Pump It Up

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Pump It Up


Promise I'm not going to go all Jersey Shore fist pumping on you all.  Ugh, I freaking can't stand that show.  (Yes I know sorry bff, you love it, we will just agree to disagree).  But is about something WAY more exciting. 
Ha, why do I feel like I am desperate for a blog post lately.  It's bad when it gets down to something like this. 
We are talking pumping here ladies.
Breast pumping. 
Get excited!!
Ha, so I am going to give it a try this go around.  Stella was strictly formula fed straight from the (85 million piece, damn Dr. Brown's) bottle and she did great with it.  Ha, I feel you Mom's out there who LOVE the DB bottles but want to cuss them up one side and down the other every night when you are washing them.  I was one of those Moms.  I think I caught myself wanting to throw them down the garage disposal a time or two.  Anyways......
So I'm not cool with the whole breastfeeding straight from the source thing.  I'm just not an open person like that.  But if I can pump this stuff like gasoline, then I'm all for it.  Especially when I learned the DB bottles will screw right on to the pump and bam, instant bottle. 
AND the fact that that doesn't mean I'm the only one who HAS to get up in the middle of the night.  Ha, yeah, fist pump that right there!!  lol.  Ahhh, I can't wait to say, honey it's your turn to get up.  I just pumped you a nice fresh bottle about two hours ago.
I can see it now, the pump attached to me and I'm just vacuuming away.  Bahaha - nice visual huh?  I'm kidding.  Honestly.
So I need some tips, tricks, advice, all that jazz.  I'm a newbie here.
So do I HAVE to feed straight from the source while I'm at the hospital?  Or can I pump while I'm there?
Do I need any special cream or anything for my nips?  I have heard they get chapped really easily.  True or false?
And what if I produce a lot.  And I want to store some.  Like can you freeze it?  Do I have to buy special bags for that?  Ziploc?  I know they make freezer bags, I doubt they make breast milk bags.  Ha.
And when I want to stop, I just stop and let them dry up?  Correct?
And what's your take on the whole pump and dump theory.  I have heard both ways.  I mean I can't go out and get all wild and crazy and come home and pump a bottle to give to my baby, but I heard maybe having one and as long as I "wait" the correct amount of time, I don't necessarily have to dump it.
Ayi yi yi.  That $23 can of formula might be looking better and better......HELP!

28 comments :

Heather said...

Hahaha...you sound just like me. If I ever have a kid, this is the way I'm going to do it so I can't wait to see how it works out for you!

Adrien said...

If you can keep up with it, I say go for it! Henry's belly and immune system will thank you for it down the road. So here's an answer to a few of your questions.

* I'm sure you can pump at the hospital if that's what you're comfortable with. (But I PROMISE it's not that weird if you decide to just try it yourself.)

* They will give you some cream at the hospital to get you through the first few days. I never needed it...didn't have problems at all. But if you do experience soreness, it's true that after a few days it goes away. Get through it, and you will thank yourself!

*Yes, you can freeze it, and YES they do make breast milk storage bags. :) But a ziploc would probably work just as well.

*With Evelyn, she began to nurse less and less the older she got, so my supply slowly tapered off accordingly. I'm sure this is the case with most mamas. So long as you keep it up, you shouldn't have any problems with being engorged...haha...but if you just decide to stop one day out of the blue, you might have issues for a couple of days.

*Pump and dump if you must! I believe it takes about four hours for things to be flushed out of your system and make milk safe for baby. I learned this after finding out Evie was sensitive to onions. :/

I can't even imagine paying for formula! I always forget about that expense that we're saving each month. I would definitely try to pump if you can!

Anonymous said...

First off I am NO expert...just went through this once. So I have no idea how it will work for you but I will share my experience.
You will want to tell them at the hospital that you're pumping and they will give you a nice new set of hoses, storage containers, etc.
You should go get yourself some lanolin lotion and you can even start using it now to get those nipples ready:)I think its easier to get chapped when you're pumping. Breast Pads are a must...no leaks girl, lol!
I pumped and stored/freezed in the being when he wasn't eatting so much. The storage bags are nice because they are marked with the ounces and then you write the date on them and your Mommy brain can rest easy that it won't go bad.
I only pumped for 2 months and it was exhausting. I wanted to nurse but it just wasn't working. The nice thing about slowing down production is that you can ease your way out of it and you don't have that horrible drying up pain.
I will tell you that I am going to try much harder this time to get this baby to nurse. Waking up to pump, then feed your baby, and then you still have bottles to wash = too much work. Even if someone else feeds them you most likely will have to get up and pump. I am however planning to bottle feed in public.
Good Luck! You will find a way to make it all work!
-Lara

Meagan said...

