Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are probably well aware that breast milk is the best nourishment for a baby. We all know the advantages of breastfeeding: healthier babies, higher IQ, DHA, immunoglobulins, better attachment, saving money, easier on the environment — but what if breastfeeding just doesn’t work out for you? Despite growing support for breastfeeding and the best efforts of La Leche League, many women experience difficulties breastfeeding for a variety of reasons and often get discouraging messages and bad advice from hospitals, doctors, family and friends which can make breastfeeding almost impossible. And sometimes the parts just don’t fit right (short frenulum) or your baby just can never get a good latch (more common than you might think). There is a growing movement of moms who have turned to exclusive pumping as an alternative to nursing to get their babies the nourishment they need. Here is one mom’s personal story — from our friend Melissa Womack, mom to 10 month old Jude…
MELISSA’S STORY
Before my son Jude was born I had bought a single sided pump, but truthfully, I never expected to use it much. I was going to be a stay at home mom, so I thought I would have the opportunity to actually nurse him through all of his feedings. I had taken a breastfeeding class before he was born and had read most of the available literature on the topic. I, myself, was a champion breastfeeder as a baby/toddler and was not weaned until age 2 1/2. It had never really occurred to me beforehand that breastfeeding might prove to be a challenge. I felt prepared. But little did I know, I was about to embark upon one of the most challenging experiences of my life: exclusively pumping to feed my baby my breast milk via bottle.
My first attempts to breastfeed Jude did not go well. He was sluggish/sleepy and did not seem to be interested in eating at first. Once he became more alert and hungry, he was almost too frantic to nurse. When I would try to latch him and there was difficulty, he would get very agitated and wail. He would get so worked up that I had to stop my nursing attempts to try to soothe him. Every attempt would end with me vowing to never put him through that again. I started to dread trying to breastfeed him.
The baby nurses would come in to our room every few hours to check on our progress, and they offered suggestions and tips, but not one of them could really help him latch on well enough. Everyone said that it would just take more practice and so I soldiered on. In the early morning of the day of dismissal from the hospital, our pediatrician came in and told us that Jude had lost 10% of his birthweight and was also quite jaundiced and would need to be checked again the next day. If his blood levels were not improved by the next day in her office, she was going to re-admit him for therapy. She suggested that I try to nurse him more and/or consider supplementing with formula as a means to help both issues. When she left the room I cried. I was exhausted both physically and emotionally from this entire ordeal.
The next time a nurse came in to check on Jude, I asked her for some formula and fed him a tiny amount. He accepted it right away, and for the first time since right after birth, he slept soundly and peacefully for several hours.
16 Responses to “Feeding Baby Breast Milk via Exclusive Pumping, One Mom’s Personal Story”
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You have no idea how much I needed to read this today! A friend of mine sent it to me, and I just sobbed while reading it. Someone is going through the same hardships that I am! My grandmother passed away last week, and with all the stress and running around that has caused, my supply took a huge hit. I went from pumping 60 oz per day to just under 20 oz. I’ve had to supplement with formula for the last two days. I thought, at 7 months, maybe it’s time to stop. I felt so selfish for thinking that, though!!! How can I deny him this if I can even produce 1 oz a day?! So, back to pumping – feverishly – to build my supply back up. In fact, as I type I am pumping away!! I am so thankful for this article – I will add it to my ‘favourites’ so that I can reflect on it when I am feeling discouraged.
Thanks so much for sharing your inspiring story, Melissa. Although I didn’t personally do exclusive pumping – I did experience many of the same breastfeeding problems that you had and I did end up doing A LOT of pumping – even around the clock for a few months, which was brutal. Pumping sucks, but we’re fortunate to live in a world where breast-pumps are easily accessible and this option is now open to mothers who might not have been able to breastfeed at all in the past.
Wow! Am totally impressed with your efforts. I am lucky that I’ve managed to get both babies breastfeeding (a bit of trouble with my daughter but after trying a nipple cover and a speacial (odd) feeding position, she was happy). My son had no problems but now I have the reverse issue – he absolutely will NOT feed from a bottle. See a bottle and starts to scream. So, at 9 months, we are practising with water from a cup as I continue to breast feed working my schedule around work. This unfortunately means not a lot of sleeping at night for us! But, finally getting to the reason I wanted to write, apart from applauding your determination, is to tell you about a friend of mine. Her daughter would not breastfeed and she also pumped as she was determined to get it to work. 4 months of pumping and trying and her daughter finally latched on. So, my question is…have you continued to try breastfeeding? Only because it is a really nice experience – nothing like pumping!
