Is it true that your milk dries up if you pump?

Well that was the summary for the whole question. I was telling my mom that I plan on bfing and pumping so that my dh can feed the baby as well. She said that if you pump you stop producing as much milk because your body doesn't have the same reaction? I'm an idiot when it comes to bf'ing so I'm hoping you ladies can help clear this up. This is true?

Thanks

[tiredbuthappy]

For some, it can affect supply. SOme people just don't respond as well to the pump as the baby. However, if you see a decrease in supply, I imagine you can go back to exclusively nursing to boost it up (assuming your baby is still willing to take the breast once you introduce a bottle).

I pumped exclusively for 6 1/2 months. I could've gone longer, but had 2 months of milk stored in the freezer already, and was going back to school and work. My supply was great and the baby was never at the breast.

[redrosesrsweet]

not exactly, how much are you going to breatfeed at the breast?
At first I did it a lot, but now that my breasts are use to how much I am feeding you wont feel full, so you might just want to breastfeed most of the time if you are planning on just breastfeeding.
At night when they sleep or morning is best to pump because that is when they sleep so you get full waiting to feed again. But at first I did a lot, now my daughter is up more so I breastfeed more, also she is doing so much more as she learn, it will end up like that.
so if you plan on breastfeeding most of the time and you want dh to feed your baby than you should give a break and give formula, or if your planning on going back to work. In my opinion......I am only at home because I want to just breastfeed her no formula,
but I would say about drying up, that's if you are pumping a lot more than breastfeeding. If you pump when I suggested, you will probably be fine, but the baby on the breast is a big difference than pumping cause I guess the baby can suck harder (but you still don't feel it, like its painless)
anyways hope this answers your question!

[tiredbuthappy]

you are much more likely to dry up if you have DH give formula instead of pumping. Breasts produce milk based on demand. If you don't pump skipped nursing sessions, your body will get the signal to make less milk.

[Diane1003]

If you know where the milk ducts are located on your breast and apply pressure to that area - or those areas while the pump is going you'll get more milk. I've noticed that has helped me produce more milk while pumping.  Good luck.

[Camilleta]

I manually expressed for weeks and my supply never ran out. =)

[Super_sally888]

I've heard of 1 lady who pumped for years (even after her kid didn't need it any more) - used it for weight control!

Breast and bottle feeding (with expressed milk) is perfectly possible.  Try to keep baby comfortable with both sources though, will make things easier.  I've also heard of feeding baby with a cup (instead of bottle) to prevent issues between bottle and breast.  Have tried it will baby girl and the cup works nicely (but my girl doesn't seem to have a problem between breast and bottle so haven't bothered too much with the cup).

[Helen72]

I have problem of not being able to produce enough milk so I actually pump to increase my milk supply.  If you pump on top of b/f (lets say after you done nursing) your supply will actually go up.

Good luck!

[NicMom]

Thanks for all the feedback. Now I'll just have to decided on a pump.

[AndiJ78]

It all depends on the pump, you generally need one of the higher end pumps to keep the supply up and keep it stimulated, similar to a hospital grade. Cheap pumps are good for draining the breast but not for stimulating and maintaining the supply.

The ideal is always to nurse as it will keep the supply up and you will be less worried about ounces and supply overall.

Good luck. Oh, I did want to say you really should avoid pumping until after 4 weeks of age, so that the supply is well established with nursing.