Pumping Without Panic: A Guide for New Moms (Episode #11)

There is so much misinformation out there about pumping freezer, stashes, building your milk supply, all of this business on social media. And that, coupled with not so great information, on when to start pumping from doctors and hospitals and nurses and everything, it can leave moms feeling.

Extremely burned out, overwhelmed and confused, and so we are gonna get into what you need to know about pumping for that first bit after baby arrives, and also touch on some pumping tips and tricks and considerations to keep in mind across your breastfeeding journey.

This is the place for you to get the real support and information you deserve. So grab a drink, get comfy, and let's get into it. First and foremost, let's get right into this with you. Most likely do not need to start pumping day one. In most cases, assuming a healthy mom and a healthy baby who are kept together, there is pretty much no reason to initiate using a breast pump unless your goal is to use.

What I see happen so, so often in my private practice having worked with thousands of moms across almost a decade, is moms come to me and they're like, baby is really frustrated at the boob. I try to latch him. And he eats for a few minutes and he seems dissatisfied afterward. And when I'm pumping, I'm only getting like a half an ounce combined.

And when we do the bottle, this is happening and it's like they're literally setting themselves up to triple feed. They're pumping, they're breastfeeding, and then they're feeding pumped milk in the bottle. And they're choosing to do that when it's not medically necessary. Triple feeding is one of the most brutal things to have to do.

So we definitely don't want to voice that onto ourselves for no reason. Like there is absolutely no reason to be pumping bottle feeding and breastfeeding unless that's your goal. So please hear me when I say, if your goal is to do all of those things, rock on, do that. That's great. If your goal is to feed your baby exclusively at your breast.

Then let's not do all of those things. The tricky part comes when we have moms who are concerned that they need to pump for their supply. You definitely do not need to pump in order to have a good supply if your baby is effectively latching and removing milk from your breast.

There's absolutely no reason to try power pumping or doing any of these things. It's not needed. If you're concerned about your supply, working with a lactation consultant is so important and we can help you narrow down is there something wrong with your supply? Should we be concerned? Is it baby's latch, is it something else?

And we can form a plan that's gonna let you feel empowered and confident and not confused and overwhelmed. So please remember, you can definitely reach out to someone like myself and we can evaluate that so that you're not just feeling like you're throwing things at the wall and power pumping when that's not really necessary.

So, as I touched on earlier, definitely in a situation where mom and baby are kept together, we don't necessarily need to do pumping if it's not the goal. In situations where mom and baby are kept separate, pumping can be a useful thing. Like let's say there's a NICU stay. Mom has to have a procedure done, something is happening.

Pumping can be an effective tool for milk, supply and to make sure that we're getting stimulation, but hand expression and other things can be a good alternative depending on the type of separation, how long it is and all that sort of thing. I definitely think introducing a pump in the early, like first 12 hours can be very hit or miss.

Definitely work with a lactation consultant prior to your baby arriving so that we can be absolutely sure that you know what size flas you wear and you have either flanges or inserts to bring with you to the hospital so that in the case you decide to pump or that you need to pump, you have what you need to be set up for comfortable pumping.

Last but not least, let's talk about freezer STEs. When should you expect to have one? How much should be in it? What does that even mean if you're a pregnant mom? So freezer STEs is pretty much this new thing that's become such a, a like trendy thing on social media where we have moms who have.

Chest freezers that are literally meant to hold like a whole deer in them. I'm from the south, so that's how I think about it. Like a whole entire deer could fit in there. And we have moms filling it with breast milk and they're like, everyone should do this. And they're selling you a guide on how to do it and a tea on how to do it, and cookies and all this stuff.

And it's not typically something where moms like, heck yeah. Look at all this milk I have. This is so great. Our bodies are meant to make enough milk for our babies. Some women are blessed to, have extra milk, and I think that comes from like the divine design of women to where some of us have extras to make up for those of us who don't.

And that's completely a whole nother conversation. But you should not feel like you have to have a particular stash. Most people have enough milk. For a couple of feeds, maybe a couple of days, but it's definitely not a necessity. I think a lot of mothers get really wrapped up in what they see on social media, and I've had moms literally come to me in pregnancy.

It's like, you do not want an oversupply. You want enough milk for your baby to comfortably nurse your baby? That's what you want. Like, I mean, if you, if you think you want an oversupply. To each his own. But from my professional opinion, I do not think that most women need to be, obsessed with having this excess of milk because it's just not necessary.

So setting yourself up for realistic expectations around how much milk you'll have, I think is really, really important. That way we don't start pathologizing, or making something a problem that isn't actually a problem. Having just enough milk for a baby is not a problem. That's. What we were designed to do.

We were designed to have enough milk for our babies and we don't really need more than that. So all of that to say pumping should not be a panic filled activity. Pumping should be peaceful and relaxing and cool. I know a lot of times it's not so if you're exclusively, pumping mom, you're probably like, that's bullshit.

So I just wanted to lay all this out there for you so that you know about what happens if we start pumping too early, when we should start pumping. All those things to keep in mind. And most importantly, just to let you know, you do not need a freezer stash.

So I hope you enjoyed all this information laid out, and I hope you have a very peaceful pumping experience.

That's it for today, mama. If this episode helped, don't stop here. Get even more support@thelatchlink.com. Need one-on-one help. Did you know your insurance covers free lactation care? If you have Aetna Anthem, Cigna, blue Cross Blue Shield, or UHC, you can get free virtual lactation care right from the comfort of your home.

Until next time, trust yourself, trust your baby, and know you are doing an amazing job.