Pumping enough to give my girls

I don't know if this is the right place to post this question, but my girls are 4 weeks old and we have gone back and forth with the emotional battle that is breastfeeding and have decided that for now we are going to bottlefeed the girls because all of us are very frustrated.. and I think it's just what's best for us right now... that being said, I want to give them only breastmilk if possible. I am pumping only enough for one baby per pumping session. (I feed them every 3 hours and pump after each feeding), Has anyone else out there made this same decision to pump only-? If so, how did you manage to pump enough for your kiddos? I just want to up the amount I'm getting. I do supplement if I have to. Also, how do you up the amount your getting as your babies require more over time?? Thanks ladies! You're wonderful!

 

I only pumped for my boys. I built up enough of a supply that I was getting enough for all their feedings during the day time. I also pumped every 3 hours. For their bedtime bottle and middle of the night feeding I formula fed. I never did build enough that way for all their feedings. It was easier that way in the middle of the night for me anyway to make formula rather than go to the fridge, warm it up, etc. They also seemed to sleep longer when formula fed so that's why I chose those feedings to not use the breast milk. But as for building a larger supply as they need more, I can't help there. I stopped pumping and went exclusively to formula when I went back to work. They were about 2.5 months old at that time. Good luck!

 

I've been pumping for my boys since they were about yours age.. I didn't give any formula until they were 4 months old. the first month of exclusively pumping, I HAD to pump about 4 times more than they ate every day. So basically for a month I was pumping 12 to 15 times a day, (Depending on if we left the house or not). It was incredibly exhausting, but that was what I had to do to get get and keep my supply up. Once the babies turned 3 months old their eating patterns got more regular, and my milk supply was good, I was even able to freeze a couple bottles of milk during the week. I started to pump less and less. I think for a few weeks I pumped about 8 to 10 times a day, then dropped down to 6 to 8 times a day. At 4 months I started to give 2 to 4 oz of formula in their bedtime bottle, and started only pumping 6 times a day. About 3 weeks later i started to get even more lazy and only pumped 4 to 6 times a day (usually 4 or 5) and they were getting about 4 oz of formula a day. It's been a huge commitment for me, but it's what was right for us. I will note the twins haven't gotten any formula for almost 2 weeks now, and I've been pumping 6 times a day plus pulling milk from the freezer. I'm almost out of my frozen supply so I'm going to have to start pumping 8 times a day again.. Also, they've been sleeping through the night since 4 months and 1 week.. good luck!!

 

I am EPing as well. I still have to supplement. It's taken me a long time to even get to this point. I started off EPing with 40oz a day, and am now up to 55 oz per day. I was so much happier once I stopped nursing - I was pumping all the time for supply issues anyway. And now DH and others can help me. Also, it made the transition back to work much easier. In the beginning I pumped 6x a day and dropped to 5x a day at 12 weeks. There are meds available to help with supply, but I have only used fenugreek/blessed thistle and they helped some. Also, just consistently pumping and emptying is really important. I'm still gaining about an ounce a day each week. There is a great EPing webboard on babycenter.com that has been a real help to me.

 

this is totally the place to post your question! we have lots of moms here who have pumped exclusively for their babies or done a combo of pumping, BFing & FFing.

just like nursing at the breast, pumping is based on supply & demand - so the more you pump, the more you'll make.

it may also be worthwhile to look into meds that can increase your supply, as your body usually does not respond as well to a pump as to a nursing baby - there's the ones you can just do yourself (blessed thistle, fenugreek as well as things like eating lots of oatmeal) and then there are preseciption meds you can use as well (reglan in the States & domperidone in Canada).

 

Check out Kellymom-pumping and bottle feeding too. This is a great site for any and all breastfeeding questions. Also, in answer to your question about what to do as they grow, check out this link : How much expressed milk will my baby need? It has a good calculator that can tell you how much your babies should need for their age. Breastmilk changes as babies grow so they never need as much BM as they do formula.

 

Thank you slugrad1998 for the articles! Very helpful!

 

Just want to say that I am in the same boat with you. We are back and forth about whether to nurse or just EP--I'm just pumping right now (and basically have been since after week 1) because of mastitis, sore nipples, a bout of thrush, you name it! Pumping just made the most sense. Fortunately, I haven't had much of an issue with supply and the babies exclusively get breast milk now although when I go back to work at 4 months, I will have to supplement I think because I'm not really freezing any.
To get to the point where I am pumping enough for them to eat exclusively, I started out pumping about every 2 hours (and they eat every three hours). It's a big commitment and a lot of work but now I can back it off a little--I'm pumping every time they eat and just once in the middle of the night. That gives them enough to go throughout the day plus a little more. I probably should keep trying for more so I can bank some in the freezer but it's tough to find the time with two babies to manage!
Along with trying the supplements (fenugreek, goats rue, etc), try adding in another pumping session per day and see if that helps. You're definitely not the only one who is EP'ing!!

 

I'm not sure if you were interested in this advice or not but I just wanted to add that I had one of my girls off the breast for 3 weeks or so and then I tried her on the breast and she was great. At this time she was older, larger mouth and more comfortable. If you were wanting this to be an option it may still be available to you even just for say an evening feed.

I never exclusively pumped but I know many on here have. You are a wonderful mom, P'ING is a lot of work. I tried the fenugreek but I got a terrible rash all over my body from it. I then tried a prescribed medication but it was frustrating taking it 3 times a day and if I didn't remember it can decrease your supply. I had enough on my mind at the time with the babies than to remember medication 3 times a day.

that's just my story.


Heather