Let's Get Pumped! Part 2

Maintaining a good supply of breast milk while exclusively pumping can be very challenging. Looking back on the last 8 months, I would like to tell any new mom attempting this a few things.

1. Don't think you are not bonding with your baby!  You are working your ass off to make sure they get the best thing in their bottle, and for that you are already a great mom! Even if your baby doesn't nurse, you can still do plenty of skin-to-skin time and cuddling. When you are feeding your baby a bottle, speak to him, play with his hair, hold his hand. It is still beautiful.

2. This is for woman with low supply or multiples: If you end up having to top bottles off with some formula, who cares?? You're baby certainly won't. He is still getting all the breast milk you make with all the antibodies and nutrients you have to give. Try not to feel guilty about this! For one thing, stress will decrease your supply. And when you think about it, its just formula added to breastmilk to increase the quantity of milk, not decrease the quality of it.

3. If you have to skip a pump or push it back a little to cuddle with your new baby, do it. So what if your boobs start leaking everywhere! Enjoy the cuddling.

That being said, I have a lot of 'tips and tricks' to make the process easier and to increase supply.

TIPS FOR PUMPING:

You don't have to wash the pump accessories after each use. I unfortunately didn't learn this until a month ago! This would have helped me out so much in the beginning. After you pump, put the accessories in a Tupperware container in the refrigerator. You can do this ALL DAY with one set of accessories. Then at the end of the day, wash them. Viola!

Invest in some Freemies if you are finding it difficult to pump AND hold or cuddle with your babies. Or even do the dishes. Or driving! Freemies are amazing. Check them out! 

*WARNING* your boobs will look bigger than Pamela Anderson's when you wear them. 

Lanolin for your nipples. I personally like Lansinoh, but I bought a jar of organic coconut oil, and I LOVE it. It helps with sore nipples & you can apply it before and after pumping.

Have a strict 3 hour pump schedule (4 hours at night) for the first 12 weeks. Once your milk supply is established, you can drop a pump.

Use an app to keep track of when you last pumped, how much you pumped, your weekly/monthly stats, etc. I use Milkmaild & MommyLog for iPhone.

Encourage a second letdown by pumping past the point of no milk coming out.

Power pump once or twice a week! I usually save this for the weekend when my hubby can help out with the twins. 

Power Pump

Pump 15-25 minutes like normal

10 min break

Pump 10 min

10 min break

Pump 10 min

10 min break

Pump 10 min

Basically, you do one normal pump and then 10 on 10 off for one hour. This mimics cluster feeding and signals your body that baby needs more!

It can take a couple of days before you see results. 

Hooter hiders or something similar is nice to have when company is over or if you just don't feel like you want your boobs hanging out all the time. 

DIY Hands free bra. I bought the medela hands free bra and it was O.K. I made my own using an old sports bra and cut slits where the flanges go. That worked much better than the medela one and cost about 1/4 the price! 

High quality milk storage bags for the freezer. I personally do not like the medela bags at all. I use Lansinoh or up&up target brand. You can lay them flat in the freezer & once they are frozen, you can 'file' them according to date in the freezer and save so much space. Just remember, you are feeding your baby, not your freezer! Have realistic goals! And always try to feed your baby/babies freshly pumped milk at least once a day. This will provide your baby with the nutrients and antibodies that they need for their age. If you let the baby suckle or if you kiss their mouth and hands, your body will know exactly what your baby needs. Isn't it amazing?!

Increasing Lactation

Water (64 oz a day)

Gatorade

Steel cut oats

Lactation cookies

Emergen-C 2x a day

Calories (an extra 400-500/day per baby)

Sleep (which you won't get the first 12 weeks)

Rest (kick your legs up and use your pumping time as 'you' time)

Brewers yeast (capsules, or cook with it, or have a dark beer here and there)

Fenugreek capsules

Mothers milk tea (3-5 cups/day)

Reglan (prescription)

Domperidone (cannot get in U.S.)

Flax seed

If there are more tips or ways to increase lactation, let me know! What worked for you?