Did You Se a Breast Pump in the First Month Baby Was Born?

I didn't use a pump at all. I can never express the amount of milk my babies could. Babies are much more efficient at getting the milk out. =D

I pumped the day after my daughter was born. She was born ten weeks early so she was in the NICU. I wasn't allowed to hold her for a few days, so there was no way she could feed from me. but they used my milk (fortified by some other stuff, can't remember what it was) to feed her. We were in the hospital for 39 days. and i pumped religiously, and when she was finally big enough i started putting her to the breast. i would have done that exclusively but the hospital wouldn't let me. they wanted her to eat from a bottle as well because they felt she got too tired eating from the breast. We breastfed for a total of 6 weeks. once we were home, it was hard to breastfeed because my family wasn't supportive. i was living with my parents and their philosophy was i wasn't breast fed, this baby doesn't need to be either. i gave in and now i really feel guilty. but yeah i loved using the breast pump. it helped me and my daughter so much.

i liked using a bp because you know exact how much oz baby is getting. i would do every-other feeding...so R,BP,L,BP,R,BP ect... or I would use it just to take the engorgement off when it wasn't time for feeding and store it/depp freese (use later to mix w/infant cereal ect.) or use BP on one side while nursing on other so bottle is ready for daddy at next feeding (great for PM feedings)

Yes, i did. My son wasn't but 6 hours old before the nurses brought in the pump and had me start pumping.

Both my boys were preemies. one 6 weeks early - the other 4 weeks early.

My first son? I had enough milk to feed Ethopia (no kidding here) and wet nursed two of my friends kids as well as gave them milk in bags and bottles. Weened him at 26 months.

My second son? had JUST enough for him. He weened himself at 12 months.

I did. My dr. recommended it to help me with the let-down. I was having a lot of pain and it helped. I think I used warm compresses first? I was never able to get as much with the pump as baby got on his own, though. It is always nice to have a little extra milk in the freezer just in case dad needs it if you run errands or if you are not feeling well, etc.

Yes, I needed breast milk for "training" bottles which we started when each of my boys were three weeks old. I just pumped enough for a few ounces and my husband would give them one bottle when he got home from work so they would be ready to take them when I went back at six weeks. I'm planning on taking eight weeks with my third, but will still pump in the first month and have my husband start a bottle at 3 weeks so he accepts that more easily, but I wouldn't start the bottle sooner. Thankfully I did not have to spend time away from my babies (like moms whose babies have to stay in the NICU or something and have no choice but to pump, or who cannot breastfeed immediately and want to maintain their supplies). I was not using a breastpump to stock up in the first month, though.

absolutely. this got a better milk supply and also got me more use to the pump. i would nurse first then pump. of course remember that breast feeding is supply and demand so the more you pump/nurse the more you should produce.

I pumped from day three on with both of mine. With the first I was told to pump and dump at the hospital because I had to be re-admitted for post-partum pre-eclampsia, and they gave me a magnesium IV, but I had very little milk, so I pumped in an effort to increase my supply (with both) and also to put into bottles so my husband could catch some of those middle of the night feedings!

YES, it was a very important tool for me when my milk started coming in, it helped get the flow going as it sometimes can be a painful process and your milk kind of locks up inside.

I used it more when I wasn't going to be near my baby to help express milk, plus when I went back to work I used it 2x a day there for a while.

I did. I breastfed my twins and started to pump out my extra milk. I had a babysitter for them three times in the first month, so I wanted to make sure I had milk for them. My next is due in June and I plan on pumping from the start to begin building a stockpile for when I return to work.

Definitely! The sooner, the better, as it will help increase your milk supply in the beginning. I pumped after every daytime feeding during the first couple of weeks (when my husband was still at home) and then whever I could after that. I put most of if in the freezer. It was great to have just in case.

My first was in the NICU, so he got a bottle within an hour of birth. With my second, I introduced the bottle when he was 4 or 5 days old, I think. I just heard way to many moms saying their 4 or 6 week old wouldn't take a bottle (too used to the breast), and I didn't want that to happen.

Yep... my son was born prematurely and had to spend time in the NICU, so I was bonding with the smell of hospital soap and my breast pump. I had an enormous milk supply with him, and I don't know if that's due to the early pumping or because he was my second baby...

Good luck!

I learned the hard way... I did not but I should have and I advise new Moms to start 3 weeks after the birth and pump excessively until month 4 to build up a stockpile. Regardless of popular myths - breastmilk is just as good at your 3 months old milk consistency as it will be at 8 months. The milk compilation is a bit different - but still just as healthy and nutritious.

