We all have heard the mantra "Breast is Best", and the many comparisons of breast vs bottle feeding. In in the end, breastfeeding seems like an easy win! Well no one really talks about how hard breastfeeding is. By hard, I mean DEMANDING OF YOUR TIME!!!! Every moment of your day consists of planing around feeding your baby. For example, if you want to go to the store, you are on a time limit, for you will have to feed or pump. If you want to get a babysitter or have dad care for baby so you can rest, you will still have to wake up at night to pump, to keep your supply up, and if you want to avoid a mastitis (like I developed), you have to pump to avoid engorgement or a blocked duct!
So in a nutshell, even if you have a backup supply of milk for bottle feedings when away....well that milks in your breast still has to go somewhere!
Engorgement from working all day, and not pumping! (Seriously was not the point of the picture, was simply trying to take selfies!)
For pumping purposes, I recommend a Medela Breast Pump. I have the pump in style and it survived two babies four years apart. I have an Ameda pump ($300), but I never used it because my Medela worked just fine. I have read several reviews on the differences between these two pumps and mainly the difference is quality and ease of set-up. Lastly, before purchasing a pump, check to see if your insurance will cover one, because apparently under the new Obamacare laws they should unless they are under some grandfather law!
Anyhoo some pumping/storage tips!
- If you want to exclusively provide your baby with breastmilk, pump after every feeding for at least 5 minutes after the last drop,
- Also take advantage of thee early days of bf when your body makes WAY MORE than you lo will eat, and pump the excess milk for storage.
- Whenever you miss an actual nursing feed, you have to pump in leu. Remember SUPPLY AND DEMAND! Basically, your body will make what it needs, so if you do not pump or nurse, your body will believe it's making too much and adjust accordingly.
- Use a high quality pump (Medela/Ameda) to get a good simulation of actual bf, and a good empty of the breast.
- Have a picture of baby, clothes with smell, or a recording of his cry to speed up let-down
- Use breast milk bags for storage. You want to time and date them. When using frozen milk for bottle feedings, use the oldest bag first.
- Freeze bags lying flat (that's what a company told me when I had problems with leaking after thawing)
- Defrost in hot TAP WATER (if you know you will need a bottle take frozen milk out in advance) NEVER MICROWAVE
- Defrost upside down (again what the company told me after my problem with their bags)
- When away from baby, carry your breast pump with you like its your purse...NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT, you never know what will happen. Full engorged breast do not feel good!
- Also ALWAYS carry some spare formula, small bottle of bottled water, and a bottle in your diaper bag JIC, again you never know what life may bring you