Thank you for sharing your story! We don’t really talk about how hard breastfeeding actually is, so thank you for showing us how it’s not just all or nothing (i.e. breast milk or formula) and that there’s a middle ground that still gives baby all he or she needs to grow up healthy.
I am speechless. My lactation consultant made me feel like the only person in the world who pumped.
My daughter also never latched. We did take her to have her frenulum cut. I was bawling my eyes out when the doctor told us he would absolutely not do it, the lactation consultant was wrong- nothing was wrong with my baby’s precious tongue. We found another lactation consultant.
We went to 3 or 4 different consultants. I went to my favorite once a week for months. We took her to a chiropractor for months (also weekly). Nothing worked. So I pump, and I pump, and I pump.
The doctor and lactation consultant both told me I’d quit, my milk would dry up, etc, etc. It hasn’t.
The amount of time I spend pumping is incredible. I must pump almost an hour to get 5ozs (more in the morning).
I am treated like a freak. As in “Who would go through that much trouble? Just switch to formula already!”… I hear “Have you given up and given her formula yet?!” daily (but never from my wonderful, supportive husband!). I am BERATED for not leaving the house on my own more often (I am a sahm, can you imagine pumping in public while trying to look after a 9 month old- who walks already by the way!).
I am so thankful for this article. I am going to post it, and send it as a message to my friends. They still won’t “get it”, and never will, but that’s okay, because now I know I’m not alone.
Thank you so much.
Melissa, thank you for sharing! You rock! I also exclusively pumped. My daughter had a poor latch and other nursing issues and had problems gaining weight. I was breastfeeding and supplementing with pumped milk until 8 weeks when I decided to just pump exclusively. It made all the difference. Everyday was a challenge, but she is a healthy, happy baby and I feel so great that I was able to give her breast milk. I always thought that it was rare what I was doing, but along the way I heard about so many other mothers who did the same thing. I was also lucky to have a pediatrician who was very pro-breast milk to encourage me.
i exclusively pumped because my daughter was born with a cleft lip and palate and did not have the suction needed to feed from the breast. she didn’t have problems latching on though! when i’d put her on my breast, she’d try and try to suckle but the lack of suction didn’t allow for any milk to come out. so i pumped exclusively for 13 months. it was quite an amazing journey and a feat. i stayed home with her for 3 monhts but then went back to work full-time so pumping during those 10 months proved to be another full-time job!
I am a mother of three month old twins and as I am reading this, it is 1:45 am and I am currently hooked up to my pump! One of my twins was in the NICU for three weeks and was too small to breastfeed and the other latched on but would get very fussy on the breast. I breastfed him for several weeks before my little girl came home, but once she was in the mix, it wasn’t worth it to me to suffer through him fighting on the breast. I was missing out on bonding time with her because I was spending so much time focusing on his breastfeeding needs, and I was beginning to resent him for not being easier. Now that I am pumping exclusively for both, I am able to feed either one, not just him and I am able to appreciate feedings more and look itno my babies’ eyes while they take the bottle. Before the babies were born, I thought, “Well, I have two breasts and two babies, so I am going to breastfeed them both”, but I hadn’t taken into account all of the difficulties that were involved. Pumping is definitely time-consuming and frustrating and I don’t know how long I will keep it up, but I do not regret my decision at all. Thanks for the post, it helps to know other women are going through the same dilemma. We are all strapped in together!!
Congratulations to all of you dedicated, brave, enlightened, committed moms for doing everything you can to provide your babies with the very best. As a 25 year La Leche League Leader and 10 year Lactation Consultant I was so sad to read that you did not receive unequivocal support for you choice to pump. I have learned over the years that what new moms need, more than any technical advice, is encouragement, empowerment, acknowledgment and support. I have lots of technical expertise to offer moms, and I do, but more than anything I find the emotional love and support to be the most powerful “technique” . Congratulations to all of you! You are wonderful, amazing Moms!
