Did anyone ever BF completely by pumping?

[ClarisseMarie]

I mean, did any of you simply pump and feed your baby through BF milk but not actually have them feed from you directly?? If so, how did that work out? Is it even possible to do this?

[maine06]

yes, it's possible. But, it's not optimal for a number of reasons. First, it's A LOT OF WORK. Pumping really is no fun at all! And, it's not as effective as your baby for keeping your supply up, so, you may end up pumping a lot more than you would have to nurse.

Is there a particular reason why you're asking? If you have questions about BFing, whether it be medical concerns, nervousness, etc, we are all more than happy to offer our advice, experience and opinions!

[alikatgrrl]

I pumped exclusively from week 1 to 4 months (preemie with latch problems, and then had serious nipple confusion which caused him to stop thriving...). I STILL pump 3-4 times per day for 45-60 minutes each time and give him milk via bottle. I now nurse him ONLY in the early morning, when he first wakes up and in the middle of the night. He WON'T do it during the day. As for now, I take what I can get from nursing.

it's super hard, but can absolutely be done. I would NEVER recommend it to ANYONE... but if you have NO other choice, then do it. I wouldn't give up with **hope*** that one day he would nurse, and he finally did.

[ClarisseMarie]

yes, it's possible. But, it's not optimal for a number of reasons. First, it's A LOT OF WORK. Pumping really is no fun at all! And, it's not as effective as your baby for keeping your supply up, so, you may end up pumping a lot more than you would have to nurse.

Is there a particular reason why you're asking? If you have questions about BFing, whether it be medical concerns, nervousness, etc, we are all more than happy to offer our advice, experience and opinions!

Well I have heard so many horror stories about bleeding, scabbed over nipples, and that freaks me out a lot! Also, I will be a working mom, so the baby will have to use a bottle some, no matter what I decide, and my mom had trouble with my brother that way - he was so used to bf, that it was really hard to get him to take a bottle. Is that a form of nipple confusion?

I'm still not sure if bf would even work for me at all. If I'm with my current job, I'm not sure that I could take pump breaks during all day, or even where I would do it. I'd much rather feed my baby through my own milk because I know it is healthiest for my baby. I'll probably be home for the first 3 months, so I thought maybe I could do it for that long, but then, I don't want there to be feeding issues when it comes time for my baby to use a bottle. And, I have to be honest, I just don't know how I feel about a baby sucking on my breast. I hope that doesn't sound bad - it's just that this is my first baby so it is all new to me. Did any of you feel that way about it before you made the decision to bf? I also don't mean what I say to sound offensive because that is not how I mean it at all! I definitely have a lot of respect for people who do it, and I hope I can overcome my obstacles to do it myself.

[JennM17]

it can been done, we did it for 4 weeks b/c my son was in the hospital. but like PP said its VERY hard and i wouldn't want to always do it that way.

choicing to BF is a person choice and might sound wierd to you right now but you might truly feel different when you have your child. my thought is get some books and read everything you can before you have your child.

pumping at work is hard but can be done. there are many of us that work full time and pump. i personally do not have a place to pump at work, so i sit in my car and pump. its not the best thing but works for me.

if you only BF for the first 3 months when you are home and it 3 months you gave your child breastmilk!

get some books and read in here and educate yourself!

[PixieMomma]

It is a personal decision and it takes you accepting your body for what it was designed to do to successfully breastfeed. I understand it may be hard to overcome the cultural obstacles or personal fears. For me, it was never an option of whether I would do it or not. It was the most normal thing in the world for me to breastfeed my babies.

Not gonna lie and say there won't be pain involved, but if you can suffer through the nine months of pregnancy and several hours of labor, I imagine you can make it past the hurdle of sore nipples. They tend to toughen up after a while.

I'm just happy that you are wanting to make an effort to breastfeed your baby. That is so great! Three months is better than nothing, but I agree with the other ladies that pumping can be a big hassle to do exclusively.

Personally I was simply to "lazy" to bottlefeed. With the boob, you don't have to get up, mix formula to the right temperature, wash bottles, etc. It's always perfect.

With my second baby, I did have to pump milk for her to have while I was in grad school during the day. It only took about 10-20 minutes to get one or two feedings pumped during a break. It wasn't terrible, but I wouldn't have wanted to feed her exclusively like that. There's something to be said for the convenient and attractive container our bodies have grown to feed our children with.

Good luck to you!

[EKZZS]

I did for three months (preemie baby) and now I pump twice a day while at work and am struggling with my supply. It can be done, but its very tough is what I've been told.

[PurplePasion]

I found the pump was harder on my nipples than baby was. another option if you can't work out how to pump while you're away is to supplement and BF when you are at home (in the mornings and the nighttime feedings). Not the greatest solution but sometimes the only one if you want to continue to nurse.

As far as the idea of baby sucking on me. I thought I'd have an issue with it when I was pg with my first also. I mean I knew that's what I was SUPPOSED to do but the idea felt really foreign at first. When I finally had him in my arms and nursing all those fears faded.

