Anyone with EP experience? Some tips please!

[megs4413]

I will be EPing again (exclusively pumping) for this new baby. I EP'd with limited success for DS (only made it about 8 weeks and we did supplement some in that time.) I know for sure that the nipple shields didn't fit quite right so I'll work on that this time. I could use any/all tips. I took reglan and fenugreek last time. I don't think it made any difference besides the reglan giving me some undesirable side effects. I will not try that again. I've never nursed, so I don't know any different from pumping vs. nursing. I think that's a bit of a hindrance for me. The hospital we're delivering at is EXTREMELY bf-friendly and I'll have an LC in the delivery room within an hour of birth, but IME not all LCs are really qualified to address EP issues, so I'm reaching out for help whenever/wherever possible now.

Specific questions:
-I am reading I should pump within the first hour. I know that our hospital's goal is to have the baby on my chest skin to skin for the first hour about....how do I work pumping into that plan? Should I have DH be prepared to receive baby on his chest? Any thoughts on this? I think with DS it was probably a little more than hour before I pumped, but I was able to get colostrum on that first pump. didn't get any after that, so I think pumping early must be pretty important.

-Should I be double pumping at each session or is that overkill? I'm just a little fuzzy on if you should pump both sides each time or if that will lead to overproduction or something....

-has anyone ever found a way to double pump while baby is in your lap? I am reading that physical contact with baby while pumping can help production. I honestly don't think i ever tried with DS.

I'm sure there's stuff I'm missing, but if anyone has any pointers, I'll take them. I'll be using a medela symphony if that makes a difference. TIA!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

well i essentially EP'd for the first month of DD"s life (while she was in NICU) and probably EP'd for the majority of the time for a good month after that as she had a lot of feeding issues from being a preemie (she had to be tube-fed for the first 3 weeks, then transitioned to bottle and finally the breast).

for me what really really made a difference was using a hospital-grade pump (i used a symphony). they had one in the NICU and then for home I rented one. I had a Medela pump in style that i had gotten for DS (and it was fine) but for exclusively pumping, at least for me, it was not up to snuff. i felt i got a lot more milk out of the hospital grade pump.

my memory of that crazy time is a bit foggy but i'm pretty sure I typically pumped both sides, at least in the beginning. USing that SimpleWishes or wahtever brand of pumping bra was a life-saver.that way i could pump hands-free. i never tried pumping while holding baby (often when i was using it at home she was still in the hospital) but i'm sure that could totally work with the hands-free pumping bra, at least when baby is newborn! I was able to surf the internet, etc while pumping.

i used an itouch App specifically for pumping..can't remember what iw as called, but that way i could log how much i pumped at each session. i remember it took me a while bc the ones i had before were all for nursing (logging minutes), but i wanted one for pumping where i could log how much milk i was getting from each side, etc..

[kaharris83]

I EP'd for over a year for DS1 which provided him milk until he was 18 months and lots to donate. I didn't pump the first hour after DS1 was born, but I also didn't start EPing until about a week after he was born. I tried to BF him but he had latch issues. I pumped every 2 hours for the first 3 months. After that I stretched it to every 3 hours for a few months then every 4 for a few months, etc. That's how I ensured my supply. I always pumped both sides. I didn't come up with a really great way to pump and hold a baby. It was pretty hard. I usually propped DS1 on a Boppy or in his high chair and gave him a bottle while I pumped. My EP must haves are a set of Pumpin Pals flanges, a few sets of pump parts, and a hands free pumping bra. I'd use a set of parts and store them in a ziploc in the fridge between pumps so I'd only have to clean them once a day. a

[mmsmom]

I EP'd for 8 weeks till DS finally latched on. I think skin to skin is probably the most important thing initially for you & baby. I would just enjoy that then pump immediately after. Then my advice would be to pump as often as you can. I think it is much easier to deal with over supply than under supply. A friend EP and her supply was such she could pump twice a day and meet her DC needs for a year. I had to pump for every feeding and it was stressful to always feel like I needed to be one ahead. I didn't pump enough at first (I think only 4-5 times/day) so my supply was never what it needed to be. I think if you pump often at first then later you may be able to maintain supply with fewer pumping sessions.

Re: Colostrum... I didn't pump for at least 6 hours after delivery, if not more. I was trying with many different LC & nurses to get DS to latch so there was a lot of skin to skin. I did get colostrum on first pump & the next two or three but it was hours after delivery. My milk came in by end of the next day.

Get a hands-free bra for pumping and you should be able to hold DC while pumping at least until they get too wiggly. I used to be able to pump, hold the phone to my ear & hold my laptop on my lap

I think the milk storage bags are the easiest because you can freeze them flat. I found it helpful to label with bags with the amount of milk per the bottles I was pumping into vs. the markings on the bag.

Good luck!
Definitely pump both breasts at the same time because it will be faster that way.

[TwoBees]

I pretty much EP'ed the 8 weeks while DD was in the hospital, and for several months afterwards. We tried BFing, but she did not have a good latch or strong suck, and she was too tiny to give it time to work out. I had an oversupply, so I'm not sure how much advice I can give except pump until empty and do it regularly for a while. I was told to pump every 3 or so hours and didn't know any differently, so I did for a while.

