All About Nursing & Pumping

I remember when I was pregnant with my first son and just assumed that I would nurse for 6 months to a year, pump when needed, and everything would be great. Ha! It didn’t exactly go like that. Nursing, kind of like the actual labor and delivery process, is not something people talk about in detail until you’ve gone through it. As soon as I had my first baby, all of a sudden I was part of this “mom’s club” that opens you up to all the struggles other moms have had. No one tells you when you’re pregnant with your first that nursing doesn’t come naturally to everyone or that it can be very painful. You might hear that it’ll hurt for a couple weeks and then it goes away, but that isn’t always the case. I struggled a lot nursing my first son. It was very stressful and I dreaded feeding time. I got mastitis. I got rashes on my nipples. I had scabs on my nipples. It was not fun. I went to a lactation consultant after a month of suffering who told me that my son latched fine and that he was getting enough milk so the pain should subside. I eventually just gave up and assumed it would be a little painful forever. I pumped at night and would have my husband give him a bottle before bed so I could have a break from the pain. I pushed through until my son decided he didn’t want to nurse anymore which was around 8 months old. I remember wishing that day would come, but when it did, I still felt guilty that I stopped and actually missed it. Mom guilt is unexplainable until you have kids. It is THE WORST. I try my best to not have those feelings of guilt when I do something for myself or am not the best mom I can be one day, but it is always lingering.

Fast forward to my second son and things have gone much better, but it started out rocky. I was in a decent amount of pain and getting scabs again. I immediately booked a consultation when my son was 2 weeks old with another lactation consultant who came to my house and gave me much better tips about latching and examined my son’s mouth. I then went to a specialist to see if he had a tongue tie that needed to be clipped because his mouth was small and it wasn’t opening as wide as it should have been for a proper latch. They said it was minor and would not recommend the procedure at that time. I wanted so badly for there to be a “reason” why this wasn’t going well again. I was diligent about putting ointment on to heal the scabs and careful about his latch (I would re-latch every time it didn’t feel right so I didn’t make the soreness worse). I felt mastitis coming on again. Side note – I rolled lavender essential oil on my boobs (sorry, I don’t use the word breast in real life so I’m not going to here) which helps unclog milk ducts and it worked! Once I got through this initial painful period, nursing eventually stopped hurting at around 4 weeks this time and has been going pretty well ever since. I am still not a super natural, on-the-go nurser, but the fact that I can enjoy this time with my baby and not be stressed out about his feedings is a huge win in my book.

Moral of the story — if you are struggling and want to nurse (not everyone does or is able to), book an appointment with a lactation consultant (most insurances cover some or all of it) to start and go from there so you can enjoy feeding your baby. I never thought I’d be “painless” while nursing and have finally gotten there with my second baby. Also, this isn’t meant to scare anyone! Plenty of moms adjust quickly to nursing and don’t have any of these issues, but in case you do have a harder time, I want you to know you aren’t alone and hopefully some of this info is helpful!

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Here are some of the products/brands I use and would recommend in the nursing and pumping departments!

Soothing 

I tried the cooling gel pads with both boys and several different ointments, including a prescription with my first son. I found that the Doterra Correct-X essential ointment healed my nipples faster than any of the other products or gel pads I tried. I will say that the cooling gel pads feel the best immediately after nursing though!

The Haakaa

This “pump” was amazing when my milk first came in and I had an oversupply. You suction it to the side you aren’t nursing on when your baby is nursing and it collects all the milk that would typically just leak into a nursing pad or burp cloth. I always have to shove a burp cloth on the opposite side when I’m nursing so it doesn’t leak everywhere! I used the Haakaa as much as I remembered/felt like the first couple months and would just pour whatever it gathered into a breast milk storage bag until I had enough ounces to freeze. I started building a good freezer stash of milk without actually pumping by using this pump/suction cup. I highly recommend it if you want to freeze an extra stash. I will say that it isn’t always very comfortable and is another “thing” to do.

Nursing App

I’ve used the Baby Feed Timer app for nursing both my babies. It tracks nursing and diapers, which I like to track the first couple weeks to make sure they are getting enough milk (ie. wet diapers). It also tracks sleeping, pumping, bottles, and a few other things. You can set reminders and it is also available on the Apple Watch which I like.

Pumps

I used the Medela Pump in Style pump for my first son and thought it worked fine. I also borrowed the Medela FreeStyle pump from one of my sisters and used that on-the-go often. The latter is great for traveling or pumping while needing to get other things done!

With my second son I decided to try the Spectra S2 because I already had the Medela pump and I get a new free breast pump through my insurance with each baby. Make sure to check your insurance to see what they offer because they all should offer some sort of breast pump for free! I like the Spectra S2 pump better than the Medela one. Something about its frequency/suction makes my let-down happen faster and it’s much more efficient than the Medela was for me. I can pump less time and get the same amount of milk. Win-win!

Breast Milk Storage & Feeding System

Hands down, my favorite system is the Kiinde system. You can pump directly into their breast milk storage bags and the bags then go into a bottle shell where you can put a nipple on top to feed your baby. You do not have to transfer the milk from a bag to a bottle to warm or feed. This means no washing bottles!!! The Kiinde system has a bottle warmer that works great too! I have used this with both my babies and I absolutely love it. Personally, I either freeze the milk once I have full enough bags or keep a bottle handy in the fridge for when someone else is watching the baby. FYI, I combine milk from pump sessions into one bag until I get whatever number of ounces I want to freeze or give to my baby. Some people freeze smaller amounts for “snacks”, but that isn’t something I’ve ever done. I typically freeze a few 4oz bags when the baby is really little, but after that I only freeze 6oz and 8oz bags. I start freezing 8 oz bags when the baby is around 4 months because once I introduce solids around 5-6 months, my feedings will get more stretched out (ie. I will have less of them throughout the day) so I like to give more milk at each feeding.

Use this link to get a free starter kit and pay only $5.99 shipping. The starter kit includes a pouch, adapters for your pump, the bottle shell, and a slow flow nipple and case. It also includes coupons for a free 40-pack box of pouches and 50% off the Kiinde Twist Breastfeeding Gift Set ($100 down to $50) which is what I love to get people for baby showers and what I got at mine. It’s a great set to get you started!

Pumping Bras

I used this bra all the time with my first son. It is a combo nursing/pumping bra and I would sleep in it and pump it in. I still use it now with my second son. I use this bra that goes over my nursing bras to pump throughout the day or when I’m out of town. It worked better with the Medela pump parts, but it will work with the Spectra S2 pump parts too with a little effort.

Also, not a pumping bra or a traditional nursing bra, but if you want a supportive bra that you can actually workout in and also nurse in, check this bra out! My sister gave me this recommendation and it’s a good one!

I know this is a long post, but there’s so much to say about nursing and pumping! Comment below with your experiences and any questions!

Xo,
Hillary