I have spent over a year hooked up to a pump and in my time I’ve learned a lot.  I’ve dealt with a lack of supply, an oversupply, traveling for work, going to school and working full time, a baby that never slept and a baby that loves sleeping.  The thing I learned the most from my first time pumping is that being educated on the subject is important because you can be proactive in keeping up your supply and lowering any anxiety you might have on the subject.

I’ve taken the majority of information I’ve learned from both times I exclusively pumped and put them down on paper, I wish I had something like this the first time.  None of my friends or family pumped exclusively, so most of what I’ve learned was from amazing women online who answered millions of my questions.  In today’s world many women find it difficult to provide breastfeed as long as they plan to due to work or school.  Hopefully some of the below tips and notes can help you reach your goal.

Getting started

• Be careful about what types of meds you take, I took the regular birth control pill the first time I breastfeed and it greatly affected my supply, I struggled for months and gave up at 6 months.  The second time I took the Mini-Pill and had no supply issues.
• When putting pump pieces together, be careful not to press the yellow valve too tightly onto the base.  You could have problems getting it apart to clean.
• If you can handle it, get a chiropractic adjustment as soon as possible after having the baby.  My Chiropractor said it can help your milk come in, however with your chest it can be slightly painful.  Adjustments in general while pumping/breastfeeding can be uncomfortable in your chest area so if you can feed or pump before getting an adjustment.
• If you want a larger supply, start pumping 1-2 weeks after having the baby.  Start by pumping once a day, any time.  It’s best to start by pumping right after feeding the baby or wait 30 min.  Most women have a higher supply in the morning so they pump after the first morning feed.  You can also pump the opposite side right after or during a feeding.
• Not everyone needs the same size shields.  24mm is the standard; however very few women actually need that size.  Most are slightly larger.  You can get fitted at a hospital or by any Lactation Specialist.   If you are using the wrong size it could be painful and could affect your supply.
• Some hospitals have a breastfeeding support group; you might want to check for one closer to you.  It’s a great resource and a nice time to connect with other mom’s.  Even if you don’t have issues you might want to check it out.
• If you have any questions or want a little extra support Yahoo groups has a “PumpMoms” group, I have gotten a lot of great advice from there.
• Each time after you pump, detach the horns and let the pump run to allow for condensation to evaporate from the tubing.  If you don’t do this you WILL get mold in the tubing.
• Even if you aren’t pumping keep taking your prenatal vitamins and also take fish oil.  DHA is very important to developing babies and there has been some studies suggesting that babies exposed to DHA/Fish Oil as early as in breast milk have a reduced chance of some things like AD/HD.

Look for the next post on General Information and future posts on Increasing your supply, Traveling and Freezing milk.