Breast Pump

[crackers24]

I'm looking to BF LO. Is it necessary to buy a breast pump. Are they any good?

If so, which one should i invest in without having to go through too much pain cos i've heard extraction of milk can be quite painful?

Has anyone used the old fashioned method and just done it by hand? Is that better?

Thanks
xxx

 

[aramintalovegrove]

It shouldnt be painful, mine only hurts if I dont have my nips in right

I have a tommie tippie closer to nature one but basically went to Tk maxx on a tip off from here and brought what was available, it was more that half the price, about £10 i think.

looked at electric sterilisers and nearly fainted when I saw the price, the pump i have is good and definaley good enough for me to express when i go back to work full time in a few months

 

[aramintalovegrove]

It shouldnt be painful, mine only hurts if I dont have my nips in right

I have a tommie tippie closer to nature one but basically went to Tk maxx on a tip off from here and brought what was available, it was more that half the price, about £10 i think.

looked at electric sterilisers and nearly fainted when I saw the price, the pump i have is good and definaley good enough for me to express when i go back to work full time in a few months

sorry forgot to add that I coud express by hand with DS andit was quicker than a pump but not this time for some reason, I have plenty of milk but it just doesnt shoott out like before

A pump isnt nessisary I didnt buy one till I needed it this time and didnt need to buy one at all last time so maybe wait and see what your flows like?

 

[Sherlock]

I'd honestly wait and see what your flow is like once you have breastfeeding established and your flow settles down (around 6 weeks). If like me you have a fast let down hand expressing the occasional feed will work fine. If you plan to express more feeds on a regular basis then you may wish to invest in an electric pump as hand pumps can be hard work if used lots.

Also expressing if done properly should not hurt. If it does you need to reposition the pump and try again. Also bear in mind some women (myself included on lots of occasions when using a breast pump) don't get anywhere near as much milk out pump or hand expressing as a baby can get from the boob. Babies are far more effective at getting milk from you. If you express and only get an ounce off don't take that as meaning you have little milk for your baby and panic about it, it just means you don't express well. If your baby is having wet nappies and gaining weight over the weeks then thats the important thing.

Also its advised to not express in the first 6 weeks but to BF exclusively during this time. Having BF my LO I can understand this and found it to be the best thing for us both.

 

[KERRYGOLD00]

Deleted

 

[Squiglet]

I'm an awful expresser.. I really struggle to get the letdown going unless theirs a baby attached to my boob... I also don't leak very much either

I have an electric pump and a hand one... My hand gets very sore when using the hand one because it takes me so long and I have to pump so often because I work... the electric one gives me a nice break. But I have them only because I work... I don't express any other time..