Most new Moms will have issues getting anything to pump out by the 4th month - the machine is just not anywhere near as efficient as the baby's suckling.

Never use what you pump to gauge your milk supply!! Think of the machine getting barely a 1/4 (25%) of what the baby (100%) can!!

I did. I had to use one in the hospital becaue I couldn't hold my DD for more than 30 minutes at a time, so if I wanted her to get my milk I had to pump it. I wasn't able to get much, but I was glad for even the tiny amount of colostrum my DD got. When we got home, she was such a slow nurser (45 min- 1.5 hr nursing sessions each time!) so I pumped and fed her that about every other feeding. Then, for a while, I was pumping exclusively. Finally, around 3 months, I was able to get her back on breast for the most part. (she took a bottle when I was working, or when we were out and about) My supply was actually way UP while I was pumping, because your body goes by supply and demand. Baby will only eat until she's full, so your body will only make as much as baby eats. Since I was emptying out every time, my body was making a LOT of milk.... BUT when my DD was about 5 months old, suddenly the pump stopped cutting it. (when I was pumping for work and such) My supply was fine, but the pump would only get a couple oz. It was fine, since I only worked part-time and was able to work my schedule around feeding her, but it sucked. I got lucky that it worked out so well for me though... I know a lot more mothers will try and pump the first month, and have a lot of issues with putting their baby to breast later on, or having a good supply, etc.

I did because my daughter slept 6 hours at night from birth and didn't empty my breasts after each feeding. I started pumping when she was 4 days old-after her last night feeding, after the first morning feeding and after the noonish feeding just so I wouldn't be engorged and could be comfortable.

Yes. I was so engorged I couldn't get my daughter to latch the first few days out of the hospital. She made a trip to babies r us with me at 4 days old to get that breastpump. I'm sad I didn't plan ahead and have it home already.

I started pumping at 3 weeks after each feeding with my first child. The other two babies I started earlier, but didn't introduce the bottle until 3 weeks or later. My pump and I have had a long and prosperous relationship! Going on 13 months for my third child now. Go for it, but make sure and let the baby have you for the first few weeks.

I pumped from day 1 since she could not latch on. I think it created a large supply since the "demand" from an electric pump that you use every 2-3 hours is huge. I had little bags of colostrum in the fridge before my milk came in at about day 3. My husband would heat the pumped colostrum/later milk, and feed our daughter with a Haberman feeder since she was too small to latch on. We did this for about 3 weeks, and then she was able to latch on. I did try every day to let her nurse on each breast and she would suckle a bit but was simply not strong enough to get anything out until she was about 3 weeks. Once she could nurse I pumped for another month between feedings with the electric pump. After that my supply was established and I could simply pump about 6 oz. per breast with the Medela hand pump that came with all the new tubing I bought to go with the rental pump. Good luck, it is not as easy as it looks until you and your baby get the hang of it. With my second there was no problem and we nursed from day 1 without pumping except to have some extra in case I wanted to leave the house without her.

Yes, for my first one I had to pump and store the milk in the frig or freezer.
My first one was a great sleeper for the first month. Don't hate me---- I didn't cause it. LOL
He would nurse and fall asleep, and the milk kept coming so I pumped and stored it. Sometimes he would sleep past feedings and it was hard to wake him up, so I had to pump to get rid of the engorgement.
I paid for it for the last 2 though. I was exhausted and wiped out.
There wasn't much, if any, extra milk beyond the feedings.

Yes, a little. Your baby will get milk out way better than even the most expensive breast pump and because your milk supply is a result of supply and demand I never wanted to pump too much cause then I would just continue to make more milk than needed. But in the beginning I have soooo much milk! Like way more than my baby drinks and I always get mastitis because my babies don't empty out my breast good enough at first. So I have to pump a little at first just to help get more milk out. but I try to limit it to twice a day. Then after about a month or so I start to get more regulated and my milk supply calms down so I don't have to pump out the extra.

No, I didn't start pumping at 6 weeks (when I had 6 weeks left until starting back at work. I had to begin bottle training her.). But I didn't start really building a frozen supply until around 10 weeks. Honestly I didn't have that much empty space in my freezer. Since then, I've built up 2 weeks worth. I'm not stressing about breastmilk this time around. With my first, I worried about having enough, etc. This time, I'm not starting birth control pills (I really feel they interferred with my milk supply). I do feel I have enough.