Judy
Thank you so much for sharing your story! It brought tears to my eyes reading about all the troubles you had and basicly miissing out a lot on a life! I exclusively pump for 3 months now. Despite of all the help from nurses in the hospital and several lactation cosultants, my son was not able to latch on. I’m not giving up hope and keep trying to get him to the brest, but it hasn’t worked so far. I don’t know if I ever will be able to directly breastfeed, I mean, that would be a miracle for me. Pumping is hard work, especially if you have a slow flow, like me, you spend hours a day hooked up to a mashine to get enough milk to feed your baby, and not able to go anywhere for longer then a couple of hours. But it all pays off when you see your happy healthy baby steadily gaining weght. I don’t know how long I will keep going with pumping, but your story definitly gave me an inspiration to keep going for as long as possible!
Thank you for sharing your story; made me think a lot.
Thank you for sharing.
I just wanted to say what a great find this was! I have been exclusively pumping for 6 1/2 months now and am determined to make it to a year. For the first several months, I had no idea there were other moms out there that were doing the same thing i was doing…pumping only. It didn’t even occur to me to find support online, i was sure there was no one else doing this crazy pump thing too. I felt alone and worn out. I am pumping every 3-4 hours and going 5-6 at night. I work full time and so I pump three times a day while at work, too. I am short on hours everyweek and my paychecks are smaller b/c i have to clock out to pump. I’ve bought extra pump supplies so i don’t have to wash them all the time. I’ve taken an old bra and cut holes in it for the pump horns so I can be hands free while i pump. I am so exhausted! But i’ve never ever felt like i should switch to formula. as soon as I consider it, i know i would honestly feel guilty. how selfish would i be? i know too much about the benefits of breastmilk to feel good about giving him formula.
Keep at it girls! You’re awesome moms and giving your babies the best start possible! You rock!
i’m so happy i read this. i have been exclusively pumping for 9 1/2 months. this week my supply took a major hit and we’ve used all the extra in our freezer already! i feel defeated and like my body is giving up on me. i’ve been so proud of the fact that despite my son not being able to suck/swallow because of his tongue when he was born i’ve been able to give him breast milk instead of formula. i’m just dreading trying to work full time and get my supply back up. i haven’t had to power pump in many months and worried i just don’t have it in me.
reading this made me realize why i’ve worked so hard the past 9 months. i fully intend to pump until he’s a year. so, i have to hang in there, do a power pump tonight and figure out how to get him the breast milk he needs. thanks for making me realize i’m not alone…even though i often feel like i’m the only one who’s missing out on fun things while hooked up to a pump!
*loud, raucous, standing ovation*
You kick ass. I just finished a year of pumping – 9 months exclusively, then I supplemented the last 3 months. There’s a lot that’s hard about EPing, but there’s a lot that’s awesome too. Congratulations, lady.
I honestly happened on your blog by accident. I found an image online when looking up pumping info and I thought it was a picture of me with my son LITERALLY! I had thought someone had taken a pic of me somehwere and changed it a little (clothes and jewlery) and written a blog about eclusive pumping which is what I have done with both of my two youngest boys. Both boys I had issues with latch and not much help at all from anyone except mostly to say “you’ll get use to it eventually and it will stop hurting” WRONG. No matter what I did I just couldnt get their latch to stick so I decided to pump. I went almost 6 months with my middle child. I had a manual Avent pump which worked amazingly minus the wrist pain after pumping for so long. I wanted to try and get breastfeeding to work with my youngest child and when it didnt I was able to borrow and electric pump this time around but found it didnt express milk as well as my manual. I havent tried a hospital grade pump as they are pretty pricey and Im not planning on having anymore children and had my tubes tied. I was tinking about stopping at 6 months again with my little guy but just cant bring myself to do it. Everytime pumping takes too long or my breasts hurt I reconsider it but for everyday my child has not gotten sick and Ive pumped about 50 oz of milk (yes 50) a day I just can’t stop because it seems like such a waste. Ive managed to get myself down to pumping 3 times a day, 8 am, 3pm and 12am which makes it a little more tolerable but still time consuming, so far its been almost 5 months and Im hoping to go the year. Wish me luck! and thanks for the blog!!!