How Soon Can You Start Pumping?

I was told by my doctor to wait 2 weeks after my baby was born to start pumping. I started pumping at 2 weeks and had much success with it.

I started by day 4 just to help with the engorgement and to help the baby latch on easier. By 2 weeks I had a schedule going, usually twice a day. Good luck with breastfeeding, it can be a difficult journey for some.

Well first of all congrats on expecting, mommyhood is amazing! My husband and I married 5 years just had our first baby, a boy Cade on July 21st. He is so precious and sweet I just can't imagine my life without him. As for the pumping if your going to only bottle breast feed the milk I would think you could start pumping right away. If you plan on doing both breast and bottle you want to wait 2-3 weeks before introducing a bottle so he doesn't get the nipples confused. The milk from a bottle nipple comes out faster and they don't have to work for it where as with nursing they have to latch correctly to get enough milk. I had to pump right away because my boobs were so engorged the baby wouldn't nurse, so I froze that milk until we started the bottle. My pedatrician recommended introducing a bottle at 2wks, which we did and it was great now I also do both so my husband can feed him and it's easier when we're on the go to give a bottle. Good luck with labor and delievery! Are you going to join a Mom's group/playgroup?

Right away. My daughter was born prematurely so the hospital provided a pump shortly after she was born.

I started pumping and freezing the day I came home from the hospital with both kids and introduced a bottle occasionally around 4 weeks. I pump in the morning after the first feed and once they started sleeping 10+ hours I added an evening pump so that I could sleep comfortablly. I loved having all the frozen milk. It really helped with thinning solid foods and weaning to a sippy cup.

You can start after the first feeding. The first 1-2 ounces on each side that your baby gets is the most important for them, once they get that then you can start pumping.

You can start anytime after the baby is born. Just make sure to feed the baby first, then pump afterwords (you won't get much at first, but after a week or so, you should be getting more); and remember that the baby is more efficient and effective than the pump at getting the breastmilk, so the baby will be the best at keeping up your milk supply (i.e. don't substitute the pump too often instead of letting the baby eat directly from you).

The hospital will have you start pumpimg shortly after you give birth. The more you pump the faster your milk will come in and the better the supply will be. So pump every 2-3 hours and you should have a wonderful supply for bottle feeding.

Good Luck,
H. S.

i started in the hospital- as for some reason my son nursed right away, but then didn't want to nurse again at the next feeding... they brought in a pump to my hospital room and i got almost nothing!! but the nurses said that was typical!
luckily he started nursing again the next day!!
and i just want to repeat the sentiments of the previous poster- pumping and then feeding is a LOT of work!
around the time he was 6 weeks i had a bleeding nipple issue (i believe due to his latch and then strong suck) so our ped suggested i pump to give my body some time to heal... i then got in the habit of pumping solely and him getting a bottle. it was nice to know exactly how much he was getting and i could also 'schedule' my pumping into my day. however, now having switched back to solely nursing him- it's so much nicer! no bottles to wash up, and he's honestly done nursing in under 10 mins! he's 10 mons old and i never thought i'd nurse this long!
and for modesty sake- there is the 'hooter hider' type cover up!! we love it! it's available at target for about $25!! good luck!

You can pump as soon as the baby is born.

I thought I was going to be very shy about nursing as well, but after going through labor and delivery, ALL modesty I had about that flew right out the window.

My advice to you is to see how it goes; see how you feel about it after the baby is born; your feelings might change like mine did.

Also, if you end up pumping a lot, or NEED to pump every day, invest in an electric Medela double pump. My son was born a month early and I had to pump EVERY time after I attempted to feed him, so the electric Medela was a life-saver. We were able to borrow one from our local Health Department shortly after our baby's birth.

Start looking into where you can buy pumps and how much they cost NOW, so you know what the options are. For normal babies born on time etc, a manual pump is fine. I switched to one of those later on after my son was actually able to effectively breastfeed.

But again, you never know how you might feel about breastfeeding when it actually comes to doing it. I was absolutely shocked at the total turn-around in my own feelings about it.

Congratulations!!!!!!

J.,
You can start pumping right away. The hospital will bring a pump and the necessary supplies to your room. Pumping will help your milk come in faster and you can get some of that good colostrum for your baby to use later on. I would pump a few times a day when your baby's already eaten, then whenever you decide to give your baby a bottle, pump! Don't ever miss a feeding - either breastfeed or pump at the same time s/he's taking a bottle, that way you'll keep your supply up.
Amy K

With my kids, I started pumping within a few days of their birth. I would pump after I nursed them. In the beginning, you wont get much but it is a great was to stimulate extra milk production and build up a supply of milk in the freezer. I waited for a couple of weeks to give a bottle to my kids until after they had been nursing well but I had a good supply of frozen milk in the mean time which is always great to have. As other posters have mentioned, you may feel differently about nursing once you start. I was very shy in the beginning but as it got easier, I became much more comfortable with it. Good luck and hang in there, the first couple weeks are the hardest!

You should be able to start pumping right away. Your lactation counselor will help with that. You will of course, have to initally breastfeed to get the colastrum going and then the milk flowing. The milk doesn't take long to start flowing and once it does you can start pumping. I pump starting the day I was out of the hospital. You probably already know, but if you do not have a bottle handy and have to breastfeed in public they have these nursing covers that you can use and are easy and no one can see. Here's a website http://www.nursingcovers.com I breastfed all 3 and am still doing it with the little one. It can be very discouraging in the beginning with the pain but once you get through it it's wonderful bonding with the baby by it. Also, Lanolin has a cream you can use to help. Good luck and congratulations.

I started pumping within hours of my son's birth. I had a c-section and he had wet lungs, so we were separated for the first night b/c he had to stay in an oxygen tent. I wanted to help get the process started since I could only hold him and try actually feeding him for short periods in those first hours. I went to regular breastfeeding with him after he was out of the tent, and would also pump a little after he was done to help increase my supply. I didn't pump whole feedings until I returned to work, when he was about 10 weeks old.

I had preemies so I had to pump and I want to say you can start immediately. You may not get anything out the first few times but it's atleast stimiulating the breast to send a message to the brain or whatever the process is to make milk. By day 4-5 I had alot of colustrum and some milk enough for baby anyways.

Just a FYI pumping is very tidious and time consuming. You'll have to pump roughly every 4hours for like 20min. Then you'll have to spend another 20min. feeding the baby out of the bottle so it's twice the work. Also some people (not me) but some don't produce very much milk or they start to dry up solely pumping. I am also a very private person and shy with breastfeeding but just find ways to do it in privacy you'll problay be much happier.

i would wait at LEAST a month.
how long would you have before returning to work, or DO you work? if you dont work, you can wait 2 months to make sure breastfeeding is more established, but it sounds like most babies do find after one month. i would NOT try to pump before a month, supply is determined by demand, and pumping is not as adequate as baby's sucking. so make sure that you have baby nursing as often as possible to keep your milk supply going.

what i would highly suggest is that you find a local or nearby la leche league (in my rural area i had to drive an hour to get to one, but its only once a month and its WORTH IT!!!)
they will have experienced, reliable supportive information not only about pumping and supply and demand, but also to help you to either feel less shy about it (breastfeeding is totally and completely accepted and supported at all meetings so other moms will likely nurse their little ones there also) OR to help you find ways to nurse in public with privacy, respect and comfort. there are covers that are helpful, there are certain clothing lines that make it HIGHLY helpful to nurse in (motherwear is one such brand)..
anyway, check that out, its the BEST thing i ever did!