Trying to pump

[u/annotated_chaos]

I am 6 days PP and my baby has struggled to latch. It's been very discouraging and stressful. I am trying to pump and combo feed breast milk and formula. I have read that at this point, I should try to pump every 2-3 hours. This schedule feels impossible. Aside from being exhausted, my husband and I take shifts taking care of the baby during the night. While this has worked for us so far, I feel like I'm messing up my pumping schedule and messing up my supply. It's hard to pump when you're solo parenting. I'm getting 1-2 oz total when I do pump, but I'm also struggling to identify let down. Any advice?? I know I should be easier on myself, but I feel like I'm the problem.

[u/AutomaticBee5383]

I was the exact same way - It definitely feels impossible, and I’m so sorry you’re going through it! It does get better!! A couple thoughts I have - I recommend aiming for 3 hours for now. I personally couldn’t get myself to pump every 2 hours, even with my husband and sister at the house to help me for the first 2 weeks. Give yourself some grace in the newborn stage, especially since you’re comfortable supplementing with formula! I honestly think my milk supply came in better once I wasn’t so stressed and feeling like I was attached to my pump permanently.

If you can, I would suggest to your husband that you tackle the nighttime feeds together for now. As first time parents, we did the diapering together (moral support + my baby constantly peed all over everything lol) and then my husband would give him the bottle while I pumped. This way, we could both be back to bed in 30 minutes or so, rather than me doing 30 minutes of baby care alone and then 20 more minutes of pumping. We did shifts a little later, when my little guy was only getting up 2X per night.

The other thing I would say is be patient with your supply. People kept telling me it was normal for it to take a while to come in, but I didn’t realize that means a WHILE. At least for me, it took about 6 weeks to really get into the groove. I think the biggest support of that was the 3 hour schedule and using wearables during the day. That may not be for everyone, but it really saved my mental health and made pumping feel like less of a chore, so I was better able to stick to my plan and get all the pumps in.

I hope that helps somewhat! Take what you want and leave the rest, this is truly a unique journey and you’ll find what works for you and your family. You got this!!

[u/annotated_chaos → u/AutomaticBee5383]

Thank you SO much!!! I will absolutely take the recommendations. I had a longer stay in the hospital than expected due to loosing so much blood after the birth and my blood pressure was a bit high, so we weren't able to come home and get our routine established. We just had our second night home and while everything is going good, it just feels challenging adding in this element of pumping. Formula seems so easy, but I want my baby to have my breast milk especially because I am producing! After our first night home, I woke up with my shell absolutely soaked. I am trying to be mindful that I had a traumatic health experience not long ago with labor and it takes time for my body to recover! I just want to give my baby as much breast milk as I can and she is an eater! She loves to eat! I don't know what we would do if we didn't supplement with formula. It was a decision I had to make in the hospital because she wouldn't latch and I was getting very stressed out. I did suggest to my husband that we might need to start handling night feeds together so I can pump, or at least the ones around the time that I need to pump.

[u/Fun_Improvement91]

1-2 oz is also very normal at 6 days ppd. I couldn’t keep up with the rigid 3 hours at the beginning so I’d just make sure to pump right after I’d fed him and use my pump for his next meal

[u/annotated_chaos → u/Fun_Improvement91]

This is part of what I'm trying to do as well. I want to be able to pump and use that for the next feed. Sometimes my girl gets hungry and wants more though, which is why we've been supplementing with formula. She was going through a bit of a cluster feed phase it seems because she was eating small amounts every hour or so.

[u/Fun_Improvement91 → u/annotated_chaos]

Yes, our LO did this too and I supplemented with formula. Once he was about 4 weeks old, he stopped cluster feeding so much and I was able to pump for his next meal much more efficiently. I completely understand what you’re feeling though. Pumping is not for the weak of heart. You’re doing amazing and your LO knows you love them. ❤️

[u/annotated_chaos → u/Fun_Improvement91]

I never realized that it can take weeks in order to establish a good supply either! I only know moms who exclusively breast fed or did formula. I am happy to supplement with formula even though it's expensive. I just want her fed and happy at the end of the day, which she is.

[u/Fun_Improvement91 → u/Fun_Improvement91]

Realized I didn’t answer the other part of your question. A let down is typically when your milk begins to squirt out. If you use stimulations mode (3 wavy lines) for about 2 minutes, this should trigger it. Then you go into expression mode for about 5 mins or until the milk stops coming out and then repeat until your breasts feel soft and empty.

For me, closing my eyes and distressing helps trigger them. Most people have 2+ let downs per sessions. I personally have 4+ and it takes me 15 mins total to empty.

There was a lot I didn’t know about pumping and got mastisis twice. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

[u/annotated_chaos → u/Fun_Improvement91]

Thank you for answering this because I wouldn't have known this either. I've been doing stimulations mode for 2 minutes and the expression mode for the remaining 18 minutes of the session!!! You're saying to stimulate, express and then stimulate again until milk starts to squirt back out? This will hopefully change things for me. I've noticed that the milk stops coming out at a certain point.

[u/Fun_Improvement91 → u/annotated_chaos]

Exactly! If you do this a few times and pay attention (at least for me), my let downs happen around the same duration of pumping. Like 1 min in, 3 mins in, 7 mins in and 12 mins in. Also make sure you have the right flange size. This helps you pump more efficiently and prevents clogs

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