can anyone tell me how often i need to pump and how long i should let the machine pump? i have been pumping every 5 hours and sitting for about 20 minutes (unless one breast stops expressing), but wasnt sure if that was too much or not enough...

anyone have any other tips? thanks mamas!

eta: its an electric double pump

Why are you pumping?

Originally posted by quidnunc
Why are you pumping?

trying to build up a frozen supply for when i have the hysterectomy ;cool:

Hrm. Well, I know if you're trying to build a supply (like to relactate, or if baby's in the hospital) they suggest every 3-4 hours for 15-20 minutes (or until the flow stops)
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/FAQMain.html#Pumping,%20Working,%20and%20Breastfee ding
That should help, after all who's better to look to than LLL :) Just scroll down to "Pumping, Working, and Breastfeeding" and, with minimal adjustments, you should be able to get all your questions answered :)
Good luck! And congrats on the cute baby!

There is also a yahoo group called pumpmoms, I believe. I am sure you'll get tons of BTDT advice there.

Sarah is beautiful, by the way. :heart:

Branwyn - it's better to pump more often for shorter periods of time. When I was pumping for the girls - I was pumping every 3 hours for about 10 min. (going a bit longer at night - maybe one 5 hours stretch).

If you are nursing and pumping - it depends on the situation. If you have an oversupply and baby is having a hard time latching - then pump a little bit off before nursing her. Otherwise - pump after nursing or in between nursings.

thanks mamas! i dont know why i didnt think about looking at the LLL site (i guess being able to bf is still so new lol)

thanks robin, i am pretty partial to her :-) we are still awed by how much hair she has (my other 2 cam eout bald and didnt get any hair until they were 2!) and we cant figure out who she looks like, we think it might be me but with the jaundice and she still has a bit of newborne squishy face - so we arent totally sure :D

she has definitely stolen all of our hearts, shes pretty much all we talk about (even lylly is totally in love with her)

pssst hey psst
I mailed the cosleeper yesterday--- i have had a terrible little viral thing one day this week, and then one of the pieces to it was MIA, and it took a day of ransacking the attic for it to finally dig it out. I STILL Cant find the breastpump for Leigh-- it is in the attic somewhere, but it beats the heck outta me as to where. Anyway, looks like it will be there tomorrow. How long have you guys been home?
I have fabric for you too, but couldnt figure out how to ship that much fabric with the cosleeper. Anyway, I need to find a box forall of the fabric so I can send it your way.
As far as the breastfeeding ?? I would lay off the pumping until you establish your bfeeding relationship a little bit more, unless you are just waaay overly full. Worry about feeding arah right now--- there will be plenty of time to pump :)

btw, she DOES look like you-- I toldja so!


heather

I used to like breastfeeding.com too. It had a lot of good info on their boards.

What about pumping one side while you nurse Sarah on the other? That way you don't spend all of your time either pumping or feeding.

Originally posted by herc
pssst hey psst
I mailed the cosleeper yesterday--- i have had a terrible little viral thing one day this week, and then one of the pieces to it was MIA, and it took a day of ransacking the attic for it to finally dig it out. I STILL Cant find the breastpump for Leigh-- it is in the attic somewhere, but it beats the heck outta me as to where. Anyway, looks like it will be there tomorrow. How long have you guys been home?
I have fabric for you too, but couldnt figure out how to ship that much fabric with the cosleeper. Anyway, I need to find a box forall of the fabric so I can send it your way.
As far as the breastfeeding ?? I would lay off the pumping until you establish your bfeeding relationship a little bit more, unless you are just waaay overly full. Worry about feeding arah right now--- there will be plenty of time to pump :)

btw, she DOES look like you-- I toldja so!


heather

hey heather!
i tried to call from the hospital but the phones were all wacky (well that or the meds were making e wacky, not too sure which one it was ;) )
we just got home today (thursday afternoon) and will be moving on saturday (oh fun) but until then i will be laying around the bed with sarah (mom and dad still have máire and lylly and wont be bringing them up until saturday evening). i am pretty darn overful so i have been pumping a lot and trying to figure out these playtex freezer bags lol i need to get you your money! going to run to pump a little and try to find something on tv :heart:

Oh! Logan's idea of pumping the *other side*, WHILE Sarah is nursing is GREAT! Otherwise, my only BTDT experience was pumping every 2 hours (for a month) while my twins were in the NICU (not what I'd recommend, lol). Definitely read the LLL site. I'm so happy for you that nursing and/or pumping is working for you! Sarah is soooo cute! Makes me miss having a nb! lol I've never had a baby w/ so much hair, either. It's adorable. :heart:

Bran,
congrats mama. I never did get latch down on any of mine so my experience is purely pumping.
If you are wanting to maintain your supply yuo have to pump at least 15 mins, there is usually a smaller let down aprox 10-15 mins after the first. for the first 12 weeks I pumped 30 mins every 3 hours both breasts. Obviously since you are nursing you wont need to pump that much. You have to pump long enough for the second letdown and hindmilk. I have some pumping and storage links feel free to email me if you have questions.
grannysark@aol.com

OM BRanwyn! She is beautiful. I just wanns kiss those smooshy cheeks. That is one special baby!:heart:

I don't have any pumping advice since I only pumped a ltiilte at work when H was a baby and only rarely when C was cause I don't work much. I just *had* to gush over Sarah!!

