To be completely honest, I never pictured myself actually feeding my baby. I knew it was something I wanted to do, and I read enough about it to know why I thought I wanted to do it, but I never mentally prepared myself for what was in store for the journey. (The word “journey” feels overused, but in this case, it was a true trek, uphill, fifteen miles in the snow!)
Our family came into exclusively pumping accidentally, and once we realized that it was working for us, everybody was on board! I started pumping right after Sully was born to have a small freezer stash for a bottle so that my husband could feed him, giving both a bonding experience to him as well as giving me a break. For the first few weeks, it was easier to mainly directly feed my newborn, as he ate often and it was the quickest way to calm him; at night, I hated the idea of having to pump on top of taking care of a baby whose circadian rhythms were severely off. As time went on, I just found myself pumping during the day and breastfeeding at night, and it worked for all three of us. Then, came sleep training. More on that at a later date, but once Sully started sleeping through the night at five months (insert hallelujah hands!), I had no need to directly feed him. I didn’t exactly plan it, but I realized on the first night of our sleep training that it was probably the last time I would feed him. While breastfeeding was never something that I felt a tremendous attachment to,I did cry thinking about that bonding time that only he and I could experience together ending. But then I slept eight hours that night and all was well.
Enough on our back story; let me explain what worked for us. Our journey (who’s tired of that word yet?) was a little different because at two months, Sully had blood in his diaper, so I instantly cut dairy (which helped), but as time went on, his skin and diapers got so terribly bad that I eliminated gluten, soy, dairy, and egg to get him relief. Because I cut out so many foods, maintaining a supply was genuinely an uphill battle. A lot of people asked why I didn’t just put him on formula, but the ingredient list didn’t inspire confidence in me; we would be trading one food allergy experience for another. Anyway, here are the specifics that helped make exclusively pumping easier and more effective for me.
When:
-I pumped every three hours on a regular day, but those windows were adjusted if we had something planned. Example scenario: I pumped at 5:30 a.m. and would be set to pump again at 8:30 a.m. except we had a doctor’s appointment at 8:00. On that day, I would pump at 7:30 a.m., an hour earlier and then just pump when I got back. On those days, it would equal more or less pumps, but I usually yielded about the same amount of milk as long as I was consistent in my three hour windows the other days.
-I can’t speak to a 24 hour pumping schedule, as I did not pump at all in the night once Sully slept eight hours. I’ve had friends who pumped in the night and stored enough milk to stop pumping months before their child was ready to wean. Go them! (But this mama needed sleep!).
Where:
-I set up a pumping box for myself. It held my pump, hands-free pumping bra, snacks, remotes to the tv, and whatever else I might want that day for entertainment. I kept it next to the couch with easy access to an outlet and the baby. Twenty minutes is not a long time, but it can feel like forever if you are stuck where you are.
-In my first few months exclusively pumping, I took my pump everywhere, even on small outings. But, as mentioned in the “when” section above, I eventually got the hang of how to adjust my schedule so that I didn’t have to take it with me as much. But when it was a long outing or traveling out of town, I did one of two things depending on who was driving, how long we’d be gone, and if Sully was enjoying his ride or not (we went through a couple of rounds of loud protests of car rides). The first was to invest in the Willow pump; I have since gotten rid of it, but at the season of my life when I needed it, it was great! I literally pumped in front of family and friends that I would not be comfortable doing so otherwise, and most of them never noticed. I used my Milk Snob cover to hook up and then was able to carry on as normal. The second was to take my regular pump but with a car adaptor. I set it up just like I did at home, so it was familiar and easy. I probably do owe an apology to a truck driver or two who gave me weird looks while passing by, but hey…Mama’s gotta get that milk! With both scenarios, I traveled with a cooler bag with a few freezer packs in it so that the milk would not spoil while we were out.
-With pumped milk comes the need for bottles to drink said milk. I always threw one or two empty ones in the diaper bag in case my buddy got hungry while we were out. If I knew he would need a bottle and I needed to pump while we were out, this saved me the storage step.
How (Tips and Tricks):
I’m not going to walk you through step by step on how to pump, if for no other reason than to spare you the mental image. (Think Mike Wasowski in the scream extractor scene in Monsters Inc…just kidding! Mostly…) I do have a few tips and tricks on what helped me both in process and product.
