breast pumps

[CrystalBrooke]

i decided along time ago, well about 6 or 7 months ago, that i wanted to breast feed. my choir teacher, who has been so supportive of me, said that she pumped before she had her second child and was able to breast feed him better than her first. so ive gotten a breast pump and i was trying to pump this evening because i know this time next week i'll have a baby to feed, but it didn't go anywhere....i didn't even feel like it was doing anything. it's an electric pump, so for those of you who have breast fed and pumped, should i get a manual one, do they work better?

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

Your milk has not come in yet so it's not likely that you'll get anything. Electric pumps are supposed to be more efficient that manual ones so I don't think getting one will help you out. I had an Evenflo pump which I could hardly get anything from and later heard that Evenflo pumps aren't very good.

 

[sara elizabeth]

I never could get more than a few drops with a breast pump, but I have no problem producing plenty of milk. (I've nursed all five) It just won't let down for the pump. I found that it just takes a bit longer for the milk to come in the first time around, so your teacher may have had an easier time just because it was the second. Don't worry it will all work out fine if you give yourself time to adjust.

 

[CrystalBrooke]

i guess that does make more sense since this is my first...how long does it usually take to get your milk with your first one because i know that you have something called colostrom(sp?) first, then you get milk?

 

[Athene]

Colostrum is gradually replaced by breastmilk over the first week of breastfeeding.

If I were you I wouldn't bother trying to pump, you'll start producing colostrum once the baby is born, you probably will be producing it now in very small quantities. The event which kick stars full blown milk production is the shock to your body that comes from a sudden stop in the production of pregnancy hormone which occurs straight after you've given birth. You've still got loads of pregnancy hormone in your body so your boobs are not going to produce milk as they're being told that you're still pregnant and there is no point in producing milk.

Your choir teacher probably found breastfeeding her second easier because it was her second and her body knew what it was doing, rather then because she pumped, with my second I started producing milk earlier on in pregnancy (around 6 months) then with my first (8 months I think) and with number 3, I'm 6 months now and I've already started milk production.

And respect to you for breastfeeding, it's worth it.

 

[giddybiscuit]

I second the opinion that your teacher probably found it easier to breastfeed the second time around because she'd already done it before. The only reason why pumping might make things easier would be if you need to increase your supply (usually baby alone is more than enough for that purpose!) or if you need to leave the baby with somebody else so long that they'll need to feed him or her (which you shouldn't do until baby is at least 4-6 weeks old, to avoid nipple confusion).

I have one child, a 6-month-old, and haven't pumped once. We've been exclusively breastfeeding from day one and I have had no need to pump--but if you would like to, I am told the Avent Isis is an excellent manual pump.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

i guess that does make more sense since this is my first...how long does it usually take to get your milk with your first one because i know that you have something called colostrom(sp?) first, then you get milk?

It usually takes 3-5 days for your milk to come in and you will definitely know it when it does! Until your milk comes in colostrum will be plenty for your baby and is very high in nutrients.

 

[sara elizabeth]

It took about 3 days for my milk to come in with #1. With the others it was more like 24hrs. Like Mrs. A2J said, you will definitely know when it comes in.

 

[HeKnowsMyName]

WOW! I didn't know you could pump BEFORE the baby came. I breastfed and pumped with my first until she was 17 months old. I have a Madela (sp?) electric breast pump and it's WONDERFUL!

The only problem I had to begin with was that I was engorged because of so much milk and I didn't have a clue what was going on (read, read, read, before that baby gets here - that was my mistake, I didn't read). Then she didn't take to one of my breasts because I have a slightly inverted nipple (my Mom does and my DD does so I suppose that runs in the family????). My lactation consultant suggested that I pump a few minutes before I breastfed so it wouldn't be hard for her to nurse. I did that for several weeks until she became a pro at it and we didn't have any more problems. I'm a bit apprehensive about doing it again just in case we have some of the same problems, but at least this time I know more what to do.

DD didn't even have as much as a cold the first year of her life! Breastfeeding is WONDERFUL!

 

[KristyAnne]

My milk came in about two and a half days after Isabel was born. That was an eye opening experience! I didn't realise that breasts could just swell like that. I wasn't prepared for milk squirting every which way when I wasn't feeding either. I didn't have any nursing pads at first, because I didn't even know what they were (Crystal, if you haven't already, buy nursing pads!)

At one stage I used a manual pump, because DH wanted in on the feeding, so I thought it could give he and Isabel some bonding time. But we gave up after a couple of tries, because it just took so long, and didn't really seem to get much milk out of me. We're going to try an electric pump this time around, hopefully DH will get to feed this one a bit.

God Bless.

Kristy

 

[CrystalBrooke]

with the way our schedual will be im going to need a breast pump, i hadnt planned on exclusively breastfeeding anyways, i had planned on putting it in bottles too so that Ben could feed her...because that was the only thing he didnt like about deciding to breastfeed. but anyways...since im not getting my milk yet, is there any specific reason that my boobs are starting to swell and become really sore already? for the past 2 weeks ive been waking up to swelled and sore areola's, is that normal?

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

Just try to hold off on the bottle feeding for about 6 weeks in order to avoid nipple confusion. They'll be plenty off stuff for Ben to do (like changing diapers ) to keep him occupied until then.

 

[HeKnowsMyName]

Just try to hold off on the bottle feeding for about 6 weeks in order to avoid nipple confusion.

That's what we did too.

 

[Athene]

with the way our schedual will be im going to need a breast pump, i hadnt planned on exclusively breastfeeding anyways, i had planned on putting it in bottles too so that Ben could feed her...because that was the only thing he didnt like about deciding to breastfeed. but anyways...since im not getting my milk yet, is there any specific reason that my boobs are starting to swell and become really sore already? for the past 2 weeks ive been waking up to swelled and sore areola's, is that normal?

Could be extra blood flow

 

[symphonyb]

It was a whiz for me with my electric pump. I looked forward to the release in pressure as I was always ready to nurse and nursing so often. I don't know if I kept that thing but I'll be investing in another one this time.