When to start pumping while nursing
PUMPING BASICS | When To Start PUMPING | Medela Pump in Style Advanced | SPECTRA | HAAKAA Pump
Mama's if you've been breastfeeding you
know how convenient is to be able to
take baby wherever you want just pop out
a boob when they're crying or hungry and
just you know give them what they need
but you know sometimes you have to go
back to work or you have to go back to
school or you know you just want to have
a date with your partner and so you
choose to start pumping and so you're
wondering you know you know how do I
start that process and what does that
look like so in this video I'm going to
be sharing with you the basics of
pumping I am Bridget and I'm a doula in
the San Francisco Bay Area and I love
helping moms love their birth mom is I'm
going to be sharing some products that I
love in this video so if you hear some
that you're interested in or you just
want to take a look at I will link them
down below so make sure you check those
out first thing that I want to say mamas
is that just because you are
breastfeeding it doesn't mean that you
have to pump so it's really dependent on
your circumstance if you are returning
back to work or you're just gonna be
away from your baby from an extended
period of time or you just want to have
a little bit of independence from your
baby and so those are reasons why you
might want to pump but if you're around
your baby 24/7 um you probably aren't
going to need to start pumping so first
things first when you are starting off
your pumping journey is to pick the pump
that is going to be best suited for you
so I use the medulla
pump in style advance it's not like the
hospital-grade ones that you can get
that are really like forceful but I
don't need to you know have a ton of
milk stored up and because I am with my
daughter a lot of the time except for
when I'm with that clients or with Mamas
who are giving birth which is super fun
so this is the pump that I use and it
has just the very standard buttons that
most pumps are gonna have so as the
minimum to maximum like suction that's
going to be you know removing the milk
and then it has the letdown button so
once my letdown has happened its able to
transition into that expression mode and
so it has the two pump valves and so I'm
able to use this and this is perfect for
me and my situation but if you are going
to be you know at work from 9:00
five then maybe you are going to want
one that has a little more of the bells
and whistles you know or just something
that's more suited for you so this one
is perfect for me and so I will link
this one down below but I've also had
friends who do have those nine-to-five
jobs who use the spectra that they
absolutely love and so I'll make sure to
link that down below too one thing that
they love about the spectra is that it
is a cordless one so it's just with
battery or they can charge it I'm not
exactly sure but I will link that one
down below as well and the reason why
they really like that is so that um it
can just like go with them wherever and
so you know maybe they're filing papers
or putting books away whatever that may
look like they're able to kind of be
more mobile and so I know that that's
really helpful it's helpful in the
workplace as well and so I will link
both of those down below there are also
more powerful ones and they are the
hospital-grade pumps and so definitely
talk to your care provider about that
because they often will be able to rent
them out to you and if they don't do
that talk to your insurance provider and
they sometimes will cover the cost of
that hospital-grade pump for you so
after you found a pump that you love the
next question you might be asking
yourself is when should I start pumping
and it really depends on your
circumstance so you know if you are
planning on going back to work in nine
months or six months maybe you don't
need to start pumping right away but if
you are planning to you know go back to
work or you know just be away from baby
for an extended period of time
you know relatively close to after baby
is being born it's not a bad idea to
start pumping a little bit earlier than
that so usually I recommend that the
first month or you know those first
three weeks you just really you know
enjoy that time with baby you don't need
to start pumping just kind of get the
hang of it between you and baby and what
that's going to be like but then I
recommend starting before that six week
mark and the reason I recommend that is
because at around six weeks is when your
milk starts to regulate and that's when
your body is saying okay we know how
much milk is being removed here in the
breasts and so we know how much to
produce and so if you want to be able to
be building your stash along with
nursing your baby then you need to be
telling your body that it needs maybe a
little bit more than just what your baby
needs it needs you know that X
those extra few ounces that you are
pumping to store away so starting you
know before that six week mark is really
going to help your body know how much to
produce in order to be able to remove
that much if you do want to start
building that stash a little bit earlier
without having to pump I really
recommend using the hakka pump and it's
just a silicone pump that I absolutely
love
so if there's anything that you get from
today's video it's this pump so the
hakka silicone pump is basically a dream
but a lot of times when baby is nursing
at the beginning why this is super
special or not special but awesome is
that a lot of times babies only get a
nurse on one side and so then you're
like okay well what do I do with this
gigantic boob full of milk right this is
where the hakka really comes in handy
and really helps with establish and
start building that supply or that stash
for later and basically what you do you
just pull the like lip back and you put
it on to where your nipple is and you
let it release and then what's it what
it's going to do is just suction on the
nipple and then start extracting the
milk from the boob and then you know
it'll just slowly fill up and so it's
just a really great way to you know
easily while you're nursing start you
know getting that milk out and building
that small stash little by little so we
just talked about when you should start
pumping but now we're gonna answer what
