. They don’t rip when defrosting like other brands

Medela Pump and Save Breast Milk Bags, 50 Count

How to make a milk stash

Once you’ve established your milk supply you can work on a milk stash. when you’re an exclusive pumper a milk stash can be used to replace feedings when you’re working, sick, or taking any medications that don’t allow you to breastfeed. The best time to start stashing away milk would be from your morning pump session. Especially early on when you baby is about two months old and you know how much milk they drink, and can stash away a few ounces at a time. Your morning pump sessions usually yield the greatest amount of milk, so take advantage of this and store even 1-2 ounces. This may seem like little to nothing but those ounces add up quick.

When exclusive pumping all you need is a few days worth of frozen milk to help you out. Again don’t let this daunt you. Remember your milk supply is all about how much you demand you body to make, so if you feel you need a little extra milk throw in an extra pump session at night. Do this even if you pump no milk, this will stimulate your body for increased milk supply in the morning. Again anything is better then nothing so put away those few ounces you can and in no time you will see your stash grow.



How to maintain and increase your milk supply

Mom’s who engage in exclusive pumping can use any tips that moms who breastfeed use. The only difference is we’re simulating the nipple stimulation with our pump. Our goal is to pump often, pump long enough, and pump till we empty our breasts. Some basic tips, keep hydrated!! Drink plenty of water you’ll need it. Make sure to eat, you’ll need those extra calories that you’re burning off. Don’t worry yes you feel that insatiable hunger, we all get it. But you’re hunger will eventually subside and normalize.

It can be easy to get lazy and miss a few exclusive pumping sessions. We’re human its normal this is ok on a few rare occasions but don’t get used to it. Remember the way to keep your supply is pumping often. If you’d like to increase your milk supply doing all of the above will help you but the key action is PUMP PUMP PUMP. Read below for more tips on how to increase your milk supply.



Power Pumping

Power pumping is a way to increase your milk supply by mimicing cluster feeding. If you want to booster your milk supply power pumping is a great way to do it. What you’re doing is creating an artificial demand for milk. Increasing your pumping sessions signals your body to make more milk. Women usually decide to add a power pump session when they see a drop in their milk supply.

Keep in mind not everyone should power pump if you have no issues with your supply you most likely shouldn’t do it because it can lead to an oversupply. If you plan on power pumping keep in mind you will need to allocate an hour of time to sit back and do this. Let’s move forward with how to power pump now. You will pump for 20 minutes then rest for 10 minutes, pump again for 10 minutes then rest for 10, pump again for 10 minutes and done. I will add a chart for you to see the pumping schedule more clearly

How to solve a lazy boob Aka slacker boob

Lot’s of women suffer from a lazy boob. There’s many reasons some women may have one boob that produces less milk than the other. One reason is a biological one. Some women just have less milk ducts in one breast than the other. If that’s the reason there isn’t much you can do. If you saw that both breasts used to produce similar amounts of milk but now one is slacking, there’s several methods to bring this supply back. One is after every pumping session is over take 5 minutes and pump the slacker breast after you finish pumping at every session.

Another method is to just throw in an extra pump session somewhere in your day only for the slacker boob. If you have the luxury to schedule a power pump session at any time of day then it would be a good idea to try and do it early in the morning when your milk supply is at it’s highest.You should start seeing results within 3-7 days. Every woman is different some may see results as soon as 3 days some may take a little over a week. Again don’t be dismayed if you don’t see instant results.



What to eat and not to eat for milk supply

Some foods to avoid while exclusive pumping and why

Fish: some fish may contain high levels of mercury that can make it into your breast milk. For that reason its advised not to eat more then 6 ounces of fish twice a week.

Caffeinated beverages: this is not completely off limits but you probably shouldn’t be downing more then a cup a day. Anything more and it might find its way into your breast milk making it harder for your baby to rest. Caffeine takes longer to digest in children then adults.

Alcohol: It’s better if you can abstain from drinking alcohol altogether, but if you decide to, timing is key. Every glass of alcohol takes about an hour or two to metabolize, once its out of your bloodstream its out of your breastmilk. If you can decide when to drink, drinking after pumping is best. This will give you time to metabolize before your next pump session.

Parsley, peppermint and sage: These herbs are great ways to add flavor to your food, but beware. Eat them in moderation or stay away altogether if possible they can cause a drop in milk supply.

Garlic: Breast milk can take on the taste of the foods you eat which help with widening their taste in food. Garlic is one food babies supposedly don’t enjoy. If you’re baby seems to be refusing their milk this may be a cause.

Chocolate: again eat this in moderation, the caffeine in chocolate can upset you babies sleep schedule. It can also have laxative effects so look out for runny poop.

Gassy foods: beans, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli can cause gas in your little one. If your baby already suffers from colic these foods can make them downright miserable.

Medicines: Acebutolol, Antihistamines and decongestants,Doxepin,Narcotics, and thiazide diuretics.

Foods to eat to increase milk supply while exclusive pumping:

Oatmeal, not the instant kind

Fenugreek Mothers Milk tea, Tea-Tas tea

Spinach

I hope this helps guys….. xoxo



Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that may provide me with a small commission at no cost to you.