[egoldber]

-I am reading I should pump within the first hour. I know that our hospital's goal is to have the baby on my chest skin to skin for the first hour about....how do I work pumping into that plan?

I knew younger DD would be a preemie, so I planned to pump from the get go. I had a doula who was also a trained (but not licensed) LC with me in the recovery room after my c-section while DD was in the NICU. I told everyone I wanted to pump ASAP and my doula's main job was to have a hospital pump waiting for me in recovery and to help me pump the first 2 or 3 times.

In your case, I would hold her for awhile and then start to pump. Note that the hospital nursing staff all thought I was over the top and crazy. But I wanted to set myself up for success. I say this because you may have to mentally prepare yourself to just ignore the nursing staff and do what you want. DH and I had our own schedule. If they needed to check me, they did it when it was convenient for me.

I pumped 10 times a day around the clock, every 2 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night. So a typical schedule was: 7 (am), 9, 11, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 (pm), 3 am, and then starting again at 7 am. On day 2 of this schedule I stared getting real quantities. When she was about 7 days old, we started putting her to the breast as well with a nipple shield. But I didn't really count those as sessions.

I rented a hospital grade pump for home when she was discharged. After discharge I was feeding her and then pumping afterwards. I did that until we were sure she was gaining weight. She was bout 6-8 weeks when I switched to nursing vs. pumping and we used the nipple shield for awhile after that.

Honestly, it would have been a lot easier to just pump vs. trying to nurse and pump, but my goal was to eventually exclusively nurse.

I would not worry about pumping too much. I don't think it's possible in the early day when you are trying to get breastfeeding established.

[Kindra178]

I rented a Symphony. That made my time pumping more efficient, quicker and had plenty of milk. I only double pumped. Have the pump in order before baby. The place I rented from was the cheapest place around, but didn't understand the correct tubing, etc. I wasted a lot of time with the back and forth. Get an extra set or two of pump parts.

Pump directly in the bottles; the 8 oz bottles worked best for me, but I was pumping for twins. Try to pump 7-8 times in a 24 hour period for the first two weeks. After that, you could go down to 6 sessions or so.

I didn't pump an hour after delivery and had no problems with supply. I delivered at midnight and the lc came in around 11 the next day.

Definitely get two hands free pumping bras (I loved the zip halter kind, which zipped right over my nursing bra). If you have that, you will definitely be able to cradle the baby.

If you know you are going to exclusively pump, don't waste time and money with an lc or trying to nurse. Any extra time should be spent pumping!

[TwoBees]

I forgot to add that I think the hospital grade pump really made a difference in starting me off on the right foot. It is much stronger and more efficient than a regular at-home pump. Rent one if you can, at least for the beginning. Your insurance may cover it depending on your situation.

[lizzywednesday]

My rec's are:

(1) Hands free pumping bra - I used the Simple Wishes one:http://www.diapers.com/p/simple-wish...a_kw={keyword}

(2) Pump schedule. Within an hour after birth is an ideal-world scenario, but I wasn't able to get access to a pump until 10 the next morning (!!!) at which time, I had only seen my DD briefly, out of focus (DH had my glasses in his shirt pocket ... under the hospital coverall) and they didn't allow me to touch her. The hospital gave me a logbook for pumping.

(3) I think the skin-to-skin/on chest thing may actually HELP you succeed - it's related to what folks have learned about "kangaroo care" in preemies and something my LC told me to try and do for DD when we were having nursing issues.

(4) Hospital grade pump with "Preemie Plus" program to simulate baby's feed patterns for better letdowns and, subsequently, more pump volume. This was HUGE for me. I would get in touch with the LCs at the hospital where you'll deliver and ask them about the programs for your pump.

(5) The correct size pump flanges (horns) for my breast size. I actually got a friction injury on my left side from using the "standard" 24mm horns - I needed a 30mm on that side at first, but later did fine with a 27mm. If they stock a pump, they should have the parts available to you.

Other pumping survival accessories were a big (20oz) water bottle, pump wipes for quick cleanups, photos of DD, and a comfy chair.

[LKMang]

I EP'ed with DS for about 15 months. All the advice you are getting is great. I absolutely recommend the Symphony pump. I was able to rent it first from a medical supply company, then found it cheaper through a baby gear rental company, so definitely shop around. I played around with shield sizes. I ended using a larger one for one side. I was in a good deal of pain in the beginning and this definitely helped, along with using a nipple balm (found at whole foods). I didn't start right at the beginning since I was hoping that breast feeding would work. Started pumping maybe 3-4 days in. The key for me was definitely pumping 8 times a day for the first 3 months. I was then able to slowly drop and not see a huge drop in supply. I always did hands free (was able to use hair elastics to connect shields to my nursing bra) and always did both sides at the same time. I also used the boppy to prop DS up on the sofa right next to me.

One thing that really made it easier was not washing the shields after every pump. I would pump, rinse with cold water, shake out the excess water, then store in a tupperware bin in the refrigerator until the next pump. I would wash them every night.

Best of luck to you!! I always wonder, if I am blessed with another child, if I would attempt breastfeeding again or just automatically start EPing. I remember being so conflicted in the beginning with DS and it really made my post partum depression worse. Part of me thinks it will be much easier to just be ready to EP and not look back!