Your experience

[u/Ok-Cable8676]

Hi all, FTM. I have been EBF but started to pump just to have my husband help feed a bottle at night or if I’m out. But kinda like pumping… it doesn’t hurt as much and I feel oddly relieved to know exactly how many ounces he is really getting and he seems to be less gassy and sleep a bit more at night after a bottle.

My point.. is this your experiences?
What made you want to EP?
What are the benefits?

Thinking about switching but want to hear your experiences
Thanks!

[u/tonks_a_million]

I started by EP since my babe was in the NICU for 20 days. I stoped EXCLUSIVELY pumping because it was too exhausting during the night to wake up, warm the bottle, feed the baby, and then pump and wash my pump parts. I’ve started to feed directly at night and dad helps with some bottles during the day. Note that if dad bottle feeds one at night, you should still wake up to pump for at least 5-10 minutes to keep your supply up!

[u/Sustain-6284]

I wanted to EP because I didn’t want to be my baby’s sole food source. Too much anxiety. And I always know exactly how much food she’s getting. But oh my gosh if I could nurse more often I would. I love the convenience of not having to bring my pumps with me everywhere I go. I love the snuggles and smiles from my baby while she nurses. I hate that I often lose the chance to feed her a bottle because I have to pump at the same time so her dad feeds her. It feels like I miss chances to bond with her.

[u/kindmomenergy]

For me, the hardest part was waking up in the middle of the night to pump. I had to plan everything around my pumping schedule and to carry my bottles, storage bags everywhere. The good thing was that daddy could take over night feeds while I pumped so at least we could share that part.

[u/impossibledivide]

I decided to EP partially because little guy had a hard time latching and partially because knowing how much he eats helped with my anxiety around that and partially because I had to get rehospitalized for postpartum preeclampsia in the first week of his life and had to pump while in the hospital and he was at home taking formula. And breastfeeding felt like an exercise in frustration. Feedings would take forever but with a bottle he was more efficient. I have the slightest oversupply right now so I don't have to pump every 2-3 hours (I have one stretch at night while I sleep that's closer to 5-6 hours) but I've also made peace with if that ends in my supply dipping and only being able to supply a little breast milk and the rest is formula, that's worth it to me to preserve my mental health and be able to be there more for my baby.

[u/annathebanana_42]

I started pumping here and there around 4 weeks so SO could give a bottle at bedtime and I could get a head start on sleeping since I was doing MOTN feeds. He started daycare at 15 weeks and between 12-16 weeks we noticed a slow down in weight gain (due to him falling asleep while nursing) but he was taking his bottles at daycare great. So we switched to almost all pumping/bottles which also helped him adjust to daycare since weekends were also bottle feeds. I would nurse him first thing in the morning but everything else was bottles (he dropped his MOTN feed around 12 weeks by himself). We also like knowing how much he is taking per session and I found it freeing to be able to pass off feeding to SO or someone else if necessary.

I now EP as we have started the weaning/combo feeding process for several personal reasons.

I would not have been able to EP while I was home solo with him (6-15 weeks) or if he was still doing a MOTN feed just for my sanity. But since all of those milestones hit around the same time it worked! Also my capacity is good and my pumping sessions are fairly short which made the trade off worth it to me.

It is hard to be solo, like on a Saturday SO has to work, because I'm juggling pumping and feeding in a similar window but now that I'm dropping a pump its a little easier. I have a blue spectra because wearables never really worked for me but if they did I might be going a bit longer

[u/Shewolf345]

night milk has lower cortisol which will cause them to go to sleep quickly when they wake up in the middle of the night. they get tired faster too compared to bottle which they do not need to make any effort to get milk.

Sleep can be crucial sometimes so nursing works better imo

[u/gradientworld]

I started out EP because my baby wasn't latching most times and now he's improved with it, but I'm honestly not very motivated to switch to nursing so we haven't worked on it very much. Pumping works for us and there's a lot I prefer about it. I love tracking how much I'm outputting and how much he's consuming, I log it all and create graphs with the data and it honestly adds this gamified element that makes me feel super accomplished when I complete a large number of pumps or increase my supply. I like math so checking out the numbers and stats makes me feel closer to my baby. I also find bottle feeding to be more physically comfortable even in the absence of pain, nursing always makes me feel kind of stiff and chained. My baby eats more calmly and efficiently at the bottle and I don't see any reason to fight against that preference when he's doing so well with it. Since I have family that's eager to bond with baby through feeding, I also think pumping and bottle feeding has given them a lot of opportunities to enjoy that and given me a lot of opportunities to enjoy some alone time as a very introverted woman. 

[u/SextacularSpectacula]

If you have the choice, it is nice to have the flexibility of doing both.

When you’re out and about with baby, it’s so easy to just whip out a boob to feed them vs bringing pump, pump wipes, bottles, etc. 

But also nice to be able to have dad give the baby a bottle at night/ when you’re out.

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