A Simple Guide to Exclusive Pumping

The art of exclusive pumping – a simple guide to EPing

This is my journey with exclusive pumping, and what I wish I knew from the beginning. I want to start by saying that this is my own personal journey of exclusive pumping (EPing).  It is deeply personal, but If it helps even one mama, I want to put everything I can out there for her.

I am not a professional, just a mama almost 11 months in to her EPing journey that has successfully provided soley breastmilk for my sweet babe for the last 10+ months and still going strong. I have been asked a LOT about what I am doing, so I decided it was time to put it out there for anyone who needs help. I know each mama is different, both with their body and circumstances. This is meant to share what worked for me, not to tell a mama what she has to do. Please know that I understand how different we all are.

I will say that from reading and talking to thousands of other EPing mamas, a lot of this is what has worked for them as well (tons of it is learned from them). Take the parts that work for you, leave the parts that don’t, and create your own unique journey.

This is the stuff that I wish I would have known right away, without having to search it out or learning it over time.

I have been through it all. For the first 4 months, I had clogs weekly. I had mastitis twice the first 10 weeks. I had mastitis coming on 2 additional times, and thankfully with everything I learned, was able to keep it from coming on those last 2 times (that is a blog post in itself). I would wake up in the middle of the night to feed the baby, and then again in the middle of the night to pump. Double the work to feed my sweet babe, but he is SO worth it! I pushed through and focused on my goals and here we are. In the beginning I focused on shorter goals, it was all I could do. I told my husband we would focus on getting to 6 months and then re-evaluate at that point what we wanted to do. We will now be making it past a year, WOOHOO!

THIS IS MY SCHEDULE:

-For the first 4 months I made sure to pump 7 times a day (some mamas do 8 or more).

-From 5-6 months I would do around 6 pumps a day

-From 7+ months I have been doing 5 pumps a day (sometimes 4, but I try to get in a power pump if I do 4 pumps).

I always aim to pump every 3 hours as much as possible, but I do not stress myself out if things are not exact (because stress decreases milk supply).

The first 12 weeks is when your body is establishing milk (which you may or may not know), this is your chance to really get it established and have that extra milk to be freezing for them later.

A middle of the night pump (between 1 am and 5 am) is really important the first 12 weeks, because your body produces more prolactin (the hormone that promotes milk production) at night. So that MOTN will really help with milk production.

I stopped doing MOTN (middle of the night) pumps at 13 weeks (hallelujah for that), because your milk is established around that point. Once I dropped the MOTN pump, I did my last pump around 11pm and my first pump between 8-9 am typically.

I power pump regularly, as needed. A power pump is your way of telling your body the baby is cluster feeding. It will help with boosting your supply. If you can do it once a day, that is AWESOME! You know your body and when you are needing things most. I aim for at least one or two power pumps a week.

THIS IS A POWER PUMP:

It is an hour long pump which you do this way:

• pump 20 minutes
• rest 10 minutes
• pump 10 minutes
• rest 10 minutes
• pump final 10 minutes

There are times holding my boy and snuggling trumps a pump (even in the early days). If it happens, I figure out the rest. I have always said, if I lose supply because I am loving my baby, I will gladly call that success. Most of the time I can work it all out, but there are times I have to forget everything and sit there with my boy and I have not once regretted that choice.

OTHER THINGS TO ADD:

Supplements & favorites that I take daily:

• Beef organ complex
• Lecethin (sunflower not soy) – is a HUGE help in preventing clogs and mastitis and will help you empty faster.
• Ningxia Red– HUGE in antioxidant support and absolutely incredible for more reasons than I can list here!
• Protein Powder  (save 10% with code BETHANYHADDEN)
• Electrolytes  (save 10% with code BETHANYHADDEN)

OTHER PUMPING TIPS:

* Massage your breasts as you pump (you can get an electric massager)

*If you are on FB, get in to a group for exclusive pumpers so you feel sane and to help with support

*Think happy and relaxing thoughts as you pump and make sure to get comfortable. It will help milk production (again stress effects supply negatively).

*You can rent a hospital grade kick booty pump from many places (check your town for locations. Many hospitals, baby boutiques, and even stores like ToysRus rent them)

*Your insurance may cover a pump or the rental and even your pump parts (like the flanges and cups) for the first year

*Having a good pump and flanges that fit right will help a ton!

*A hands free bra… life saver!!!

*We give Gray both fresh and frozen milk regularly. I hear so often how mamas give fresh milk only until they finish pumping. They freeze the extra, and then later on when they stop pumping, they go to give their baby the frozen stash they worked SO HARD to make and the baby will not take it, because it tastes and smells different. We give Gray a frozen bottle regularly (aiming for once a day) along with his fresh milk, so he was used to the frozen milk from the beginning. It also cycles through your frozen supply.

