Exclusive Pumping- Need moral support

[Cheesecake7]

Hello everyone!!  It seems like forever since I have been on here, not that long in reality I guess.  

Anyway, I had my baby 12 days ago.  We tried and tried with the help of several lactation consultants in the hospital to breatfeed, and she wouldn't.  We have ended up exclusivly pumping and giving it to her in a bottle, which really I am fine with because I wil be going back to work, and I want her to have only breast milk, so this is a good way to get it to her.  

The thing is that I am having pyscological problems with this.  I feel like I am attached to my pump all the time.  Every three hours I have to pump in order to keep up, and it takes at least 30 minutes each time.  DH is feeding and diapering because I am always pumping, so I feel like I am missing out on bonding with the baby.  I have tried to cut back on pumping a little in order to spend more time with her, and my supply has suffered a bit, so i have to go back to being more diligent.  

I was just thinking that some ladies on here myay have some experience with this, and may be able to give me some moral support, I am very much in need of it!!

[sweetangel7]

I have no experience with pumping, as I am pregnant with my first, BUT I did visit the breastfeeding forum recently to ask some questions...maybe you might want to visit over there as well?

I was planning on trying to pump when I go back to work, so I had asked them and several others about how long it takes to pump etc.  Everyone told me like 5-7 minutes a side (if you have a single rather than a double...so for both breasts, it shouldn't take longer than 10-15 min.).  Perhaps you should try a new pump?

Hopefully someone will be able to give you some good advice...

[casandbaby]

I pumped exclusivley, I pumped every three hours and had little help from hubby. What I did was I would lay him in front of me if awake and talk to him and play with him. It was kinda hard while holding the pumps in place but I worked it out where I was able to have my arm hold one and my hand in the other. You could get a bra that holds the pumps in place or make one I wish I would have thought of that when pumping =]

it is very hard exclusivley pumping and you are doing a wonderful thing =] keep it up

[Houston79]

Hi.  I was reading your post and I thought I'd share what happened with my friend.  She had her son on Oct. 11 and he did not latch on either. She really struggled with the whole bonding thing as well, but he was just too small to breastfeed (5 lbs) It took four weeks of pumping and one day she was determined to try again and she did.  He decided to latch on and now he is breastfeeding.  She is going back to work part time in January but she at least wanted to try and get that bonding thing in.   I don't know if that will be your case, but I just thought I'd share...

[whitlack]

I am a breast feeding mom and it does get a little demanding but it only takes me about 7 minutes to pump and if I am not nursing her I pump every 3 hours if I am away from her.  I use a medela pump in style double pump and it empties me quick.  What kind of pump are you using???  Just remember the advantages of breast milk and it is soooo worth it.  Hang in there.  You are doing great to be doing what your doing!!!  Just make sure you are using a good pump.  They are expensive but still way cheaper than having to buy formula every other day!!!  The breastfeeding community might be able to offer you some support there too.

[babydreams9]

Have you tried a nipple sheild? That worked wonders for my son and we are now 12 weeks along and going strong, after an extremely difficult start. You may want to look into it. As far as pumping, you are VERY early on and your supply is still being established. Over the next couple months you'll be able to pump a lot more milk in less amount of time. Be sure you are pumping every 2-3 hours around the clock, to get the supply up. Invest in an electric double pump to maximize effectiveness and save time. And as someone previously mentioned, try to be with your daughter while you pump. Pumping is hard work and is demanding, just as breastfeeding is, but sooo worth it. You're giving your daughter an incredible gift! Hang in there! :)

[Elyz1214]

My son wouldnt latch either - but why does it take 30 minutes to pump? I spend about 6-8 minutes on my pump and get MORE than enough for a feed. I had up to 25 bottles of milk in storage in the freezer at one point!

I got a Medela Pump in Style - its a double one. I know they are expensive, I bought mine (used) off of ebay and then bought replacement parts at Baby Depot for the parts.

I exclusively pump too and for awhile I felt the same way. You are either feeding the baby a bottle or pumping him one and its frustrating. But I lengthened the time between pumping (especially at night) and I found that increasingly the length between pumping was more effective.

If I pumped every 4 hours, I got about 4 ounces out. Every 6 hours and I would get out 6-7 ounces so I could save some for a later feed and not pump as frequently.

Try a different pump - I dont know why yours is taking so long - and maybe try pumping at different intervals?

[babyscience]

I pumped exclusively also.  I had the Medela Pump in Style, I think it would take me about 15 minutes but then an extra 5-10 for prep and cleaning.  Lacatation specialists will say you are doing double duty and you should really try to get the baby to latch....LOL, but with my son he wanted nothing to do with my nipple and would spit it out.  Trust me, stick with it and it will get easier.  Right now it is just a lot of stuff you are doing with the baby.  You will fall into a routine soon, and even though it su.cks not spending time with your baby, just think of it as a little mental break...let your hubby do the work.  Or if you really want to feed the baby, try to pump when the baby is sleeping, then when the baby wakes up you can do all that stuff.  
Also your supply may just be coming in slower.  So continue to try to pump every 2 1/2- 3 hours.  I did every 4 then 6 hours once it was up and going.
Good luck!

[tiredbuthappy]

i HATED pumping but stuck it out for 6 1/2 months.
tips to make it more tolerable
~set shortterm goals. at first i wanted to make it 2 weeks, then a month, then 2 months, etc...
~make it "me" time- have the laptop on hand, set up a cozy place to pump, read a book, etc...
~or, set up the baby next to you. when dd was a newborn, i was able to lay her in my lap while i pumped. when she was older, i would seat her in the bouncy next to me, or pump next to the swing
~go hands-free. this is a lifesaver and frees your hands to do other things- even feed the baby in a pinch.
~get the pumpin pals angled shields. these make it possible for you to lean back while pumping. they are also much more comfortable than regular shields.
~fridge trick- you don't have to wash all the parts after each time. you can rinse them, throw them in a ziplock, and throw the ziplock in the fridge. wash at the end of the day
~get extra sets of connectors and horns. very much worth the investment. set it up when you go to bed so you don't have to get out of bed to pump. i even used to keep a cooler next to the bed so i wouldn't have to go put the milk in the fridge. that is, until i discovered that breast milk is good at room temperature for much longer than formula. during the winter when the room was chilly, the milk i pumped right before bed was still good 10 hours later at room temp!
~talk to others in the same boat. ivillage has an exclusive pumpers community that helped me through it. they answered all of my questions and provided so much support

for this early in the game, you are pumping a lot. the general guidelines would be every 2-3 hours for about 15 minutes. do you get that much more when you go for 30 minutes? have you tried adjusting the settings? sometimes stronger is not better.

let me know if you have any other questions about exclusive pumping. some of the girls who already responded have some great experience as well. congratulations on your baby and be proud of your decision and determine to do everything you can to give your baby breast milk despite all of these difficulties.