Breast Pumping is HARD
No one could prepare me for the headache and lack of information around breast pumping. I had no idea where to look, what to do, and how much time it was actually going to take. Let me being by telling you I can only speak about my experience with it. I know this is not everyone’s experience. But it’s all I know.
Breast feeding is hard. Just plain and simple. No book, or eCourse can prepare you for a baby that can’t/won’t latch. Not to mention all the pressure that is put on you to make it happen. I’m very grateful to the hospital staff where I gave birth. But one thing I felt ill prepared for was the amount of opinions that each nurse would have regarding my baby and how I was breast feeding. I thought I was being easy, I told them I would like to try to breast feed. I never said we had to force the baby to do it. That we had to make my nipples bleed within the first day. That I wanted my baby to scream for an hour trying to get him to latch before they would allow me to use donor milk. Side bar, God bless these wonderful women that donate their milk. I am forever grateful and hope to one day give back myself.
“God bless these wonderful women that donate their milk.”
Back to the nurses. My husband and I watched as each new nurse over my 2 day stay had a different way that I ‘should’ be holding the baby to get him to latch. To their credit, they really wanted it all to work out for us. I could tell, but it just wasn’t in the cards. My baby was too small at the time, he was an SGA (small for gestational age) and my husband and I were more concerned about him getting in the calories he needed to grow and maintain his weight. We did not want to have him waste energy on trying to feed when I could just as ‘easily’ pump the milk for him.
Let’s unpack that. No one tells you the amount of hours a day it will take you to pump to sustain your baby. I full hardly believe this was the best option for me and my baby. But I was not informed about this. Sure mom’s joked with me, “your just a milk machine that first year” But I some how didn’t believe it or thought that it was gong to be this beautiful journey. I digress.
Let’s talk about how my intro to pumping went down. I had a 10 minute overview of the pump the hospital provided. I had done my research. I knew what pump I wanted before giving birth. I knew which pumps my provider covered. I called and asked about getting it before the baby arrived. They told me the hospital provides the pump. No one could tell me what pump it would be.
It was not the one I wanted, and I had no time to acquaint myself with it before I had a screaming baby wanting milk. If that’s the one take away you get from this. Get the pump you want. And get it before the baby arrives. Insurance will reimberse you if it’s one that’s covered by them. Yes, it’s annoying to have to fill out the form yourself. But it’s well worth it to have time to learn the machine without the extra pressure and sleep deprivation postpartum.
Get the pump you want
So, I had my 10 minute overview of the pump, was told my nipples were smaller than the shields that were provided and that I needed to order my own parts. In the interim I’d be fine using the ones that came with the machine. And that was it. I feel that was one of the issues early on. Not knowing which flange size that would work well for me. I don’t know why the hospital doesn’t keep these on hand. They had a lactation consultant but not the parts to help with this. It kind of blows my mind.
Anyhow, I tried 6 different sizes out until I figured it out. Yes, I know you are supposed to not have your nipple touch the sides of the wall, but not allow your areola to be sucked into the flange. No one warned me that I might have elastic nipples that would get pulled in no matter which size I used. Which again, mind blowing. I thought the lactation consultant would have been able to tell this by watching me pump. If you want to see my list of things to consider having on hand for what I consider the least painful pumping sessions check this post out.
Once I figured out my flange size, things started to get a lot better. This was about a month postpartum. Then the unexpected happened. My supply seemed to drop overnight. I hadn’t changed anything. So there I was again on Google trying to figure out what I needed to do, or what I was doing wrong. Turns out you have to replace the silicon parts of your pump at regular intervals otherwise they start to become less effective. What!? You are telling me that something you spend a few hundred dollars on requires new parts every month or more often? And no one told me this.
After replacing the pump bills as they are called I was back on track. Things were working, but my poor nipples were swollen and sore all the time. I decided to go to a mommy and me class that my local hospital offered for breast feeding mothers. I learned three things at this class. One, I felt awkard and out of place with my son. Two, there’s a stigma when it comes to mothers who breast feed, with baby latched and those who pump. And three, I found a new tool that would change the game when it came to pumping. Enter, breast massagers. They are essentially little vibrating silicon inserts that you can use while pumping to help relax your breasts. Some women use them to help massage clogged ducts. I use one on each breast on a low vibration and low heat. They help to relax me while I’m pumping and make it so much less painful. Now, if I pump without them, I immediately know something's wrong. They are a game changer. I highly recommend them!
After this point, things have been fairly consistent. If I ever have a dip or baby demands more milk due to a growth spurt, I add in a power pump session (I will go into depth on this in another post) in place of a normal pump and after doing that for about 3 days my supply increases enough that I will catch back up.
I know there is so many other things about breast pumping that I could cover. For instance, the fact that I didn’t leave the house for a month postpartum. Navigating, sleep, pumping, baby, and your life. Or pumping in public or in front of family members. Let me know if you want me to go into depth on any of these other subjects.
