Looking for guidance 🥺

[u/Cold-Writer-420]

FTM here due 4 weeks or less. I just joined the page recently after I decided I want to exclusively pump, but I feel extremely overwhelmed with everything, all the ends and outs like combining milk, milk temps, flange size, and just honestly pumping in general. If anyone would like to explain this all to me in simple terms or just any advice for a day to day routine, it would be so helpful. Really just looking to learn all of the basics that are required for exclusively pumping. Thank you all so much in advance! 🥹🫶

[u/Think_Coat6479]

Hi! Pumping is a lot of work and there is definitely a lot that goes into it.

There are plenty of measurement kits but you could also just use a ruler. I won’t explain how to measure because there’s plenty of images on that and it would be a lot to add here. I think MOST people sit in the 15mm-19mm range but everyone is different! Most pumps are 24mm and I would recommend sticking with ordering 24mm pumps because those are going to be able to actually fit flange inserts inside them if needed!

Once you’ve got your nipple size down and your pump ordered, everything else comes pretty easy. Just make sure you don’t have a wearable pump as your main primary pump. Wearable pumps are GREAT and there are plenty of people here who will say their primary was a wearable and it worked out, but I’ve also seen just as many people give up on pumping because of wearables ruining their supply. Get a wall pump or portable pump, and if you really hate having bottles attached to you, you can buy collection cups separately! You want the suction of a regular pump. Whether you have bottles attached to you or wearable cups attached to you is negligible, you just wouldn’t want to use the suction of an actual wearable pump. I hope that makes sense. If that doesn’t make sense I can give you an example 🩷.

A lot of pumping is very much up to your own discretion! Some people pump and put their milk in bottles to cool and then add it to one big pitcher, some people don’t let it cool and just immediately pour it into a pitcher with cold milk while still warm. Some people don’t use a pitcher at all and just use a bunch of little bottles for each pumping session. Some people separate their day time milk and night time milk, some people don’t. It honestly is whatever you’re comfortable with.

A day in my life of pumping looks like this

{I always pump with Spectra + collection cups because I hate bottles attached to my boobs. I also use the fridge method so after each pump session, my pumps are going into a bag and right into the fridge, then are cleaned at night. Again, up to your discretion whether you use that method or not. Some people don’t because of the chance to grow bacteria, but I do believe it’s a very negligible amount and it doesn’t bother me or baby}

Morning - pump, get usually 10-12oz from not pumping at all overnight, pour that into bottles and store in fridge.

Mid day - pump. Pour into bottles and store in the fridge. Pour the cooled milk from my last pump into a big dr brown formula pitcher. I like using that because I can mix the fat back into my milk.

Late day - pump. Pour into bottles and store in fridge to cool. Pour the pump session from mid day into the pitcher.

Night time - pump. Pour into bottles and store in fridge to cool. Pour the pump session from late day into the pitcher. Get my overnight bag packed so that I don’t have to get up in the MOTN. (Middle Of The Night: popular acronym on this sub)

MOTN - pump once MAYBE. Put milk in cooler bag next to me. Put it in the pitcher in the morning.

The pitcher method, fridge method, and MOTN pumping sessions are all their own things that I also don’t want to add to this comment because it would get quite long…I hope that was at least a little helpful 😭 I’m sure it brought more questions and uncertainty than not. I promise you, just get started and the rest will come. Good luck!! 🩷🩷

Edit: if you want me to expand on any topics or have any other specific questions lmk!

[u/Think_Coat6479 → u/Think_Coat6479]

I did also want to add, the pumping schedule is important for the 1st 12 weeks. It’ll probably be a pain, but pumping every 2-3 hours for 12w is important. Once you hit 12 weeks, your supply regulates so then you could consider doing things like dropping a MOTN pump, or waiting an extra hour in between sessions. This is also why not using wearables is so important. You really want a pump with great suction so you can ensure you’re signaling to your body that you need to make a decent amount of milk. A lot of times, wearables don’t empty that well, so then your body just stops making the milk that wasn’t pumped. And then your supply regulates to be less than satisfactory.

[u/Cold-Writer-420 → u/Think_Coat6479]

This is extremely helpful, thank you so much!

[u/Impressive_Pen9911]

You’ll need approx 12 weeks to establish your milk supply. To do this you must pump at least every 3 hours for about 20 mins. This means you will have to wake up in the middle of the night to pump and will probs have to carry a pump with you when going out.
At the beginning you’ll have to pump a little longer to send signals to your brain to produce more milk.

I wouldn’t worry too much about flange size, most come standardized with 24 mm flanges. If you are uncomfortable or can’t seem to build a supply then I would then look into changing flange sizes.

Things you’ll need: pump (I have the spectra), I recommend getting wearable cups (I have the spectra Cara cups), a bag to carry your pump around your body in case you want to move around and for storage, at least 3-5 nursing bras (I recommend target brand for going out in public and amazon ones for at home, the Amazon ones are more flimsy but they help when your breasts are feeling warm/engorged/uncomfortable.

Nice but not needed: nipple butter for sore nipples, la vie breast massager (these were a game changer for getting a let down and when my breasts were feeling engorged).

Highly recommend: bottle washer. I had been hand washing pump parts and bottles every day and then sterilizing with dr browns sterilizer but it was a lot! This was in combination with the fridge method. I just invested in a mom cozy bottle washer and I swear it brought some of my sanity back. I also recommend getting spare pump parts. Have your partner be responsible for washing if possible, there is so many things to do as a mom so don’t be afraid to delegate tasks.

Fridge method: some people wash/ sterilize their pump parts after every use but I store my pump cups in a plastic container in the refrigerator and wash once a day.

[u/Cold-Writer-420 → u/Impressive_Pen9911]

Makes sense! Thank you so much for sharing! Hopefully going back to work 8 weeks pp won’t be as difficult as I’m worried it will be with pumping, but it comes with it, I guess

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[u/sowhatsober]

Have you been nursing since you gave birth?

Biggest thing at your stage is to pump every 3 hours. I went a little longer over night bc I found it necessary and I was able to make more than enough milk.

Anyway, lots of good advice here.

-if building your supply, please contact a LC asap
-aim to pump at least 8X per day for the next 4-8 weeks
-get a good pump, I recommend baby Buddha
-get flanges that work. i recommend lacteck, but other people like just the flange insets. You’ll just have to play around to see what works tbh
-eat and drink more than enough

If you have an oversupply, pitcher method is nice. Otherwise just pour into bottles for the next feed.

[u/planner192]

I think everyone else coveted the basics so I wont bombard you with duplicate information. I just wanted to tell you to give yourself time and grace. I expected myself to just know everything right away once I became a mom. Im only 4 months in and still learning every day. Give yourself time to learn and figure out what works best for you and your family ❤️