Exclusively Pumping & How I Maintained My Sanity

I went into breastfeeding with the best of intentions, but also knowing that it often doesn't go smoothly. "Doesn't go smoothly" is such an understatement.

I ended up with some complications during recovery that left me severely anemic which also left me severely tired. I tried, though. In fact, right when he came out I tried to feed him. It wasn't too successful so they let the lactation consultant know that I wanted guidance. The lactation consultant was in my room about every three hours to help us (side note: thank God for her because she actually was the one who sounded the alarm on my complications). G didn't know how to suckle and so she did some techniques to help him get the hang of it. She did a wonderful job and I felt somewhat confident leaving the hospital that we could work through this.

We got home and we continued to try. To be honest, I was hurting a lot. He was screaming at my breast a lot. I cried a lot while trying. There are so many women who work through this and I commend them! You ladies are warriors! I, however, quit. I quit and that's okay.

This is where the glorious pump comes in! I started pumping every two hours religiously. This was time consuming, but it beat fighting my newborn for hours on end to breastfeed. At first I would get a total of about 3 ounces per pump, but as I continued the volume continued to increase. I pumped every two hours for 10 weeks and it was brutal at times. I felt like a diary cow. No, I was a diary cow. It paid off though because I began getting about 9-12 ounces per pump, which allowed me to begin a stockpile. A stockpile that would not only feed my baby, but has also fed five other babies (check out human milk for human babies). Once I had a good stockpile, I started pumping every 3 hours for weeks 10-16, then every 4 hours for weeks 16-18, and now I'm doing every 5 hours.

I want to encourage those who are just starting to exclusively pump that you can do this. It's hard but you can do it. It's one of those things that really does get better over time.

Equipment you need to get started:

1. Pump with vehicle adapter (Insurance will cover a pump but you'll still have to buy the adapter.)
    Yep, you'll be pumping in the vehicle. I've pumped going down the highway and in parking lots. Considering this, you might want to consider a cover if it makes you uncomfortable to have truck drivers see you pumping.

2. Extra storage bottles

3. Storage bottles with nipples
    There are slow flow nipples available for younger babies.

4. Freezer bags
    Another option is to use zipper lock bags and freeze the breast milk in trays. Once the milk is frozen you can pop it out and store in the zipper lock bags. It's more cost effective!

5. And let's be honest, you'll need a deep freeze. Or at least some one who will let you store your stock pile in their deep freeze.

Now, let's talk suction cup fit. It's incredibly important! I was using the wrong size for the first, ehhhh, 10 weeks? There were blisters. I finally reached out to my sister-in-law, who also happens to be an amazing lactation consultant, and she suggested that I look into a different size. That made a world of difference and so did lanolin.

To conclude, I'm a fan of fed babies. Breastfed, breastfed through a bottle, tube fed, and formula fed because fed babies are happy babies.