Thanks for posting this....now I don't have to do it! :)

I didn't breastfeeed with Keegan but want to with this baby & am pretty clueless too! I do know that they make special bags to freeze the milk in & I think you can even put them right onto the pump but I'm not exactly sure about that part. I also know that the really good pumps are crazy expensive....like almost $300!!

Cassie said...

wow - thanks girls!!
adrien - can you send me the link to whatever "bags" i'm supposed to use.

lara - i might have to send you a message on FB. what you did last time sounds EXACTLY like what i am wanting to do this time around. i do not want to pump once i go back to work. considering most of the office is guys and there is no lock on my office door.
and where do i get that lotion to start prepping my stuff?! just the drug store? walmart?

sblind2 said...

Great post!! I never breastfed Brody, but I think #2 I will try it out!! Not sure if I'll try it from the source or pump it out like gasoline!! LMAO-too funny!!!

BTW: I taught Brody to fist pump and now he does it to any song and I love it!

Anonymous said...

You can get the bags from Babies R Us.
But what is this about DR B bottles hooking up to the pump? I am gonna have to look into that for baby number 2, which is no time soon.

I was completely going into the hospital with no desire to do the breast feeding- I thought it was weird, the exact thoughts you have of it too....but my husband said just try it- I did and it was not weird at all, she latched on fine and it was completly natural. I am SOOOOO glad I did it. They say breast fed babies have a better immune system and all kinda health benefits to it. I agree with that 100%!!!!

I did it for 3 months till I went back to work then quit- I did keep some in the freezer, which got us through another month. Then towards the end of my freezer milk, i started mixing that with formula to get her used tot the formula. I wish I would of started mixing it sooner, cause then my freezer milk would of lasted longer.

SO what I plan to do on baby number two....is doing just breast for a while (like a month) then mixing my pumped with formula for as long as I can. Then the formula savings $$$ will be cut in half!

Good luck- I promise it will be okay!

Jackie said...

I only breast fed for like 2 weeks...I was pumping like no tomorrow and then I came to a halt and was barly pumping anything....so I quit and I wish I would have worked at it more because we ended up having so many issues with Loreli's allergies. I will say the cream and pads are a must....your nips will hurt and then you won't even think twice about it. When I was drying up it hurt so so bad for like 1 day and I thought they were gonna just rip off but then by the next few days it kept getting better and better....just a heads up no one ever told me about that part and I wish I would have know all that too! You can get the loation, pads and bags from Target or like a Wal Mart. I have a pump that you are more then welcome to use if you would like, you would just have to get new hoses for it.

Cassie said...

Angie - good idea on the mixing. i will keep that in mind. that is another thing i don't know about. how to get them off of the milk and on to formula. hopefully it's a smooth transition.

Jackie - too funny. crazy what people don't tell you. lol. i am borrowing erin's pump but thanks for the offer!!

Anonymous said...

I can only answer some of your questions. I breastfed while I was at home and only pumped whenever I knew I would be gone longer than an hour or when my boobs were so full I felt like they were going to explode.

*My sister-in-laws sister brought her pump to the hospital and pumped from there (although a few days of from the source wouldnt hurt to try).

*My nips were sooo sore and it hurt really bad the first week I was home from the hospital. I dont know why I thought the cream was making it hurt worse, but in the long run whenever I started regularly using it the pain stopped. So use that cream! You can buy it at target, walgreens etc. They will also give you tubes at the hospital.

*When I returned to work I breastfed in the morning, pumped 3-4 times per day at work and then breastfed at night. I work with 99% guys too so that was always awkward when they were asking me where I was going, or asking me what I was microwaving check this out for quick sanitizing (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2735035&searchURL=false).

I would store the milk in these freezer storage bags, which you hook right up to your pump, no bottles needed. (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10860618&searchURL=false)

Also dont forget lots of pads. I overproducted by a LOT so sometimes at night I would just shove a small towel in my bra because I was so sick of waking up drenched in milk, lol.

*When I weaned, I did it slowly cutting out one pumping at a time, and used a bag from the freezer to replace my pump. At my prime I had about a two month stock in the back of the freezer. Milk in the back of the freezer can last up to six months.

*And lastly, these little strips can become your new BFF... (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3056092) There really is no need to "pump and dump" if you can wait long enough until the milk is clear from alcohol. The only reason to dump is if you get too full and need to relieve some pressure.

