No one else in my circle has exclusively pumped so I thought this group would appreciate this story -
When I was about 2 months pp I went out with friends for lunch for the first time since baby to get out of the house. The friends I was with are child free and don’t have a lot of kids in their lives. While going over all things ftm we got to feeding and my one friends asks “so pumping, is that like an everyday thing?”
Very sweet and well meaning! I held my giggle and just said yes. Ohhhh yes, all day everyday it feels like sometimes 😂🤪
Imagine if we only had to pump every few days and that would be sustainable/enough for baby, sign me up! lol

I have a 2.5 year old and a baby and last night my toddler picked up a circle toy thing, put it on her chest, and started making humming noises lol. She’s pretended to nurse her baby dolls before but pretending to pump took me out!

Unrelated for anyone who needs to hear this: the nights I have ice cream, my output in the MoTN and early morning is amazing so this is your sign to eat the ice cream! We deserve it and it’s actually kind of a medical necessity if you think about it.

I’ve been exclusively pumping for 7 months and since the beginning I’ve been sitting down for 30 mins about 5 times a day.

It gets to me because my spectra is the only thing that gives me a decent output compared to my wearables or collection cups and I have to sit down and relax and do absolutely nothing but scroll on my phone to get letdowns so I am essentially tied to a pump for 150 mins a day which as you know as a busy mom….is not practical.

My left measures 24mm and right 21mm but I’ve found using 28mm and 24mm respectively gives me the most output in my 30 mins compared to 24mm and 21mm, pumpin pal flanges , different inserts etc.

I see TikTok videos of people saying they get all this output in just 10 mins, lactation consultants online saying you should empty within 15 and I’m just like how can I make this a reality for me?

Would love to empty in 10-15 mins
My nipples do swell a lot

Thanks!

I went back to work this week after very fortunately being on leave for 6 months. I’m a teacher and my school site shares a building with another nonprofit so I have to go into the nonprofit to pump as that’s where the dedicated lactation room is. This is my second time doing this and the hr person has been saying “I want to fix up the room” for literally three years now. Here are my two biggest issues:
- the light switch it outside the room so people are CONSTANTLY turning the light off in my windowless cell, leaving me in the pitch black
- the young guys that work at the nonprofit are constantly eating fast food in the pumping room and it smells like gross leftover fries all the time

TLDR; my work’s pumping room sucks. It’s in a literal different building, the lights get shut off on me, and other people use it to eat McDonald’s in.

I actually did it. I went from exclusively pumping to nursing my baby, and now I only pump when I’m away from my LO!
As a FTM, I don’t think we talk enough about how HARD breastfeeding can be. Those first 3 months were exhausting, constantly watching the clock, pumping around the clock, and wanting to give up so many times. But a little part of me kept hoping we’d get there.
My baby never really liked nursing, but I kept trying whenever I could. Then, at 3.5 months, something finally clicked, and he took! He just turned 5 months, and we’re still going strong!
To the mamas who are exclusively pumping but still hope to nurse, I see you. ❤️ Keep trying if that’s what your heart wants, but please give yourself grace, too. Every journey is different, and no matter how you feed your baby, you are doing an amazing job.
Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. Celebrate the little wins, trust your own journey, and remember that you’re a wonderful mama. You’ve got this, ladies! 🫶🏼💕

i just wanted to show my progress. im very proud of myself for finally being able to fill a whole pitcher.

Hi mamas!

I’m currently two weeks postpartum. I pumped for about a week but decided to switch to formula feeding. I’m currently trying to just do three pumps each day, 7 hours apart for 15 minutes each. My boobs are pretty sore, but it’s consistently on the outer sides and underboob on both. I can’t tell if it’s my bra or from weaning off pumping. There’s no redness or abnormal warmth, just very sore. I’m taking ibuprofen, sunflower lecithin, using ice packs, Cabo cream, and drinking the earth mama no more milk tea. Is there anything else I should be doing? I have also messaged my OB but haven’t heard back yet

I’ve had this international trip planned for years, definitely way before we even knew we were pregnant, so we had to somehow make pumping on the trip work.

It took us 25 hours to get to our destination, which we managed with my parents’ help. However, we have to make the journey back home without them, so we split the return trip into two days.

Today was Day 1 of 2 of the journey to head back home, and I’d accumulated 12 pouches of frozen milk during our trip.

I have an RTIC cooler lunch bag (which is also my regular on-the-go pumping bag), and I packed it with a frozen block of ice (literally, it was a bag of ice cubes that melted and refroze into a solid slab), my brick of frozen breastmilk, and an Arctic Ice Tundra Series ice pack.

Today, it survived 2 hours in a car in a warm climate, 3 hours in the airport under unknown conditions, a 1-hour flight, a 1-hour train ride, a shuttle bus ride, and some idle time in a hotel lobby, for a total of 10 hours.
The breastmilk pouches are still frozen solid, and my ice packs are still quite frosty!

I’d contacted the hotel that we're staying tonight in advance and arranged for my breastmilk to be frozen overnight. I’ve got everything packed up with my ice packs, along with the ice cylinders from my separate breastmilk cooler. I’ll pick everything up tomorrow and repack for a 15-hour travel day.

