First Time Mom Needs BF / Pumping Advice

[ciaobella]

Out of all of the decisions to make and research to do with a baby on the way, this area has been the hardest for me.

I know that I want to BF and I recognize all of the benefits that Drew will receive from breast milk - what I don't know is how long I will breast feed, and how often I will need to pump.

I am planning on taking off 3 months after Drew is born,and it will be easy to BF during that time, however, when I go back to work, I am not sure how long I will be able to keep up with the pumping. I will try to have a good size freezer stash before that time to help.

So, here are my questions:

1. What do you think of the Avent Isis breast pump? Should I start with this system and upgrade to an electric if I decide to pump longer? I just don't want to invest a lot in a pump if I am not going to use it long term.

2. I recognize that if I use the Avent pump, I will need Avent bottles and the like (unless I use the conversion kit). How did you choose which bottles to use? I know that I am supposed to wait to introduce the bottle to avoid nipple confusion, and I will wait, but I want to be prepared.

I am the first of my group of girl friends to have a baby, so I am really looking for advice in this area. How did you decide which pump to use? Bottles? Storage system?

Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks if advance.

[farsk]

Hello!

Congratulations on your baby!

Like you, I took off 12 weeks when Ellen was born. I was committed to BF, so I bought a Medela PIS. I've been back at work for five months now and BF is still going great!yay! I'll give you my $0.02 on your questions.

Depending on my "output", I'll pump anywhere from 3 - 5 times a day (once before work, once at work in the morning, nurse Ellen at lunch, pump twice in the afternoon, once before bed).

I've never used the Isis, though a lot of moms on this board think highly of them. I think another mommy who's son Ellen goes to school with said it best when I asked her what pump she used (she works FT, too). She said that she used the Isis, but with the next one was going to get a PIS. Wit working, I can't imagine anything but my PIS.

The Avent bottles work for us, now, but we had to try, try, and try to get Ellen to take it! (Same way with her pacifier)

I like the Gerber seal and go BM storage bags. I got an organizer drawer thingy from wal-mart and keep my stash in it in the freezer. It works well for us.

Good Luck!

[signsing]

I didn't return to work but I can give some advice as to what I liked.
I'm not sure about pumps, I have a manual but would love to upgrade to the electric. I only pump occasionally so its really not that much of an inconvienence.
I too loved the breastmilk storage bags! I used a playtex disposable so they were super easy. I wanted to use the new nurser nipple or the avent but my son wouldn't go for either of them. He would only use the orthodontic nipple by playtex.
My suggestion is to buy an assortment of nipples and when the time coems see which will work best for you. The Avent and the new playtex nurser are both a broad base similar to the breast. Their mouth is in a similar position to nursing.
I would want to wait a little before starting to pump. You will want to become used to the baby first. Give your breasts a chance to get accustomed to this before using a pump wich can increase your soreness. However when your milk comes in you can pump some to ease your soreness.

HTH
Betsey

[BethS]

I haven't read the responses so I apologize if this is a repeat.

I use the Isis and love it as a SAHM but I think (and many friends agree) that you will want an electric if you decide to pump when you return to work. For one thing, the double pump cuts the time in halft right off the bat. Plus, they are much more efficient than the Isis. In your case I think I would start with the Isis and upgrade later. The Isis is very convenient and not very expensive so it'd be nice to have on hand.

I chose the Avent bottles because I had lots of friends that used them and read that they were one of the best. That being said, Jack decided he didn't like them around 3 months and now we're using the Platex Nurser.

For storage, I use the Gerber bags. Pump into the bottle and pour into the bag. We haven't lost a bag of EBM to leaks/spills yet.

Good luck!

[nitaghei]

>
>So, here are my questions:
>
>1. What do you think of the Avent Isis breast pump? Should I
>start with this system and upgrade to an electric if I decide
>to pump longer? I just don't want to invest a lot in a pump
>if I am not going to use it long term.
>

The Isis is a great little manual pump. I work full time (went back at 6 weeks), and I like having this as a back up. You can always wait to buy a PIS or something similar. If you want to try a double electric, you could rent a Lactina for a week or a month, too.

>2. I recognize that if I use the Avent pump, I will need
>Avent bottles and the like (unless I use the conversion kit).

To some extent. I have the Isis on the go set, which came with 2 4 oz and 2 9 oz bottles. This is more than enough to pump even once a day. You can store the EBM in the Gerber bags, and use any bottle/nipple combo you (and baby) like for the actual feeding.

