Anyone here exclusively pump at birth? Or do you have to actually breastfeed?
Do what’s best for you and the baby!
You can pump. Lots of good info out there about exclusively pumping. The only thing I will add…it seems to be a but harder to establish your milk supply that way…so maybe if you’re open to it at all, consider nursing the baby for the first few weeks before you start pumping. Either way, good luck Mama
I pumped with all 3 of my kids!
I’ve done it. We got to 7 months
We tried to breastfeed but it didn’t work. We pumped in the hospital as much as we could and then decided to pump exclusively. Ended up doing it for 12 months.
You can pump. But you’ll need to pump every two hours during the day & every 3 hours at night. Making sure you have the right flange size is important & you’ll need to change pump parts out regularly. I would suggest the group Expressions! Lactation Services for anything further for CORRECT advice.
You can pump, but if you plan to directly nurse as well, you could end up with a severe oversupply that could lead to: common clogs, mastitis, as well as a ridiculous freezer stash that gets out of control. If you plan to directly nurse from birth, I would wait at least 3-4 weeks before you introduce a pump unless it’s for relieving engorgement. If you plan to pump and bottlefeed instead of nursing; you should meet with the hospitals LC staff to help you establish a good pumping schedule; but generally every 2 hours during the day and every 2-3 at night is a great start.
It can be dangerous, so if you’re predisposed to going into labor early, do not do it! Also, PLEASE be sure you are getting enough nutrition for THREE people. The unborn baby doesnt deserve half assed nutrition when the already born kid doesnt NEED the milk.