[kohlby]

I know of many mums who have done that - some even for a full year! However, as mentioned, it IS more work that way. If you have to go back to work, you can still drastically reduce the chance of nipple confusion since you aren't going back to work when baby is just a week or two old. The recommendation is to start trying bottles around 6 weeks old - and you'll easily have that going back to work at 3 months. Some bf babies don't want bottles. My daughter skipped the bottle phase and started soft spout sippies at only 3 months old.


I have a friend who had a terrible time getting baby to latch so she exclusively pumped. She did go back to work as well. She tried to nurse her baby from the tap again out of the blue at 3 months old - after giving up in the first week. And her daughter easily latched on and nursed! So, even babies who aren't trained to learn how to nurse sometimes can still do it once they're a little older. (I'd still suggest getting help in the early stages! My friend regretted not trying earlier since it would have made things so much easier).

Honestly, putting a baby to my breast the first time did seem a bit odd. I know it's natural. I know it's what other mammals do. But I had never breastfed before so it still seemed strange to me. I got over the feeling VERY fast!

As for pumping at work, by law you have breaks with jobs over so many hours. Some breaks might be too short so I'd ask your employer to help you out if that's the case. You can pump during a lunch break easily. Though I am a SAHM, I still pumped once a day to build up my stash. I pumped on one side WHILE my son nursed on the other side every morning! If you do that twice a day at home, then it will drastically reduce the pumping needed at work! Plus many working mums find that baby needs far less breastmilk than normal during the work day - and then baby makes up for it when mum is there. There's also always doing both - formula and breastmilk. ANY breastmilk is good breastmilk!

[xaive]

as everyone else says, it is way harder to pump than it is to nurse.

i would rather nurse Kaylee 24/7 than pump for 15mins. it is so much more painful for me to pump than it is to BF.

i've had to nurse, bottle feed then pump for every feeding while i was home. i have major supply issues due to medical reasons.

BF is so much easier than bottle feeding. many moms BF for the first 4 weeks, than introduce their LO to the bottle at 4 weeks. it seems to help aide the nipple confusion. thankfully Kaylee has always had to deal with 2 types of nipples, so she doesn't really get confused. that's all she's known is both.

[ClarisseMarie]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! Your comments are very helpful. I think my hospital has a class that you can take about it, so maybe I'll go to that, and, of course, read in here about it.

[tpleise]

Good luck with whatever way you choose to feed your baby!

With my first son we had latching issues that had us both bawling.. him cause he was hungry, me cause he wouldn't eat what I was trying to give him! I decided just a few days after his birth to pump full time for him and did so for over 7 months. I had a great supply for him, though everyones is different pumping or bfing. I only stopped pumping because my supply dipped so low cause I was pregnant again with my other son. I hated that I had to stop because I wanted to give him the best I could.. but I'm not going to lie.. I was also kinda happy in an odd way because I didn't have to deal with the pumping anymore that was taking away time with my son. I got to bond with him more once we switched over to formula because I wasn't on the pump all the time when I could be cuddling with him (if you bf you don't have to worry about losing cuddle time).

I wasn't going to even try bfing number 2 because of all the issues I had with the 1st and I knew that I would never have time to pump for him like I did my 1st (they are only 14 months apart)I was just going to go straight to formula even though I wanted to give this baby the best too but thought that I would fail before I ever tried but the ladies on here convinced me to at least try and go with what the baby thought... and he latched right on like a pro and we have been going strong for over 9 months now (and have to opposite issue where he won't take a bottle lol!).

But however you choose to feed your baby is your decision and if you want to pump I say that's great.. it takes a TON more comittment and time to pump, store, and feed, and wash everything than it would be if you were to bf but if you are up for the challenge good for you! :)

My best advice? Keep reading and learning, go to classes, and then once the baby is born see what he/she thinks and at least give bfing a try for the both of you. Best of luck!! :)

[Rin]

I pumped full time for both my boys for 6 months. But that was only after doing everything in my power to make nursing work. Its possible to do, but I will say it's time consuming and exhausting. I would have MUCH rather nursed my kids every few hours than be attached to a machine every three hours. So my advice is to try nursing, get help from LC's and inform yourself before your baby's arrival.

[lukeskristie]

I am currently exclusively pumping and have been sine 4 days pp. It requires a lot of dedication. Don't let anyone tell you that it is better to bf over pumping. My baby has been getting ebm for 4 months and I plan to go as long as possible. We all get to bond with the baby while he gets bm---the best of everything!

[Anna Begins]

I am currently exclusively pumping and have been sine 4 days pp. It requires a lot of dedication. Don't let anyone tell you that it is better to bf over pumping. My baby has been getting ebm for 4 months and I plan to go as long as possible. We all get to bond with the baby while he gets bm---the best of everything!

I was hoping youd respond... I have a TON of respect for your dedication and all the work you put in :bow:

[lukeskristie]

I was hoping youd respond... I have a TON of respect for your dedication and all the work you put in :bow:

You rock Anna!