>How did you choose which bottles to use? I know that I am
>supposed to wait to introduce the bottle to avoid nipple
>confusion, and I will wait, but I want to be prepared.

The important thing is the nipple. If you want to continue BF'g while giving bottle through the day, the two nipples that are recommended generally are the Avent and the NUK. Both are slow flow, and the shape helps reduce the possibility of nipple confusion. I would try the Nuk first - it's a much cheaper option. If it works, in that your baby will accept it, go with it. At about the 8 month mark we switched to Gerber medium flow (DS decided he had enough of the slow flow Nuk), without any problem (still BF'g at 14 months).

Introduce a bottle around the 4-6 week mark. Not before - to help your baby learn to BF and to help establish your supply. Pump at the time you give the bottle. And do give the bottle consistently - once a day or so.
>
>I am the first of my group of girl friends to have a baby, so
>I am really looking for advice in this area. How did you
>decide which pump to use? Bottles? Storage system?

The Isis is great for occasional pumping and to build up a stash. You definitely will need an electric double pump if you work. The Medela PIS and the Ameda PY are the two top choices. An alternative is renting a pump like the Lactina, which is what I did (but I started pumping when my baby ended up in NICU).

Bottles - really does depend on the baby. Like I said, the nipple is the important thing. I would recommend starting with a cheaper alternative and moving up to the more expensive ones like Avent and Dr. Browns. We used a combo of Medela and Gerber bottles without any problems.

Storage - for freezing, the Gerber bags are great. Just lay them flat, and double bag them in a heavy duty freezer Ziploc bag. Do not store EBM either in the door of the freezer, or too far back. I have an excess lipase problem, so my freezer stash went bad, and I just kept whatever little I had in Medela/Gerber/Evenflo bottles.
>
>Any advice is appreciated!
>

Pump first thing in the morning, starting at about 6 weeks, to build up your freezer stash for the time you go back to work. I've had to do without this, and it's really stressful to make sure that you always pump enough every day. The stash is a nice cushion for those days when, for whatever reason, you can't pump enough.

>Thanks if advance.
>

HTH.

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[KGoes]

I am a working mom. Here's my advice. If you are going to pump at work, start with an electric pump at home. I pumped way before I went back to work to relieve engorgement and to build up a freezer stash. I tried a manual pump once. I promptly set up my PIS. It's faster, it's easier; it's both breasts at one time. If you have an easy pump, you are setting yourself up for success. Make breastfeeding as easy on yourself as possible. JMO.
I use Avent bottles, and I love them. Reasonable minds differ on bottle choices, but I have not had leaking issues, DD took to them fairly easily at 4 weeks, and we have not looked back. My freezer stash is in gerber or lansinoh bags.
Good luck!!
DD born 7/03

[jerseygirl07067]

I agree with the above posters. I start back to work next week so I have been aggressive in building a freezer stash for peace of mind. The electric double pump is the way to go (I have the Medela PIS) and I started a routine of pumping in the am after a few weeks or so to gradually build up the stash. I even had to dump my initial stash because of a lipase issue but have been able to replenish it quickly. I have the Gerber and Lansinoh bags and the Lansinoh bags are my favorites. I initially used Dr. Brown's bottles but then realized that once I went back to work it would not be fun cleaning out all of those bottles and parts at the end of the day. So I switched to the playtex disposable bottle with the drop in liner. (I kept trying and trying until DD would take it) So now I will only have to wash the nipples...quicker and easier is best for me! :)

Playtex also makes a breastmilk storage system where you can pump into the liner, cap it, then put it in the fridge or freezer for storage. It comes with an adapter ring so you can even pump right into the bottle with liner if you want to. (I still prefer freezing in the Lansinoh bags and laying them flat for quicker thawing though)

Marcy

[lag555]

I don't know if you need a pump at all to start off with. You can wait to see how the breastfeeding is going and try to start your baby on bottles. (You can put water in the bottles if you don't want to invest in a pump, yet.)

Then, when you have a better idea of how your baby nurses and what type of bottle your baby will accept, you can look into the electric pump options.

I don't think this is a decision you have to make right away. In fact, I found the thought of going back to work while nursing to be very overwhelming. It was easier for me to say "I am just doing this one month at a time. At the end of the month, we can re-evaluate."

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[ciaobella]

Thanks for all of the advice. This topic is just really overwhelming for me, being a planner at heart, it is hard to say, 'we will have to wait and see how it goes'! Although, that seems to be the reality.

I am going to look at the pumps recommended and talk to my doctor next week and see what he says also.

Thanks again for the input.