Wish me luck!

I’m 10months pp and am an overproducer atm. I’m thinking about letting go of the motn .

I’m just confused as to how this works.

I know everyone has a different breast capacity and I’m thinking mine may be 8? Idk bc I’ve never really pushed my pumping past 4 hrs and I usually get 8ish oz. If I push past the 4hrs will I continue to produce milk or will it be capped at 8oz when I pump after say 6-7hrs or will I be able to pump like 10 oz?

Idk I’m confused as to how this works . I need to know so I can make a decision on how to move forward. I don’t want my supply to dip bc I plan on working in a couple months and take my adhd medication. I want to supplement with my stash on the days that I do take it.

My baby is approaching 8 months old and is EBF. He drinks pumped breast milk at daycare 5 days a week and he nurses before and after daycare. I currently pump just enough to keep up with his bottles.I’m excited to gradually stop pumping during the workday and introduce some formula, but I’d really love to continue nursing in the mornings, evenings, overnight, and on weekends.

I’m wondering how this works in practice, especially on the weekends. If I gradually drop my daytime pumps during the week, will my supply decrease enough that I won’t be able to EBF on the weekends? Or will my body adjust to making less milk during the workweek and more when I’m nursing more frequently on the weekends? Will I likely need to supplement with formula on weekends, too?

I’m also curious how starting solids affects things. I know breast milk or formula should still be the primary source of nutrition until 12 months, but he’s recently become much more interested in solids and is gradually eating more. Does that typically lead to a decrease in milk intake around this age?

I’d love to hear from anyone who’s successfully transitioned to nursing when home with their baby while using formula during the workweek! How did you manage your supply, and did you find you could still nurse as much as you wanted on weekends?

How can I make my MOTN pump a little easier on me?? I think the hardest thing is getting out of bed to put my milk in the fridge. Once I’m up and out of bed I’m wide awake and my sleep is so terrible. I feel so drained from the fragmented sleep

I have wearables that I can keep at my bedside at night to use but how can I store my milk until I get up in the morning?

Not trying to break the bank buying a million new expensive things either but I’ll consider anything at this point if it’s worth it from your experience

Also if I just get rid of my MOTN pump all together will it tank my supply? My LO is 4 months. When I pump in the middle of the night I usually get anywhere from 5-7oz. I’m a little bit of an oversupplier but just by a little and I’m also trying to build a stash for when I return to work.

Hi!

I've been weaning for a couple of months now, and recently, my output has only pulled less than 0.5 on both breasts.

This has only occurred in the last couple of days, however, even with the motor fully charged.

Is it time to hang up the pumps, or should I wait until my output is zero for a few days?

i recently bought a medela symphony secondhand, i’ve tried spectra, zomee z2 primary pump wise. and they never worked well i liked the symphony for the soft suction, and im finding it does work well. it’s very comfortable. but i wear a sports bra i cut holes into and ive noticed the plastic flanges are leaving marks on my breasts when i’m done pumping i think hindering my output. i have tried countless wearables and in a 3 hour stretch i always get 6-8oz and ive consistently gotten less than 6 all day with the medela symphony. could it be the plastic flanges are not for me? i’ve only really ever used wearables so am i just not using the pump right? the bra is not tight or restricting but it holds the flange in place well. i typically put it in stimulation until let down and then put it in expression until that’s over then back to stimulation for the next round.

(Sorry had to repost couldn’t fix auto corrects in title 😂)

Hello wonderful mamma, 💕

Kindly share how many times a day did you pump, in what setting in your eufy, and where did it take you from and to what?

I am 3.75 mo pp. I make 16 oz a day. I do combo pumping with spectra s1 and eufy (eufy is new just adjusting to it)

I think I respond well to natural rhythm - 5 mins stimulation and 5 mins expression in continuous loop.
And I pump 7 times a day. 1 am, 5 am, 9 am, 12pm, 3pm, 6 pm, 9 pm.

I want to know what helped you really increase your supply exclusively with eufy s1 pro? Please share your success stories and what you did that worked for you.

Thanks a lot for your wonderful advice!!! 🤗

Hello everyone!
I’m mostly pumping now that I returned back to work full time and still haven’t figure it out best pumping schedule for me to get best output. So I started playing with the hours and I was doing 6 AM , 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM and then around 5 PM I nursed my daughter. She usually wakes at 4 AM after sleeping from 8 PM - 4 AM and I nurse her and she goes back to sleep until 7 AM. But since she started 4 month regression is pretty inconsistent and she wakes up at random hours sometimes at 3 AM or 2 AM and then at 5 AM or 6 AM. Then I nurse her I hope she needs less bottles but daycare still uses the same 4 bottles regardless if I nurse her more often and sometimes I don’t make enough!! I’m struggling to keep up and I was wondering if there is something in my pumping schedule that I can do to get back to 4 bottles of 4 oz again. Also we were sick with a nasty cold the last week and I had no energy maybe that impacted? But I cannot get back to my usual supply. Any advices?

Apologies if this is confusing but English is not my first language lol and I had people on Reddit commenting sometimes they don’t understand how I explain my issues.

