How to Exclusively Pump Your Breast Milk for Your Baby
Situations such as premature birth, cleft palate, latching issues and past sexual abuse can prevent a mother from successfully nursing her baby naturally. While formula is an okay choice too, most experts agree that breast milk is best. If you cannot successfully breast-feed, your next best choice is to exclusively pump your breast milk. It takes hard work and dedication, but provides your baby with the best nutrition in his first year of life.
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Things You'll Need
- Hospital-grade breast pump
- Breast pump tubing and horns
- Bottles
- Breast warmers
- Breast milk storage bags
- Dishwasher and sanitizing supplies
- Nursing bras
- Lanolin cream
Instructions
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Rent or purchase a hospital-grade pump. Call your local hospital's lactation specialist to find a rental program. You might be able to rent one for free through the government's WIC Program (see Resources).
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Stock up on breast pump supplies and bottles. Have extra breast pump horns and bottles available, depending on how often you will be able to sterilize.
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Consider purchasing a hands-free breast pump bra. This will let you pump while you are doing other activities.
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During the first six weeks, pump every two hours (if possible) during the day and four hours at night to help you maintain your supply. If you are very sleep deprived, it is okay to miss a pumping session. As your baby gets older, you can decrease the number of pumping sessions according to how often your baby eats and how much milk she consumes. It might be six to eight times per day from ages 6 weeks to 3 months, four to six times per day from 3 to 9 months, and two to five times per day up to age 1 year. If your supply goes down, add more pumping sessions.
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Empty your breasts at every pumping. Try to pump for at least 15 minutes if you are double-pumping, or 15 minutes on each side if not.
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Drink lots of water and eat well to keep your supply up.
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Freeze leftover breast milk to be given later when your supply is low, or after you finish pumping. Be sure to follow the CDC guidelines (see Resources) for safely handling and storing your breast milk.
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If you have any problems, such as plugged milk ducts or low supply, consult a lactation specialist. Call your local hospital to find one or look on the International Lactation Consultant Association website (see Resources).
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Tips & Warnings
Massage your breasts during pumping to help prevent clogs.
Use lanolin cream if your nipples get sore and dry.
Ignore comments from people who say you'll eventually dry up and it won't work. Thousands of moms have exclusively pumped for a year or more!
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Keith Brofsky/Photodisc/Getty Images
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Comments
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mom2dnlu
Apr 10, 2008
Very informative! I'm a member of the EP'ing board on ivillage. I never knew there was one on cafemom as well. I just joined it after reading this. :)