*If you can somehow get your baby’s saliva on your breast, it is important. That will tell your body to produce the milk your baby needs (CRAZY RIGHT?) So you can either put the baby up to the breast or somehow get that saliva wiped on there.

*Putting pump parts in the fridge!!! Oh I wish I knew this from the beginning… We washed a million extra parts in the beginning. Then I read one of the most brilliant things in my life. We use one set of pump parts a day (flanges, containers, etc) after each pump, I wipe them down, put them in a big ziplock or container, and put them in the fridge until the next pump. At night we wash those parts with the bottles.

*I do have 2-3 sets in case I need them, but a typical day I only use one set vs like 6 when I first started!

*Pump log app, must have if you pump!

*Hot showers are great for getting things going more. Go take a hot shower and pump right after

*Pumping until your breast is empty is huge for a number of reasons, and pumping an extra 5 or so minutes after your breast is empty, is actually important because it will tell your body to start making more milk.

*We write down each feeding time and amount he eats. My mama brain cannot keep track of it and it has helped a ton to see how much he eats each day and also the last time he ate.

*If you are super organized…keeping a journal of food you eat or write what you ate on milk bag you are freezing (if you want to keep track of that for if they get a tummy ache or react to something). I was not this organized, but there were times I gave Gray frozen milk and knew the date, but wish I could have remembered what I had eaten that was upsetting him.

Find a system that works for you, seriously this is your journey, no one else can take that from you

MILK STORAGE:

There are a lot of different rules for milk storage, you will need to research and do what you feel is best.

We personally choose to do:

• up to 4 hours room temperature
• up to 4 days fridge
• up to 6 months frozen (in regular freezer, 12 months if deep freezer)

PUMPING FAVORITES:

Pump– LOVE the Medela Symphony (we rented ours) – click here

Bottles– LOVEEE  Dr Browns glass bottles- click here

Young Living– Oils, Supplements, give it all to me – click here

Hands free bra– click here

Freezer bags– click here

Breast pads– click here

Pillow to rest your back against– I love the Boppy pillow

 

BOOSTING MILK PRODUCTION:

– Water (drinking at least half my weight in oz at the very minimum)

– POWER PUMP, POWER PUMP, POWER PUMP

– Beef organs

– Ningxia red

– Electrolytes

– Keep up calories (good quality nourishment)

– High protein

– Oatmeal

– Hummus (I have not tried this one, but have heard it is great)

– Fennel essential oil

– Sleep (as difficult as it is, lack of sleep and stress effect your milk supply, so keep that in mind and if someone will help you, take them up on it)

– A bra that isn’t too tight – It will restrict milk production if it is too tight (and can also cause clogs/mastitis)

– Have water and even snacks with you while you pump (I always feel super thirsty as I pump and I can get more water down that way) many mamas get hungry also, so having a quick snack you can grab helps also

IDEAS FOR HELPING TO RELAX, WHILE PUMPING:

-A diffuser with a happy or relaxing essential oil blend (Orange oil is my go to)

-Comfy clothes

-Favorite music, book, tv show, or your phone for browsing your favorite app (this of course depends on what I need for my baby in that moment and my mood at the time)

– A relaxing/happy pumping area

WHAT DO I DO WITH MY BABY WHILE I PUMP?

Any pumping mama will know the absolute struggle of this…

Honestly, it will hugely vary on everything from the baby’s personality and age, to your own situation and preferences. One mama will have help from someone, while another won’t.

One will be ok with a show playing, while another doesn’t want any screen time for their baby. This literally changes daily for us and I learned there is no perfection to it. What works for me one day or even during one pump, will be completely different the next.

You do you, mama. I wish I could give you the perfect scenario, but the beauty of our lives is we are all different and we have to figure that out as we go. What I do know is there are times it may feel impossible, but we mamas are crazy amazing and we will do what we put our minds to.

A couple things that have worked along the way for me were shows, as I said already. If he needed to eat and I needed to pump, putting him next to me on a Boppy Pillow feeding him, while I pumped at the same time. Once he got old enough to jump and liked his jump bouncer, using that. A play mat has been huge for us! A play room that he can play in as he has gotten older has been great. If for some miracle he would nap without me holding him (which is not often) I would often times use that for a pump session. Toys, books, tv shows that they ONLY get while you pump, so that it becomes an exciting time for them… again, you do what works best in that specific moment.

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST

I want to end by saying, you know you. You know your strengths, you know your limits. If at any time it becomes too much (because exclusive pumping is crazy hard to do), never feel like a failure. You have to figure out what is best and in the end loving that baby and making sure they are healthy and fed is what matters most. Be proud of yourself whatever you choose and look at that sweet babe you get to raise, that right there is what it is all about!