–Eating and Drinking: I have never experienced ravenous hunger like I did until I started producing milk. My body was hungry for calories! On days when I didn’t take the time to eat enough, my milk most certainly hit a dip, so I finally got in a groove of snacks and meals that worked best for me. Eating a carb heavy breakfast and dinner really kept my supply steady. When I cut gluten for Sully’s skin, my supply took a major hit, so I had to get creative with oats, quinoa, and rice pasta. It’s so tempting to want your body back (whatever that means: my body grew a human!), but cutting out major food groups can cut your supply as well. I also drank a ton of water!
–Pump Part Storage: I feel so dumb for doing so, but for the longest time, I would wash and sanitize my parts in between every single three hour feeding. Then I found the bag trick. I just put the flange and attached parts in a large ziplock and kept in the fridge until next time, and then washed at the end of the day. Bonus, the cold helped if I ever started to feel engorged.
-Attitude: I still have leftover streamers and hats from the pity parties I threw myself on days when I was sick of having to stop my life every three hours. The rollercoaster of emotions that comes with motherhood were amplified by the pumping process, but once I realized that it was truly the best choice for my son as it related to his food allergies, I just strapped in (literally and figuratively) and pumped my heart out. I literally got more milk on days when I was in a better mood about it.
-Prep: Having my station ready for me for the next session helped the most with my attitude. The last thing I wanted to do was pump if I was tending to a screaming baby or managing a load of laundry, but if my station was already set up and ready with a new set of bottles or parts, I just sat down and spent the twenty minutes.
-Power Pumping: When my supply began to wane consistently, I started power pumping, and it changed the game completely for me. When I felt behind or desperate to produce enough milk, I set up three days a week for an extra hour. During my second pump of the day (because that was when Sully napped), I completed my usual twenty minutes of pumping, but then kept going. Twenty minutes on, ten minute break, ten minutes pumping, ten minute break, etc until an hour has passed. I repeated this once a day for three days in a row each week until my supply went up again. During the actual power pumping, I did not get that much more milk, but over the next couple of days, my body caught on that it needed to produce more, so it did. These sessions became my favorite because for one hour, I truly could not do anything else except relax, watch tv, stitch, or whatever I wanted while seated.
Using What:
I went through a variety of products related to pumping, but by the end of our 13 months, there were a few things that I found to be tried and true:
Milk Snob Cover: I used this for a seat cover, a nursing cover, and a pumping cover. Machine washable, stretchy, and soft
Medela Pump in Style Advance: This pump was the one my insurance covered, but I really loved it (if one can say they actually love a pump). The parts were easily found at Target, it was easy to clean and carry, and they had great customer service when it suddenly stopped pulling as much power (a borderline emergency to an EP mom).
Medela Freezer Storage Bags: I tried several different kinds, but what I liked about these is that they stood up on their own which made filling them easier.
Medela Bottles with Lids: I had a few sets of these, so after I was done pumping, I put a lid on them and popped them in the fridge until Sully needed to eat or until I could get out the bags and freeze the milk.
Hands-Free Pumping Bra: I went a few months without this, and the only thing I can say is “Why????” It literally changed my pumping life when I could use my hands to tend to a baby or change the channel on the remote. I had a couple: some attached to existing nursing tanks or bras, and some were stand alone. This was my favorite though.
Can I squeeze in the word “journey” one more time? Exclusively pumping was absolutely a journey for our family of three. It took all involved to provide milk for our son for thirteen months. Because of food allergies, we essentially went full vegan with anything processed which meant my husband had to be on board, as he is the main cook in our family. He stepped up and showed out, making us gluten-free, vegan, soy-free food every single day. He researched and brainstormed, grabbed snacks for me at all hours of the day and night, took over baby duty if I needed extra time to power pump, and all of the other things involved with being a husband, father, and business owner. There were days that I could not see pumping another single time and days when I was frustrated beyond belief that what I was eating was causing Sully pain. Cody helped me rally, and at the end of my thirteen months, I pumped 10,124.75 ounces. There were 1,872 times that I hooked up to the pump totalling 624 hours. It was a wild ride, one that I was honored to be on!
