pumping pumping

I'd like to share my experience about my expressed breast milk (ebm)! I have to admit, as a new parent, I could not stand my baby crying trying to latch on for her feeds, specially after the c-section procedure, when it was very hard to move freely around and the inability of private room at RBWH, hence no help from Francis at night. And, to make matters worst, Emma got jaundice which meant I had to feed her more milk so that the bilirubin will be out of her system, which was kind of hard when she didn't want to latch on. Then, one night, I met my ANGEL midwife :D...she gave me this medela harmony breast pump to try so that Emma would be able to drink more milk to reduce her bilirubin (the other midwives just asked me to express the milk by hand!!!). It was a lifesaver!!!!

I got my medela pump in style at this baby expo in Brisbane the weekend I got out of the hospital...at first they didn't want to sell us the pump, since it was the only one on display and they don't usually sale for retail, only wholesale. I asked Francis to contact them the next day (after the expo was over) and see if they would like to sell that pump and they did!!! I was so happy!!! and we got it at a bargain, since they only sale wholesale.

In the beginning, everyone was telling me how my milk would dry out after 1 month if I only use the breast pump without trying to latch her on and of course, like any other parents out there who only want the best for their children, the idea of my milk drying out after 1 month SCARED me :). After a few failed attempts, Francis and I researched on this subject on the net...and we found out that:

1. Need to pump at least 8x a day @ 15-20 minutes each time

2. 2-6 hours between each pump

3. Must not be lazy and Must be consistent (I even do it in the car, at the office and when I was in Brisbane, I did at the mall!!)

and after asking around my newly mom friends and cousin, they all said their milk still overflowed after more than 3 months, even after!! However, we must do it consistently, that is a min. of 8x a day (including those dreadful early mornings 3-5am) and now...it's been 3 months and I see no decrease in my milk supply :D, I even have to throw bottles and bottles of milk each day since they only last 3 months in the freezer so I'm planning to freeze my milk on the sixth month, that way I can start decreasing my pumping activity :D and would still be able to stock milk for the next 3 months :D

Having said that, I do encourage new moms to try latching their babies, it saves you washing all those teats and bottles!! :D

The moral of the story is...DON'T ALWAYS believe what others tell you! Research the subject yourself and DO ask around :D and as Davina would say it...the baby won't die if she has to drink formula milk :D