I'm glad that you are able to BF too. How exciting for you. :)

Branwyn,
You are overfull because your body hasn't established it's breast milk supply/demand cycle yet. I believe the recommendation is to wait at least two weeks before you begin pumping, in order to avoid causing any problems with newborn latch and supply. Right now your body is getting used to creating and supplying breastmilk and your baby is learning how to latch and feed. You need to get that part down first, then you can add pumping into the mix. This way too, you aren't overwhelmed with both responsibilities.
I pumped for at least 9 months with each of my girls, so I've BTDT. Some of the easiest times to pump are when the baby is sleeping/has slept for a period - with my first, my best pumping session was first thing in the morning, before she woke up. She nursed through the night, but she had her longest stretch of sleep closer to morning. My younger daughter was the opposite - it seemed like she knew when it was getting to be close to time for me to get out of bed, and she would marathon nurse in the morning, making any early morning pumping pretty much worthless.
The suggestion to pump one side while baby is nursing the other is a great one - it helps with letdown and I usually got a very productive pumping session when my baby was nursing the other side. I used an Avent Isis for all my pumping, so it was quiet and didn't disturb the baby. I would assume that you could do it with an electric as well - she'll get used to the sounds. It takes a bit of juggling, but it can be done.
For pumping time - it varies by mother and pump and letdown. I wouldn't watch the clock - as long as you are producing, keep pumping, as long as it isn't painful. If you have a good letdown, you could be done in just a few minutes, even with waiting for a second letdown (usually, for me, was more apt to have double letdown when pumping and feeding at the same time.) If you're not having much luck, stop - eases frustration and helps keep you from getting sore nipples.
LLL is a great resource - use them as much as you can!
Best of luck to you - your daughter is adorable!!

no advice, just *hugs*

BTW, I decided to wait to send your candles for the craft swap.. LMK when you're all settled and the new address and stuff. I was worried they'd get lost in the move.

Originally posted by copmom
Branwyn,
You are overfull because your body hasn't established it's breast milk supply/demand cycle yet. I believe the recommendation is to wait at least two weeks before you begin pumping, in order to avoid causing any problems with newborn latch and supply. Right now your body is getting used to creating and supplying breastmilk and your baby is learning how to latch and feed. You need to get that part down first, then you can add pumping into the mix. This way too, you aren't overwhelmed with both responsibilities.
I pumped for at least 9 months with each of my girls, so I've BTDT. Some of the easiest times to pump are when the baby is sleeping/has slept for a period - with my first, my best pumping session was first thing in the morning, before she woke up. She nursed through the night, but she had her longest stretch of sleep closer to morning. My younger daughter was the opposite - it seemed like she knew when it was getting to be close to time for me to get out of bed, and she would marathon nurse in the morning, making any early morning pumping pretty much worthless.
The suggestion to pump one side while baby is nursing the other is a great one - it helps with letdown and I usually got a very productive pumping session when my baby was nursing the other side. I used an Avent Isis for all my pumping, so it was quiet and didn't disturb the baby. I would assume that you could do it with an electric as well - she'll get used to the sounds. It takes a bit of juggling, but it can be done.
For pumping time - it varies by mother and pump and letdown. I wouldn't watch the clock - as long as you are producing, keep pumping, as long as it isn't painful. If you have a good letdown, you could be done in just a few minutes, even with waiting for a second letdown (usually, for me, was more apt to have double letdown when pumping and feeding at the same time.) If you're not having much luck, stop - eases frustration and helps keep you from getting sore nipples.
LLL is a great resource - use them as much as you can!
Best of luck to you - your daughter is adorable!!

wow thank you so much for the info sonya, i think you are totally right and i need to hold off on the pumping for a few weeks. i was so exhausted, yesterday, and all i did was nurse and pump!

nm

Originally posted by Snugglbond
congrats! I've been following your baby watch :)

Sarah is beautiful...I've got baby girl lust :)

As for the pumping, when is your surgery scheduled? Sarah is so new-I don't want to frighten you buy by pumping during this newborn time you are seriously risking an oversupply problem down the road.

You can email me if you want "official" LLL help...tracey.bond@adelphia.net. I'm in Cumming, if I recall correctly not too far from you.

Being overfull is normal in the first few days, pumping will only prolong that and make it worse in the long-run. It's a demand and supply system. I'm concerned that while meaning well you might regret this in a few weeks/days.

email me if you want :) or call the nearest LLL to you (cherokee?)

Good luck!

thank you! i probably will be emailing you :) my surgery isnt supposed to be until november or december (we wont have an exact date until i go for my 6 week pp checkup). i think i was jsut wanting to make sure that i had plenty of ebm but my husband and i talked about it (and about how tired i was from all the nursing and pumping) and he made me realize that i was being silly to worry about it this early.

Originally posted by Korwynne
no advice, just *hugs*

BTW, I decided to wait to send your candles for the craft swap.. LMK when you're all settled and the new address and stuff. I was worried they'd get lost in the move.

hey jodi,
thats totally cool about the candles, i will pm you with our new addy this weekend (we start moving tonight):heart:

That is a fair amount of time for you to prepare...I would think that you could start pumping in a month or two and have PLENTY, but be past the newborn phase and will have had some rest.

Good luck on your move :) Where are you going? Try to be careful and not overdo it...I'm hoping your main task will be sitting and nursing? Besides the whole c-sect. issue you could get mastitis if you do too much too early post-birth.

REST :) ;)