Tips You Should Know Before Pumping
I’m not an experienced pumper or nursing mother. I’m not even an experienced mom but I will soon enter the mom ‘gaining experience’ realm with my first little guy this summer. (My goals as of now are to nurse and pump but I haven’t quite figured out how long I’ll go past the WHO recommended one year).
What I am though, is someone with connections to tons of moms with experience nursing and pumping. I interact with great consultants that can offer advice and recommendations and I have access to research in breastfeeding and pumping. Working for Rumina has offered me the next closest thing I can get to actually breastfeeding and pumping and that’s interactions with moms and health care professionals.
In being a part of a lot of conversation on Baby Center, Facebook, various blogs and podcasts I know nursing and pumping can be a challenge. Some moms breeze through it while others have a hard time. Personally watching my sister struggle with her oldest was difficult to witness, I could only imagine her anxiety and stress.
This post will not even begin to cover all the aspects of pumping and nursing, look for lots of posts to come about all types of pumping and nursing information. What this post will do is give you recommendations from moms that have pumped (look for a nursing post soon). I asked moms on Rumina’s Facebook Page what they wish they would have known before starting to pump. Here’s what they said in a nutshell. (To see actual Facebook post click here).
First sliver of advice, Patience:
Especially in the beginning, your milk supply will fluctuate, sometimes you’ll pump more, sometimes you’ll pump less and sometimes it will take you 20 minutes and other times 40 minutes. Be patient. In the beginning don’t try to compare what you’re getting at one pumping session with the next.
* Key is to figure out if you got all the milk out of each breast after each pumping session (pumps aren’t quite as efficient in the beginning as a nursing baby is at completely draining the breasts). It’s important to completely drain each breast for milk production. Hand expressing is a great way to ensure you’re completely empty and promote milk production. (Click here for a link to Stanford School of Medicine’s video on hand expression).
Buy a pump earlier than you initially think you would need one:
If you want a pump for work, to build a stash, or because nursing just isn’t working for you and your little one, don’t necessarily wait till the last minute. You may find that you need different flange sizes or the pump you purchased isn’t working for you (maybe the suction isn’t right and flanges don’t fit properly for you). Waiting till the last minute, especially if you’re returning to work or having difficulty nursing, might result in stressful days until the pump arrives.
Critically look at the difference between a double pump versus single pump. There is a price difference between the two but depending on your breastfeeding goals a double pump might be more efficient and well worth the costs.
* Ask your hospital if they rent hospital grade pumps and see if you can get one right away. This could help those wanting to build up a stash, establish a pumping routine and you’ll have a pump you can use until you decide on which one to purchase. Here’s a link to Breastfeeding Magazine’s Breast Pump Review to look at all the makes and models of each pump.
Flange sizes:
Your pump will come with a set size but most pumps always offer different sizes you can purchase if you need. Below is a picture of how a flange should properly fit on your breast, from the North Central Florida WIC Program.
The nipple shouldn’t come in contact with the sides of the flanges, if it does it could cause friction and pain, clogged ducts and impact the amount of milk you will pump. A good fit should have spacing in between the nipple and tube. You know you have a bad fit when the sides of your nipple rub along the tube.
*Purchase different size of flanges to test out which ones fit best for you. They’re relatively cheap and getting the right ones earlier than later can save you a couple of painful breasts.
Here’s a couple of links for more images on the correct flange size fit.
http://www.purelyyoursultra.com/custom-fit-flanges.html
http://www.poshmums.com/breastfeeding/medela-personal-fit-breastshields.htm
Preventive Care:
Use olive oil, coconut oil or lanolin to prevent friction instead of trying to deal with treating it later.
Again, this post doesn’t cover how often you should pump, power pumping, what supplies you need to start pumping or tips for working pumping moms. You can sign up to our blog to receive notification when those posts do come out. Plus you’ll see a lot more info for nursing your little one in the future too. So keep an eye out for more Expressed Milk posts!
Please share any tips you have that you wish you would have known before pumping to help other first time moms and pumpers like myself!