Pumping

I think you just have to get into a routine that works for you. Here are a few things that help me. 1. Get on the right pumping schedule. If you’re 3 months you probably can get away with 6ish pumps per day. If you have an oversupply which it sounds like you do you might be able to do 5. Play around with a schedule until you find one that works for you and know if you need to bend it a bit day by day to fit around activities or things you have planned that’s ok! 2. Find something to do with the baby while you pump. Mine loves to sit in his bouncer while I pump! 3. Find a good portable pump so you can pump on the go! 4. Try to romanticize it as much as you can! Make it exciting! I usually save a really good book or TV show to watch and only allow myself to do that while I’m pumping so I can be more excited. Or I have a little self care station next to where I pump. I have lotion, eye masks, etc there to make it fun and a nice pamper me moment EP is HARD work 😅

I exclusively pumped for my 1st child and it was absolutely exhausting. Hats off to you for doing your best! We made it to the year, but that was worked best for us (I also was home full time so that helped tremendously). I think figuring out a schedule that works for you. I know as I dropped a pump each month, I felt like I was getting some of my freedom back. Looking back, I wish I had supplemented a bottle of formula a day to give myself a little flexibility.

Exclusive pumping is hard. What I despise the most was washing the the number of Dr brown bottles and all the pumping parts hahah. I stopped when my son turned 1 because that's when our pediatrician recommended since he was a preemie. Similar story my son was in the nicu for a month for being 3lbs at birth. We tried latching during that month in the nicu but his mouth was just so small! Lol by the time he latched he was already such a fast drinker on the bottle, it just didn't seem logical to move him to breast for him to exert more energy for the same output. Just like what others have said, find a routine that works for you. I was reading fourth wing (iykyk) everytime I pumped and it was also my alone time as well which was great. Definitely invest in a good portable pump (check out baby buddha, medela, willow) so you can still enjoy life outside of the house. You're doing an awesome job mama! And in the end fed is best!

@Emma I need to make it more of a”me time” while pumping. I’m usually alone half of the day or more so I’m doing chores while pumping. Even when my husband is home I’m usually trying to multitask with my spectra on. I have the Momcozy m5 pump but I feel it does not empty me out as well as my spectra

@Micaela I actually would pump every 3 hours including nights, but recently started pumping only once even though it’s so uncomfortable. Does help me sleep a little more though🙏🏼

I exclusively pumped until my little one hit 9mos and I simply stored all excess. By the time I returned to work at his 10.5 month mark…I’ve been blessed to still have frozen packets to pull from. Pretty sure I will be all out about a month after his 1st birthday but all in all…you can do this Mama! I truly use to pump everywhere I went and set timers so I could pump every 2-3hrs from the time I woke up until afternoon. Then I would slowly stretch the last sessions out before bed since supply was low then anyway. Always got the most output in the early hours of the day. Especially before 6am.

@Ana there is also a community on Reddit for exclusively pumping that has so many helpful posts and tips & tricks too!!

It gets easier when you’re able to drop pumping sessions, esp the overnight ones. Other things that have helped make it more manageable: (1) fridge hack, (2) pitcher method, (3) have a few sets of pump parts so they can actually air dry, (4) buy rubber gloves for dishwashing. It’s been a challenge but I finally feel like I have a routine that works. I’m about to go back to work and my husband will stay home. I was thinking he’s finally going to understand how amazing it is that I’ve managed to actually clean sometimes in addition to baby care and daily dishes and laundry… until I realized he will have 2.5+ more hours per day without having to pump. That means the house will be clean when I come home, right?…Right? 😒

A few other tips I thought of to share: I would have a couple sets of pump parts so you can always have clean ones available. Use the fridge hack if you’re comfortable with it. Saves so much time with washing parts every session! I also love the mom cozy pump part wipes as well too! I usually wipe mine before putting in fridge! I would also get enough milk collection containers so you have enough for the day and then can just put them in the dishwasher at night and start over the next day. I feel like once I bought enough parts and containers that I didn’t have to wash throughout the day it got so much less stressful!!

@Danielle (Danie P!) thank you for sharing! I am hoping to stop at 7/8 months and continue to feed my baby with my frozen breast milk. It’s such a hassle pumping especially when we go out

@Lauren thank you ! I actually do have about 3 sets of pump parts and also do the fridge method! I need to get my hands on a good portion pump

@Emma thank you for sharing! I have been doing the fridge method and it is so helpful to not be washing the parts after each pump.