TIP: Pumping Breastmilk and PumpEase Product Review

Before Leah arrived, I made certain to acquire a breast pump so I would be equipped to pump and store my breastmilk. Although I had planned to exclusively breastfeed Leah, I knew there were benefits to pumping and was prepared to give myself some relief from being the sole source of her nourishment. Little did I know that pumping would be so complicated and challenging!

My first attempt at pumping was at the hospital. Due to Leah’s jaundice she had to spend some time under UV lamps in the isolette so our breastfeeding time was cut dramatically. I was only allowed to breastfeed for 30 minutes every 3 hours, after which time we had to supplement with formula. I was told to pump each time we supplemented and then the next time it was time to supplement, to give her what I had pumped before feeding her the formula.

The nurse on duty wheeled in the hospital breastpump (the hospital one is mounted on this wheeled stand) and brought me all the necessary attachments. She briefly explained how the pump worked and left the rest up to me. The first time I tried pumping I struggled with trying to hold the pump horns over my breasts while turning on the pump and adjusting the settings. I also found it difficult to get the horns to fit properly over my breasts. I figured I must have been doing something wrong because I only got a few drips of colostrum. I wasn’t close to filling up the bottle that I was given! I pumped for about 10 minutes and gave up.

Several hours later, I tried to pump once again, with similarly discouraging results. After this failed attempt, I decided to give up on the whole pumping process since it wasn’t producing anything significant anyhow. It wasn’t until I spoke to my doula (who is also a lactation consultant) that I realized I had the wrong perspective on the process of pumping. I thought the only reason I needed to pump was to produce some milk/colostrum for my baby. I wasn’t clear on the importance of pumping for the purpose of stimulating the production of milk, by communicating to your body that milk is being consumed/removed from your breasts.

It didn’t help that I was so tired from the labour and delivery, and from staying up all night holding Leah (we wanted to get in every possible moment of skin-to-skin contact in her first few days of life), that I would constantly fall asleep while trying to hold the horns in place. Since I didn’t have a pumping bra at that time, the process of pumping was terribly tedious and annoying. It felt so pointless and I was so frustrated at how seemingly unproductive I was while pumping. To make matters worse, after I had used the pump several times I realized that I misunderstood the interface and that I had set the pump suction at about 40% strength instead of 100% like I intended. Poor interface design!

Even when I got home, pumping continued to be a real pain in the butt. Unlike breastfeeding, pumping has the added work of washing the parts of the pump and the breastmilk bottles, not to mention monitoring how long the milk has been in the fridge or freezer. All these extra steps make the whole process very laborious.

On a positive note, my experience really improved once I got a pumping bra. Through my affiliation with the PTPA Panel of Moms, I had the opportunity to evaluate the PumpEase pumping bra and wow, it really made pumping much easier for me. It fits on top of your nursing bra, or you can wear it on its own. With the bra fasteners at the front, putting on the bra and removing it is a breeze. Most importantly, it holds the pumping horns in place perfectly so I could finally multitask while I was pumping! A huge added benefit … since I was less anxious and frustrated while pumping, I was able to pump more milk than before.

Some tips to make your experience with pumping better:

1. Understand the purpose of pumping. At the start, pumping is to stimulate the production of milk in your body and less for the purpose of actually extracting milk.
2. Remember that pumping is not as effective at removing milk from your breast as a baby. As a result, don’t judge your milk production by the amount you pump and try to have the baby breastfeeding from your breast as much as possible instead of just pumping.
3. Invest in a pumping bra. This will make pumping WAY more bearable since you’ll be able to multitask while pumping. Check out the PumpEase bra that I use!
4. Help to stimulate a let down by looking at photos or by watching videos of your baby. Consider also trying warm compresses and breast compressions to increase the flow of milk.

To learn more about expressing breastmilk, check out this article by breastfeeding expert Jack Newman.

To learn more about the PTPA Award Winning PumpEase bra, check out their website: www.pumpease.com.