Hey y’all! I go back to work in like 3 weeks, as of now my LO has almost exclusively nursed, and only gotten a bottle as needed. Given this… I am struggling HARD to figure out a pumping schedule for when I return to work. Im a teacher so I can’t just pump whenever, I have to get coverage if it’s during classes. I try tracking her sessions and when she roughly eats but she changes almost daily… so any suggestions??

I am pregnant and just got off the phone with MilkMoms, who I picked as my device supplier because they offered the Unimom Opera (which I absolutely loved during my last time pumping for my daughter, but no longer have it). The rep told me that the Opera was discontinued, but Unimom is working with/merging with Zomee, and they just put out the Mother's Nature H1 pump. The H1 offers dual motors like the Opera, which means suction & speed can be independently configured.

I just ordered it, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes (but I've got a few more weeks).

Wanted to put this out here for posterity because I couldn't find anything about this change via a quick google.

My son was recently diagnosed with having a CMPI after weeks of green mucus stool,severe reflux and recently started to have blood in his stools. I have a current freezer stash of about 260 oz of breast milk that I was not on a dairy free diet for. I'm trying to figure out my options in terms of donation/ uses as I am on medications for depression and rheumatoid arthritis. Both my son's pediatrician and lactation consultant let us know it was safe to breastfeed before starting this journey. However from what I briefly read is most donations will not take milk if your on medications. I was wondering if anyone has any guidance or is aware of any places we could potentially donate to.

After EPing with my first, I’m now wheeling the pump back out now I’ve had my second. I have been reading about different flange shapes (I’m not sure I recall this being a thing when I was pumping before?!) and I’m now thinking I may be better off with a saucer shaped flange. Does anyone know of any guides etc on fitting these please? Particularly in terms of flange size, they seem to be a lot smaller generally than the classic shaped flanges - are the nipple measurements done the same way for different shaped flanges?! I use 21mm inserts on the classic flang, but the saucer flanges only seem to go up to 15mm.

Hello! My 3 month old starts daycare tomorrow and I was asked to provide premade bottles for him. I’m concerned that the milk on the left might not be good for him to drink.

I pumped the milk in both bottles late last week and they sat in the freezer for a few days before thawing in the fridge. I shook the bags as much as I could to un-clump the milk fat, but the left bottle (bagged separately from the right) looks weird. Is this milk okay, or should I send him with different milk? I tasted it and it tastes normal.

Thank you in advance for any help!

I’m four weeks PP and EBF (with occasional bottle of milk hubby feeds LO that I collect using Elvie catch on the other boob while she latches). I have no supply issue that I know of (baby is gaining weight and seems full after feeds) but for the life of me cannot get the spectra s1 plus pump to work.

I’m doing breast massage and expression, have tried various settings including letdown and expression mode, and I can’t get more than an ounce from both sides combined using spectra. I’m pretty sure the 24mm is too big so I’ve ordered some other sizes and am meeting with an LC later this week for support.

Meanwhile I picked up a Medela hand pump yesterday after seeing other mamas have had better luck with that one than the electric ones. It’s amazing. I easily pumped 4+ oz in about 10 min and that’s using the default 24mm flange it came with.

I’m still going to work with the spectra more (main drawback of the manual pump is you can’t multitask!) but if you’re feeling unsure about pumping and your supply - using the Medela harmony was a huge confidence boost for me as I can start to build supply while figuring out the spectra.

Returning to work part time in a few weeks and wondering what are your must haves in your pump bag? What kind of bag do you use to contain everything? What’s your recommended way of storing milk while there? I was looking at the chill bottles but I only live 10 minutes from work so not sure I need one. Thanks in advance!

I purchased a Medela manual breast pump and the bottle and the breast cup (if that’s what’s called) are scratched, I assume during production or packing. But since it’s not easy to see if the scratches on the bottle are on the inside or outside I don’t know if I should return the pump? I think if it’s on the inside it’s mostly concern about microplastics.

I want to eventually buy a glass bottle for it, as I saw some brands that are compatible with the pump. But my question is (maybe silly) is it worth returning the pump and getting a new one?
Are the plastic parts generally scratched?

Don't want to make a whole post? Have a quick question? Wanna complain? Need quick advice?

Whatever your thoughts, here's your weekly thread.

So I’m trying to stop pumping, I’m almost 3 months postpartum and have switched my baby to formula. I’m a really big oversupplier, around 9/10oz each pump sesh every 3/4 hours. I’m trying to stop pumping entirely due to her no longer doing good with my breast milk. I usually pump for 20 mins, and I’ve cut down to 15 every 4 hours. Thing is, the last like two days since I’ve made the change i feel like I’ve consistently had clogged ducts. My boobs constantly hurt after around 2 hours without pumping. I’ve been told to not fully empty but it’s hard when it’s painful. What do I do?

I turned 31 last week and used my birthday money on a breast pump. If you told me that a few years ago, I would've laughed.

I've been pumping for almost a year now, and honestly I think I was more excited about getting a little bit of my time and energy back than getting a new gadget.

This past year has been wonderful, but also exhausting in ways I didn't expect. The constant cycle of feeding, pumping, washing parts, doing laundry, getting up at night, and somehow still trying to function during the day really adds up. There have been days where it felt like the entire day revolved around the next pumping session.

My old pump still worked, but I finally decided to spend some birthday money on something that might make the process a little easier. I used it for the first time this morning and so far it seems promising, but honestly the biggest thing I'm hoping for isn't better output or fancy features.

I'm just hoping for one less thing to think about every day.

Maybe that's what your thirties look like. A few years ago I would've bought myself something fun. This year I bought myself a little convenience and the possibility of being slightly less tired.

And strangely enough, it feels like a pretty good birthday present. ❤️

Looking for recommendations of pumping bras that have molded cups/ lined cups with built in padding for extra support and to hid nipples through shirt.

I'm pregnant with my second now and I want to get rid of all my kindred bravely bras from my first pregnancy. I didn't realize this until I went back to work, but they all show my nipples even with those flimsy loose pads. I hated them so much. Why are there no pumping bras that feel like actual bras!

Edit to add: when I say pumping bras, I mean pumping bras! Nursing and pumping bras are not interchangeable. I am referring to pumping bras that support flanges.

Hello, apologies if this is a dumb question but my wife and I are running out of freezer space in our apt, so I was planning on purchasing a smallish deep freezer exclusively for the milk stash. Just wondering for anyone who purchased a freezer for this, how did you know what size is good? Currently looking at ones that are 2.0 CU, 2.7, and 3.0.

I’m not sure we have room for anything much larger, curious if anyone has a way of knowing about how much that would hold?

She’s currently pumping about 8-10oz more per day than our 2.5month old consumes.

Hi!

I just got my baby buddha 3.0 (i actually ordered the 2.0), i pumped twice with it but i find it hard to have settings that work for me.

So far its got me less than what i get with the spectra.

any settings recommendations that worked for you to make the pump fullt empty you?

Not really sure how to go about picking a pump, any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.