Good luck with breastfeeding, it will do wonders to Henry's immune system and will help you lose baby weight fast!
-Andrea

Anonymous said...

It was a smooth transition for us, but not all babies are easy like Megan was. She was sensative to the regular emfail, so we switched to the gentle ease and all everything went just fine.

If you mix breast & Formula together then the transition should not be a problem at all. I started with 6 oz BM to 2 oz Formula, then went to 5 and 3, then 1/2 and 1/2- you get theh point. :) it will ease them in to full Formula. That is what I did anyway.

But again, I promise......hook Henry up to the boob....it will come natural :)

Cassie said...

Andrea - AWESOME! thank you so much!! ha you know the guys at work are just so nosey. i swear sometimes they are worse than women. lol. thanks again!!

Nicole Hedden said...

It definitely takes a lot of time and dedication but you can get it done!

It's definitely best for the baby and CHEAPER! With Zoie, I let her go straight to the source at first but I did pump to "get rid" of the extra... Well to store in the fridge anyways but once she started using the bottles she didn't want straight from the source anymore. Plus definitely take into consideration even if you do pump you may not get much. My sister told me when I was pumping that she was jealous how much my bod produced and she had to quit breast feeding sooner cause she just wasn't getting enough. {weird, I know but hey it's the truth} If you do have any questions, feel free to message me! It may have been 5 years since I've done it, but I still remember just like it was yesterday!

Nicole Hedden said...

oh and about the guys at work. ha. I would just tell them straight up... they'll learn quick enough to leave you alone! haha

Kim Luke said...

Yay!! I love that your going to try!

My milk didn't come in for 2 days after I had Landon. But I was leaking a small amount here and there, and that is all he needed at first. Definitely wasn't enough to pump.

My nips must be weird becuase Landon couldnt figure out how to latch on, so they gave me a nipple shield. it's a clear silicone shield that went over my boob and had a hole in it where the milk would go into his mouth.. I would suggest trying that if you aren't comfortabe with the whole mouth on boob thing! lol
definitely tell them at the hospital that you plan on pumping, a specialist will come into your room and bring different sized pump adapters that will be sized with you boob and nip. definitely helped a ton with the amount of milk that was coming out each time!!

I bought a single electic medela pump from BRU and love it! I wish I had a double, but it a hell of a lot cleaper, but would take half the time to pump.

the cream works good, its just like lube for your nips I bought some, but vasaline worked the same way! They didn't get chapped with I was straight BF, when I decided to start pumping is when they got chapped.

you have to watch what you eat 24/7. I had to limit the amount of dairy I had and NO spicy foods because it hurt Landon's belly!

I wouldn't suggest pumping & dumping, unless your doing it just for relief. Alcohol is only in the milk as long as its in your blood. The rule of thumb is if you can drive (legally) than you can breastfeed. pumping & dumping does not speed the elimination of alcohol from the milk.
Trust me, you work hard for that milk... better warn Josh to never spill a bottle of BM!!! Lol

Heather said...

These comments are going to make some perv with a fetish really happy.

Kim Luke said...

hahaha I totally agree Heather. I've never said nipple so much in 1 post before! lol

Cassie said...

kim - thanks!! i will for sure have you on speed dial. ha you would shit if i sent you a picture of my nipple, and under it is say, am i doing this right? hahahaha.

heather - OMG yes. bahahahaha. i will have to check my searches tomorrow and see what people found. lol. hilarious.

Cassie said...

hahahaha - i think all your non pregos should drink everytime the word NIPPLE, NIP or PUMP is typed. hahahahaha. wasted. hilarious.

Heather said...

Oh we are printing this shit out the first time we can all get together and drink after all the little people are born...and we are SO playing that game.

sblind2 said...

YAY....nipple nipple pump pump!!!

Unknown said...

I just laughed out loud to the non prego people drinking.....LOL!
So happy you are going to try this:) good for you!

Laura@everydayeasy said...

There has been a lot of great advice so far. You might want to check out a breastfeeding class because they do extensively cover pumping. Make sure you get a high quality pump. I have the Medela Pump 'n Style Advanced. I can send you an email for a place you can get it at cost. And if you do decide to try BF, it hurts like crazy at first so I'm sure exclusively pump will too. Power through it girl!!

Anonymous said...

