Can I exclusively pump?

Often times our breastfeeding journeys are lightyears away from how we imagined. Was I alone in thinking I’d have this awesome baby who instinctually new how to latch? Was I alone in thinking the hardest part of breastfeeding would be keeping the cute breastfeeding cover on in public? Sheesh, was I wrong.

Breastfeeding comes with an array of difficulties; Infant wont latch, small nipples, large breasts, the pain (THE PAIN!!!!), and sometimes these hurdles cause us to pause and question, “Why am I doing this to myself?”. The benefits of breastfeeding are vast but I always tell my clients- I want you to breastfeed but not you your own demise.

Let’s think about the airplane analogy here - The oxygen masks pop down and what do you do? First, you put it on yourself and then onto your kids. Right? But, why? Because if Mama is down, we’re all going down. This same analogy applies to breastfeeding (and in my opinion parenting in general). If Mama is down, we’re all going down.

So if breastfeeding is putting a toll on your mental, emotional or physical health, what can you do?

Let’s talk pumping! Pumping your breastmilk is still considered breastfeeding, did you know that? Expressing your milk and offering it to your child is a great alternative to feeding your infant at the breast. There are many reasons why women choose to exclusively pump. In my time as a hospital based Lactation Consultant I have heard it ALL. From Mother’s who are survivors of abuse to Mother’s of multiples who don’t want to feel like a milk maid. No matter your reason, we want you to know that pumping can be a great alternative! With that said, while pumping is a great option it’s not a fool proof method. Sure, we won’t see latch pain or have to guess how much our child is consuming or be the sole parent in charge of feedings BUT pumping does have it’s own challenges.

Some Moms say exclusively pumping is way easier. Here’s what to expect!

Women pump for many reasons whether it’s to build a bigger supply, store milk for the future or as an alternative feeding method. Why we pump determines how we pump. If we are pumping to increase our supply we’ll breastfeed and then pump. If we are pumping to store we’ll likely feed often and pump even more often. However, with pumping instead of latching we’ll need to start an effective milk removal routine and most importantly, we’ll need to be consistent. When I say an effective milk removal routine, I mean we need to have all the proper equipment to be successful and be dedicated to frequent milk removal (yes, even overnight). We can not skip sessions regularly and here’s why! When an infant is latching and feeding at the breast, they are doing the job of regulating our supply for us. Some days they cluster and in the subsequent days we’ll see an increase in our supply. Alternatively, somedays they might strike or only feed at naps or to comfort which in turn backs our supply down in the coming days. (Remember our milk is supply and demand!) So when we move to exclusively pumping now we have the task of regulating our own supply (oh great! another job for Mom). You’ll need some tools to make this a successful transition, here are my recommendations;

  • A good pump. And no, I’m not talking about the hand-me-down medela pump your sister bought for you at a friend’s garage sale months ago. And no, I’m also not talking about a cool new hands-free pump you saw on Tik Tok that has no real reviews. You’ll need to research (I can help) and invest because an exclusively pumping Mom will need the best. If you’re ready to go down that route let’s talk pumps.

  • You’ll also need Dedication. Pumping can take away some of the sweet cuddly parts of breastfeeding and replace those with mechanics, bottles, and energy spent juggling it all. But it can also give you back some independence and control of your milk supply, but not your baby…your baby controls your life now! Welcome to the party!

We briefly touched on these already but let’s talk pros and cons!

Pros

  • You can still offer your baby the immense benefits of breastmilk

  • No more struggling with latch and positioning (ouch!)

  • You’ll no longer be the sole parent responsible for feedings

  • You can track how much milk infant is consuming per feed

  • More control over your supply since you can pump more for more milk or less for less milk (supply and demand remember?)

Cons

  • Loosing the cuddle factor from breastfeeding

  • More time spent washing pump parts, rinsing bottles, etc.

  • You’ll have one more thing constantly attached to you

  • It can be costly to keep up with bags for milk storage, bottles and replacement pump parts

  • Regulating your own supply (over or under supply issues) will now be part of your journey

  • Your milk won’t automatically tailor itself depending to infant’s needs (yes our milk does this- bodies are so cool!)

Are you ready to start your journey?

Let’s think of the pump as a replacement for infant suckling. Initially, you’ll want to store milk for future use so I recommend breastfeeding and then pumping for 10 to 15 minutes afterwards to begin storing milk. Once you’ve got a few bags or bottles stored you can then make the leap to exclusively pumping. You’ll need to start a pump schedule with frequent milk removal, ideally every 3-4 hours (no missing) for 20 minutes. If in the overnight hours you want a longer stretch to sleep that is okay by me but no longer than 6 hours without milk removal! Also the 20 minutes is not set in stone, think of it more as a guideline. If you pump a ton of milk in 10 minutes, there is no need to keep pumping for the next 10. For some of us, our let downs happen quickly and sometimes it can take time so gage your body and pump to the time interval that yields the most for you. If you slow down significantly or stop all together after 12 minutes, and if you’ve yielded an appropriate amount, your pump time is 12 minutes! If it takes you the full 20 minutes to pump what you need, or close to it, then your pump time is 20 minutes! Also, good to make note of this number because if you find yourself with an oversupply, you could cut back pump sessions by 5 minutes, and the opposite is true too. If you find yourself with an under supply add 5 minutes to your previous pump time!

Sample Pump Schedules

So a sample pump schedule could be; 7 am, 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, 7 pm, 10pm, 1 am, 4 am ( the 4:00am you could cut if you put in a longer pump session in between 6-7 am). If you go past the 6 hour mark without removing milk we can unintentionally signal to our bodies that we need to make less milk since we aren’t using it, so never past 6 hours. I like to say at least 8 milk removals in 24 hours.

This is just a sample schedule so you can tweak as needed and adjust times but, pumping every 3-4 hours around the clock is recommended for infants under 3-4 months old. Once our babes are over 3-4 months we can adjust our milk removal/pump schedules to reflect 6 milk removals in 24 hours. So sample pump schedule could be; 7 am 11 am, 3 pm, 7pm, 11pm, 3 am (the 3 am could be cut if you pump upon waking). Remember take care of yourself and rest!

So to summarize, As with anything concerning our bodies, it’s your body your choice! If you’ve decided to no longer latch your infant then YES you can exclusively pump! Many Moms do this and some pump for many years to come! If you do decide to pump milk exclusively following the above tips can help set you up for success. And if you hit any bumps along the way we’re here to help! You got this!