time of the day should I start pumping
so usually your first nurse in the
morning is going to be when you produce
the most milk and so I always recommend
that after baby has eaten first thing in
the morning it's a good time to within
the first thirty minutes or an hour or
at least a full hour before baby is
going to eat next that you get your
first pump in so apart from pumping in
the morning it's also not a bad idea to
pump between sessions so you know I just
said that you are going to want to pump
you know thirty minutes after you've fed
baby or a full hour before baby's going
to eat next and that's just you know to
make sure that you are getting optimal
milk expression but also
you know having enough for baby to eat
you know when they want to eat and so if
you are gonna pump between sessions do
it about 30 minutes after you've you
know just fed baby and like I said that
full hour before baby is going to want
to eat next
and if baby you know you've just
finished pumping and baby is like I want
to eat right now
don't worry like put them on the breast
there's gonna be more milk
you know the boob really doesn't ever
like run out of milk which is good to
know so put them on the breast and
that's just gonna stimulate more milk
and so that's really good when you're
wanting to you know build that supply
for your freezers - and so just put baby
on the breast if they are crying for
milk after you've just pumped so if baby
is maybe now a few months old and you're
just now starting to implement a pumping
routine and baby sleeping through the
night a little bit longer which is like
super amazing like yay mom good for you
it's not a bad idea to pump like right
before you go to bed and that way you
know you're able to go longer stretches
without feeling like - engorge and it's
just a good time for you to be able to
get milk into that freezer stash so you
know I said first thing in the morning
and then right before your butt you go
to bed if baby is starting to sleep a
longer stretches at night last point
that I want to make with that is that if
you are away from baby you want to be
nursing about every two to four hours so
if you know you know it's 1:00 p.m. and
you are you would be nursing baby if
they were with you then it's a good time
to pump around that time as well and so
anytime that you miss a feeding with
baby is a good time to be pumping
because that's going to signal to your
body that you know your milk is being
removed and so it needs to produce more
and that way you can again start
building your stash right then and there
so I do want to add that if you are
exclusively breastfeeding and then
trying to add in pump sessions it is
really normal to just get half to 2
ounces total for that pumping session
and it might take a few pump sessions in
order to you know make the equivalent of
one full feeding for baby and so
you know if that's happening to you
don't be discouraged and think like I
should be getting like four ounces every
time I pump no that baby is really good
at you know getting that milk out it's
removing that milk and it's better than
the pump is and so it's really normal
for you know if you are exclusively
breastfeeding that you don't get as much
milk then maybe what baby is getting
when they eat just like with
breastfeeding it's important that
pumping is a comfortable experience for
you and so part of making it comfortable
for you and efficient or effective is
having the right flange size and so this
part is the flange and this is a 24
millimeter and basically you want to
make sure that you know the nipple is
you know just right in the middle I
don't know if you can you probably can't
see that but if it is too tight it's
going to really it's going to like pinch
the nipple and you're gonna tell cuz it
can't like properly suck like it won't
go all the way in it'll just go like you
probably can't see that but it'll just
be uncomfortable if your nipple is or if
the flange is too small for your nipple
then it's going to be uncomfortable or
if it's too big it's not going to be as
effective in getting milk out so you
just want to make sure that um your pump
flange is the right size for you the
next part in making it comfortable and
effective when you're pumping is to make
sure that you have the right settings at
the right time when you're pumping so
what I mean by that is that when you are
starting off pumping so I'm going to
show you on this one and it's probably
going to look different if you know you
have a different pump but for me when I
start off pumping I start off very low
on the minimum suction so I don't go all
the way high and I know some women are
like I'm just gonna start it really high
I don't care if it hurts I just want the
most milk but remember when you are
nursing your baby you know you are going
to have the best experience which means
the most milk production and removal
when you are not stressed out when you
are enjoying that time with baby and so
that's sort of true with pumping as well
if you are like causing yourself pain
and it's like stressful you're not gonna
have as great of milk
but so start on the lowest one and
slowly work your way up until it is the
strongest suction without pain and at
first when you turn it on it's going to
be a it's going to be that stimulating
suck so it's like faster and that's
exactly what baby does when they're
first latched and then after about two
minutes or sometimes it's 30 seconds or
it's just whenever you feel like your
milk has come down you're going to want
to press the letdown button and that's
going to turn it into a slower express
mode and so you're gonna want to press
that in order to get like the most out
of your pumping session another thing
that's going to help with really getting
the most out of your milk expression is
using massage and compression while
you're pumping and so basically you know
after you've had you have like a good
flange and you know you've started
pumping and even before you've had any
letdown
you can be massaging your breasts just
lightly it doesn't need to be hard just
around with your fingers and just kind
of like small circular movements and
then once you've let down you can
alternate between compressing right
around the areola so you don't want it
like right in here because that's gonna
break the suction so you're not
squeezing your nipple you're squeezing
