How to Pump Breatmilk and Dealing with Bottles

I started pumping when Nyah was 4 weeks old. A friend gave me some great advice--pump early in the morning, because that's when you get the most. I'd nurse Nyah early, around 3 or 4 AM, and then pump. She usually nursed mostly on one side, so the other breast would still be really full. Your baby may not be getting up at that time, but you can just try pumping after the first feed. It helps to pump right after you nurse because you've already had a letdown.

At first, you may not get much, but don't be discouraged. I pumped maybe 2 oz. in 15 minutes the first time, but after that could pump 10-12 oz. in 15 minutes. The book that came with the Medela pump says to pump about 12-15 minutes, but you can pump for as long as you want/need to. 15 minutes was all I could take.

I started storing milk before we gave her bottles, so we had a stash. I prefer the bags from First Years. They're sturdy and easy to stand up in the freezer.

When we need milk, I defrost a bag or two. Then you can put it in a bottle. We found the easiest way to heat it was to heat a large mug of water in the microwave, take the mug out of the microwave, and put the bottle in. It takes maybe 5 minutes to heat that way.

I clean pump parts using the same brushes I use for the baby bottles. After sterilizing, I usually just put everything back in the Medela case.

Nyah wouldn't usually take bottles from me. We started out having my husband give them to her when I would go out. He had a really hard time at first, but we kept giving them to her every day until she finally got used to them.

Nyah's 10 months old now, and I still nurse her. She gets maybe 1 bottle per week, and I pump to replace that feeding. She has no problem taking it now, even cold. I can only pump about 5 ounces now though, but I plan to wean her in a couple of months, so that's OK.

When your child drops a feeding, you can replace that feeding wtih pumping and freeze it and your body will keep producing enough milk to accomodate it. Or you can do what I did. My doctor suggested that I sit down with a snack and drink about an hour after nursing and pump. That way when I breastfeed again in 2 hours, I'll have enough milk to feed my baby. I do this pretty consistently in the morning (afternoons are usually not as productive for most people) and my body started producing more at that time. It's only a few ounces each time, but it adds up. If I pumped 2 ounces one day, I would freeze that and then the next time I pumped I would add more milk to the same freezer bag until the bag has 4 ounces in it, which is what my daughter drinks in one feeding. I don't do it on the weekends, but consistently enough that I have a freezer full of milk now. And each time I pump I always save a little bit of milk (usually about 1/2 ounce or less) to feed my daughter at the beginning of her next feeding so she'll get used to using a bottle.

I have a double breast pump and I just pump both breasts at the same time for about 5-7 minutes and get about 2-3 ounces total. I got specific breast milk freezer bags in the infant section of either Target or Walmart and I label them with the amount and the date. I organize them by keeping them in a gallon freezer ziplock by month. So all of the milk I froze in June is inside of one ziplock together and I can make sure I use that up before I use July's milk so it doesn't get freezerburn before I get to it. It will last longer in a deep freezer than a normal freezer. I've always just cleaned my bottles and nipples in the dishwasher.

The best thing to invest in is a good breast pump there are a lot out there that are a waste of money! I usually fed my son from one side and pumped the other side or pumped about an hour or 2 after I fed him. The easiest thing to do is use disposable bottles you can store the brest milk in them and then throw them away and just sterilize the nipples and breast pump. Since it is a thin plastic bag you can defrost in a cup of hot water quicker than a bottle warmer. The sterlize bags from Medela are very good because they do not take up a lot of room. When I was nursing I kept my cleaned/sterlized breast pump/bottles in a plastic bin with a snap on lid and handle that way I could grab it and go to a private room to pump with no hassle. Not sure if this helps but hopefully it gave you some ideas.

I pumped and nursed for 5 months. Refrigerated breastmilk is good for 3-7 days. Frozen 3 months. See website for more info. http://www.medela.com/NewFiles/faq/coll_store.html
I built up a supply in the fridge and a few bags in the freezer. I rotated bottles in the fridge-newest to the front. You can pump 1 hour before or after a feeding to increase supply and build up your fridge supply or get ahead with one in the fridge and then pump when he is taking a bottle. I warmed my milk in a bottle warmer.
I used a medela pump advance double pump, pumped 10-15 min into their containers and stored my milk in the fridge in their bottles (without nipples-just lids) and then heated the milk in a bottle warmer in the medela bottles. From there, I transferred my milk into a playtex drop in system (less to clean up). I washed everything in hot soapy water (bought a small plastic container to put all the dirty stuff in-instead of just the sink). Once my daughter was on formula I switched to Avent bottles. You do not need to sterilize your bottles, only when they are new.
Another really good resource is a breastfeeding consultant at a hospital or retail facility such as Baby Mother and More or Every Mother and Child.

Babycenter.com is a great resourse to get all the info you need on breastfeeding/bottle feeding. Here is the link
http://www.babycenter.com/subTopic/articles.htm?subTopicI...