Pumping

I had to pump for a few weeks as my baby had jaundice and I had to supplement his feeds on a feeding plan and didn’t want to use formula. You shouldn’t need to pump to keep the supply and the advice in the UK is to not pump at all in the first months.

If you’re exclusively breastfeeding you shouldn’t need to pump, but it’s not a bad idea to have a back up in the freezer in case you want a break for someone else to feed baba. Everyone and every baby is different, but I’ve really struggled to breastfeed, turns out my little one has a tongue tie so we’ve had that sorted and basically now starting from scratch again. I’ve had to pump to keep my supply up as he wasn’t feeding effectively. Just be mindful that it doesn’t always work straight away so have a back up just in case, I wish someone had given me this advice when I was pregnant!x

It’s not a need, but a preference UNLESS baby is having issues latching, or issue came up and you need to pump to keep up with your supply. But if everything goes well, you don’t have to ever touch a pump tbh. But I strongly suggest taking a good breastfeeding class and having a board certified lactation consultant on standby. Issues can arise and the sooner you can address them, the better.

I was pumping along with breastfeeding the first few weeks because I thought I had to, to build my supply but also because my baby lost a lot of weight a couple days after leaving the hospital. Once she started gaining weight quickly, I was only pumping once a day to get her used to a bottle just in case there was an emergency and I wasn't around to feed her. We are 4 months in and I stopped pumping all together probably around 6 weeks.

I’m bf trained… You don’t need to pump at all if feeding is going well and baby is weeing pooing and gaining weight as expected. For the first 8 weeks, your supply is learning how much it needs to make. Every time you feed or pump in this time, it’s telling your body to make more. If you feed baby responsively you’ll create the right amount for your baby. If you pump, you’ll create even more. Leaving you with an oversupply and risking mastitis. Your body and baby will work together to create exactly what you need, you don’t need a freezer supply this is just an added pressure people feel because over suppliers stock their freezer to the brim! Good luck with your feeding journey!

I had to pump with my oldest because he couldn't latch properly and with my second because he wouldn't nurse, but this time around I decided if baby couldn't nurse he was getting formula because I hate pumping. He is currently 4 months old and doing great. The only downside is he pretty much has to be with me constantly.

Unless you have a specific issue there's no need to pump at all

I never pumped. I work from home and EBF. I passively collected milk with a haaka on my opposite breast while baby nursed, so that could build a freezer stash for rare occasions i wasnt with my daughter for a feed and for her dad to give her a daily bottle with vitamin d. I work from home so breastfeeding and not pumping was very sustainable because even when someone was watching her while i worked, they brought her to me to nurse. I also breastfed for all her night wakes and had my husband take her in the morning so i could catch up on sleep. Good luck!