Pumpin Mamma!

Some of you may know and some of you may not, but I have been feeding Will breast milk. I attempted to breast feed but since he is a little monster, he eats a lot. I would nurse him for 40-50 minutes and he would still want another 2-4 ounces. I would then have to pump after in order to give him the 2-4 ounces. I just figured that it was better time spent just pumping and feeding him a bottle. Knowing that breast milk is the best for a baby really isn’t my main motivation for trying so hard to breast feed, the cost of formula is. In my short 2 ½ months of exclusive pumping I have learned a lot about breast feeding. I would love to share those things with you in case you know someone who is having trouble breast feeding or pumping or just wants some advice.

One thing I have learned is that it takes a great deal of work to make milk! Drinking a gallon of water a day is a bit hard. This and rest is the best way to keep your milk supply up. Here are other tips to increase your supply:

If you are more like me and not blessed to be a “cow” then there are natural and safe herbs to take. Fenugreek is an herb that was recommended to me by my doctor so it is so very safe. (This increased my supply by about 2-3 ounces a day.) There is a tea that is called Mother’s Milk Tea. I have yet to do this as it takes 3-5 cups a day to work, but I do have a box at home I plan on using. More Milk Plus or More Milk Special Blend is a mixture of herbs that is recommended by many lactation consultants but not known by too many. (I have just started taking this and so far has increased my supply by yet another 3-5 ounces a day.) If none of this works for you, there are certain prescriptions that increase milk supply.

Eat- this sucks because now you are trying to lose that baby weight but it takes an extra 700 calories a day to produce milk! Can you believe that? 700 calories!

If you are nursing alone, keep baby there eating. He/she has to completely drain you for your body to trigger the hormone that produces more milk. Have the baby eat from both sides as well. If you are like my sisters and I, keep pumping. At least five minutes after you get the last drop of milk, this will do the same thing as having the baby nurse. As funny as it sounds but then do hand expressions. If I do this after I am done pumping, I can get yet another ounce! That is a lot if you don’t get much to begin with.

Cabbage leaves help with mastitis and when you are done breast feeding for engorgement.

Tips for exclusive pumpers:

If you are pumping alone, pump 10-12 times a day for the first few weeks/ months. Your milk supply will be established at 12 weeks post partum.

Olive oil your horns. It causes less friction which is awesome!

Pumping while baby is sleeping does not last long! So, you have to figure out how to entertain your baby while pumping. Somehow you can feed your baby while you pump. I haven’t figured this out yet as it is a challenge to burp Will because he is so strong that I can’t burp him sitting up, he has to be on my shoulder. I sit Will up like a big boy on our chair as I sit on the ottoman with books and toys on the chair so he has my full attention. Some women pump on the floor with their little one lying down with toys all around. When Will becomes mobile I plan on putting him in the pack and play with a bunch of toys in the living room.

You can refrigerate your pump parts so that you don’t have to wash them every time. I do but with middle of the night pumps it would be nice to just go back to bed instead of washing parts.

Massaging your breasts while pumping will get the milk out faster and more efficiently.

Rotate your freezer stash, in standard freezer it is good for 3-6 months and in a deep freezer it is good for 6-12 months.

Power pumping increases milk supply. What is this? Watch an hour long show and pump during commercials. I’m not sure why it does just that it does, or at least I have read that it does.

Apparently pumping sometime in the middle of the night (between 1 and 5) interrupts your deep sleep which releases a different hormone to produce more milk.

There are more tips and advice on pumping and storing milk that I could list but this post would be an epic post. I do hope that this will help someone who is struggling with this. If you do have another question and you know me, just ask, if you don’t know me then look it up on the net. There is so much information out there that it is sad for women who desperately want to breast feed but cant for a number of reasons. This was something that I have wanted for the cost more than anything. I will leave you with one more piece of advice:

It IS okay to cry over spilt milk!