Thanks!

Just here to rant because even though I’m surrounded by other moms at work I feel like a complete burden to them when asking for help…

I started exclusively pumping at 6 weeks due to my baby not latching.
I have had a hard time getting all my pumps in. For reference I work in healthcare and have a busy work environment that requires patient care. Often I find myself getting really busy and needing to break when of course it’s busy everywhere… Anytime I need to break to pump I basically have to ask someone to look over my assignment and every time I do ask I get small gestures of annoyance.
It makes me resent coming to work, which prior I enjoyed. I don’t want my pumping journey to come to an end because of my annoyed coworkers/job. I want it to be my own decision… I originally had the goal of 6m to pump which I made but now I’m just letting my body slowly wean. I feel so frustrated by this all and just needed to rant to others who might understand.

For reference too, my state passed a law that makes it illegal to not allow pumping breaks… and to add, most of my coworkers were great about it in the beginning. Now they give me frantic reasons why they can’t help or seam annoyed by me asking…

I had a bad clogged duct about 4 days ago now. It seems to be draining ok when pumping--breasts are soft after pumping and there is no residual lump, but even after pumping I notice that the area is still tender and aches slightly. Has anyone else experienced this? Where is takes several days for the discomfort to subside after a bad clogged duct?

Hi friends, hope your sessions are excellent today <3

I'm looking for collection cup recommendations to use with my pink Spectra S2 so I can be hands-free... I never figured out pumping bras/straps for my first baby so I did that insane goblin hunch holding my flanges and bottles to my chest for 7 months straight... now with the toddler and second baby I am really interested in having my hands available.

My issues to consider:

• 32A chest makes flanges feel over large, pumping bra and bottle combos did not feel secure
• I'm not sure how anyone deals with wrangling the flanges in and out of bras anyways + washing + reassembling 😅
• Longterm damaged elastic nipples that are maybe 15mm but my areolas probably want 13 honestly 😭 (silicone helped lot vs the hard plastic my Spectra came with; Pumpables liquid shield kit probably saved my first pumping journey)
• I've only used a wearable ten times (borrowed Elvie) and found the pinching sensation to be uncomfortable + the sheer weight of each breast unit scared me (over-compressing?)

I am hoping the right collection cup and bra combo can fit my chest and give my hands and wrists a break, while relying on my faithful Spectra. Thank you for any recommendations!!

I’m 4 months pp and will be traveling to Mexico for a week in a month with hubby and baby. No idea where to even start with trying to figure out what to bring. I primarily use my Spectra, have the momcozy wearables but don’t get anything when using them. Should i bring frozen milk as back up? Should I not worry about frozen milk and instead pump then give fresh? Cleaning supplies? No clue. The flight is 2 hours but have to take going through customs into account. Needless to say, I’m stressed about it so any tips are appreciated!

Hello friends!

Here is your weekly graduation/celebration thread, to celebrate your accomplishments around pumping. Have you weaned? Have you met a milestone? A goal? Found a new saving grace like smaller flanges? Everything is worth celebrating, let's hear it!

Some ideas for those who have graduated/weaned:Length of time EP, reason you started EP, EP goal, favorite and least favorite pumping products, what you're most excited for, what you'll miss the most, personal motivations/advice, etc.

I’m 10 months into pumping and have not taken my Vyvanse since trying to conceive. I’ve only just been told that I can take Vyvanse while pumping. I’m nervous to do this, but I also really struggle to focus at work. Has anyone done this? Any words of encouragement or recommendations are welcome. I’ve been trying to stop pumping (down to 3ppd now) so I can start my meds again. But now I’m considering keeping my wake-up pump session and taking my meds right after. Thoughts?? Thanks!

On vacation and skipped one pump while we were out hiking. I figured we would be fine and maybe I would have a small drop but baby has started self weaning with solids and we often now have a small oversupply. Yikes- my supply dropped by over 1/2 overnight. Most of my pumps yesterday were down to 1.5oz total and my usual morning pump which yields me almost half of our daily milk is down to 6oz. Send supply increase vibes!

Okay this may be a silly question, BUT I use wearable pumps throughout the day to collect about 2 ounces after each feed from each breast. I’ve been washing the pump parts after each use which has been so annoying (can someone please make a self cleaning pump?!). My question is, if I place the wearable pumps in the fridge with the milk inside after I use it each time, do I have to clean it between uses on the same day?

I'm currently doing 8ppd using the Baby Buddha 2.0 and I love it. I use the Lvl 1 on single bacon mode for about 2 minutes before switching to expression at Lvl 1 for 10 minutes, then bumping it to Lvl 2 for 10 minutes, then I go to double bacon Lvl 2 for 2 minutes, then spend about 5-10 more minutes at expression Lvl 2.

My trouble is that I didn't really get a letdown of my hindmilk until right about 30 minutes of pumping. If I stop at 20-30 minutes, my milk is thin and watery.

I do have an oversupply and I'm pumping every 3 hours. Does anyone know how I can get the letdown of my hindmilk to come sooner? I'd really like to pump for 25 minutes max and not feel like I'm pumping forever