Cassie when i nursed Tyler, he had NO problem latching on. I did however have a supply problem once i got home, just stress i would blame it on. I know you need to drink A TON AND EAT A TON and the first week and a half is ROUGH! We rented my pump from byrd watson for like $30 and it was a REALLY GOOD PUMP! I mean no sense in buying a crazy expensive pump if it isn't going to work out for you. I do know that anytime Tyler would get up, i would nurse him, then pump because Tyler was so little he couldn't empty me out. So i'd have to pump anyway. And when i went back to work, my supply was soo low, but i made it 3 months and i'm pretty proud.
OMG all you mommas that nursed, agree with me that the first week and a half will make your toes curl!! Oh gosh i wanted to quit, it hurt soo bad! I remember sitting there on the couch, with ice packs on my nips just crying! But every day got easier and i'm really glad i stuck it out. But the lotion helped a lot. . .and ice packs
Good luck!

Beth said...

Cassie, I am still a Certified Lactation Counselor, and can answer all of your questions, but I would literally be writing a book on here if I did. There are so many ways to do things that work for some moms and don't work for others. Call me sometime or we can talk at the next family function? It is definitely worth the effort, and I wish so badly I that I would've produced enough to BF the girls longer than I did.

Christine said...

This topic is really relevant to me right now. I have been pumping since Carter was born in April. I tried to BF early on, but we had some issues with him latching/tongue tie and I wasn't making enough milk on my own. At my peak time, he would have 1/2 of his daily bottles of formula and 1/2 of breast milk. I was pumping approximately 7 times a day early on. To wean myself, I have dropped a feeding a week and now am at once a day. I will be done at the end of this week and happy to have that time back. I will agree with Lara that pumping/giving bottle and then cleaning equipment can be really tedious - but I think its worthwhile and you will save $. One thing worth mentioning is that the pumps come with one standard shield size... I met with a lactaction person at the hospital and she told me that this was not the right size for me (had some bad chaping). You can find different sizes at Target/BRU if you need. Make sure you take advantage of the lactation people at the hospital, i even went back after Carter was born for more help. I have the Medela Pump Advanced too (where you can do both at one time). I bought this strapless bra that they sell through Medela on Amazon that makes you be able to pump hands free. I always took my pump time for blog time/internet surfing. It was "my time." The only issue is if you have a crying baby/toddler while you are trying to do this. Although, if your baby starts crying while you are pumping, you will notice a crazy influx of milk coming out! SO WEIIIRD. Let me know if you have other questions! I read 3 books about breastfeeding and took a class at the hospital - and was still CLUELESS when it came time to actually do it. I'm happy to help.

Erin said...

Everything Kim said was exactly what it was like for me. I would honestly try to just bf for the first two days until it really comes in. Promise it won't be bad. It will be easier! Did you find any of those bags in the box? If not I know I have some that go with the pump. The double pump is nice.. but I honestly used one most of the time.. I had a baby next to me for the most part and needed one hand! Let me know if you want any help with the pump.. It's super easy and an awesome pump. NOw, don't be milkin up my shit.

Abbey said...

I tried to bf at the hospital and we had some issues - The nursing staff was nothing but great although they would wait to bring the babies in to feed after they had gotten fussy missing the "rooting" stage and all the other "signs of hunger"...I learned a little bit in my bfing class haha TRANSLATION I had to decide which one was the most hungry feed he/or she first and hope the other one could be patient (I wasn't good enough to feed them both at once) Sooo After day 2 of both Jaxon & Layla screaming as well as me I ask for the pump...The first few days I pumped a very small amt so I had to supplement but also feed what I had pump through a syringe. It worked and HOLY MILK did it ever come in! I pumped and even store enough for about 6 weeks! That was the time stephen had to go to work so I started to ween myself off at that point!

To slowly ween myself I extended the times in between pumping and pumped for less time...

I'm with Christine I bought a "pumping bra" and it was wonderful! I could check e-mail, read or simply catch a 20 min cat nap

As for chapping, or hurting I would def. recommend you make sure the bell is sized correctly - At St. Elizabeths they give you a pumping equipment pack if you decide to use their pump while you are in the hospital but the bell was to small. I got a different size and never had any issues -

As for creams I used some lanolin lotion but the best buy was when I got some lanolin wipes from target it was dual purpose I could clean everything up after pumping as well as keeping things moisturized!

I had a medela pump in style advance and it worked great! Medela has all sorts of storage options...I ended up getting cheapy breast milk storage bags from walmart and they worked fine! They make some that hook directly to the pump.

I found one of the best parts of pumping is when the babies were up at night I could pump and feed one of the babies while Stephen could help feed the other!....In your case you could pump and Josh could feed!

Good Luck!