your breast right above the areola like
I said and that's going you're gonna see
if you're doing it correctly you're
going to see like a stronger more
forceful or continuous spray of milk
then if you weren't doing anything and
you just alternate between compressions
and then massage and that's going to
really help with output while you're
pumping so once you have gotten your
bottle full of milk and like I said it
might be half an ounce to two ounces if
you are a breastfeeding mom don't be
discouraged if it's you know around that
amount or you know I know some women who
produced 10 ounces during a pump pumping
session while they're breastfeeding so
every mom is different don't be
discouraged if you're one way or the
other but it is important to know how to
store your breast milk once you have
expressed it from your breast so once
you've ended your pumping session and
your milk has been expressed if you are
keeping it at a room tub
you're gonna want to make sure that baby
drinks it by six hours at the most
ideally you wanted around three or four
hours but six hours at the most
either have baby drink it or put it in
the fridge or in the freezer now if you
have taken milk out from the freezer and
it's been thawed and sitting at room
temperature baby needs to drink it
within one to two hours if you are
putting your milk just into the
refrigerator you can keep it there for
up to a week unless it's in the door
then I would say probably closer to like
four or five days just because it's not
keeping it as consistently cold as if it
were like in the like you know rear part
of the refrigerator and if you have
fries or milk that has been thawed in
the refrigerator it should only be there
for 24 hours before baby needs to drink
it if you are putting your milk directly
in the freezer it can be in there for up
to six months and I think even if it's a
deep freezer which like you don't open a
whole lot like there are the ones that
you keep in your garage or your basement
it can stay in there for up to a year
which is really cool when you are
thawing milk this is a little tip for
you it is best to do it in the
refrigerator so I know even for myself
I've done this you know I forget that I
need to grab a bag of milk and so I grab
it from the freezer and I put it in a
warm cup of water and that will you know
take away some of the nutrients from the
breast milk and so the best way to saw
your breast milk from the freezer is to
let it do it usually overnight in the
refrigerator how do you keep track of
all of these different times and dates
for this milk it's a good idea to mark
your breast milk bags with the date and
you know even the time if you are having
to do it all throughout the day just so
that you know that you are using a you
know the oldest milk first before the
newest milk another tip for you guys if
you are freezing your milk if you want
to optimize storage space is to not put
quite as much milk in the bags and then
lay them flat and that way um you know
the bags are gonna freeze flatter um
with less milk in them so it just really
optimizes the space in your freezer then
if you were to fill up the bag and stick
them upright and then they're going to
kind of like triangular I can't do that
but you get the picture so that's just a
little tip for you that if you are doing
a freezer stash it's a good idea to you
know maybe just do like five ounces ish
and so it can lay flat and then once
it's frozen it will save you a lot of
space so pumping is a different
experience than Nursing is and so you
might notice that you know when you're
pumping you're not actually expressing
as much as you thought like you would or
as much as you would want and the reason
why that's the case is because when you
are nursing your baby it's this deeply
emotional and emotional and like bonding
experience with them and since most of
us aren't in love with our plastic pump
bottles it's not going to be that
emotional bonding experience experience
like it is with our baby so maybe if
you've just started pumping or even if
you've been pumping for a while and
you're just like wait did I have like a
drop in supply you know it might just be
that there's a difference between that
nursing experience and that pumping
experience and so I just want to
encourage you not to stress out about
you know the the amount that's on the
bottle you know the number of ounces
that you get on the bottle focus on what
you are accomplishing which is providing
nutrients for your baby that no one else
could give them like you are uniquely
giving them so that is a huge
accomplishment and try not to stress out
you know about all of you know the
things that you're not doing but focus
on the amazing incredible things that
you are doing I know it's easier said
than done but mama please don't stress
stress can impact your milk supply and
that's what a lot of Mama's who are
pumping talk about is that the stress of
pumping can oftentimes you know affect
their supply so I just really want to
encourage you find pumping support
groups they're out there check Instagram
and and then if you do need help
I am going to be doing a whole video
talking about how to provide a like very
abundant supply of milk so make sure you
are on the lookout for that video and
that's for exclusively breastfeeding
mamas as well as pumping Mama's if you
are feeling like you just need a boost
in your supply so be on the watch for
that one the last thing I want to share
with you guys
is this manual pump that you can use and
I love this thing because you can take
it anywhere you know you don't have to
bring your whole pump if you don't want
to and basically it just screws on to
you know the pump bottle that you have
and you can take it wherever you want so
this is really great if you are you know
going on it on a day trip or if you are
just going on vacation and don't want to
bring this big ole thing and so it's
just a really great resource tool to
have and I will link this down below and
this is one of my favorite little
breastfeeding toys that I have so I hope
this video has helped you if you are
just starting out on your pumping
journey or if you are you know already
starting and you just have some doubts
or questions I hope this really
encouraged you and gave you the answers
that you need but thanks for watching
and I will see you in the next video bye
mamas
