@nicolecham I thought exactly the same way, word for word.
Then the hormones hit, the guilt, and the fear that I can't feed my baby, it's so strong and so convincing! Mother nature is real! My cousin was the same way, then frantically went pump shopping when she got back from the hospital. Get the pump, it's free. If you don't use it, you can give it to someone else as you said. You don't have to pump every 2 hours. My max was 5ppd, now at 3ppd I make 1liter a day. Maybe you'll be a lucky cow like me lol. Or maybe your milk will be gone in 3 weeks and you'll end up on formula anyway. But at least you won't blame yourself for never trying.
I tried to switch to exclusive formula on week 5. Baby cried for an hour every morning from belly pain and trapped gas so I quickly went back to breastmilk. Better to pump in quiet than to have a screaming kid, I thought and here I am still combo feeding 3 months in.
@nicolecham See if your hospital has rentals. Then there’s no pressure of owning or not owning. You can just know it’s there if you want to try pumping.
@deedee50 This OP! Since my insurance did not cover breast pump, I "borrowed" what's in the hospital before buying my own. But I stopped at 4weeks because it didn't improve my milk supply and baby didn't latch on me well.
@nicolecham As someone who needed to pump two days after leaving the hospital due to engorgement, have some kind of pump ready to go. I had mine but didn’t have the right size flanges yet and had to make an emergency visit to the lactation consultant to use their pump to get some relief. I’d also say if you plan to pump at all, visit a consultant before birth to get information. I had done all the prep work for breastfeeding and not pumping, so when BF fell apart so soon I was not prepared and it was super stressful.
@nicolecham For sure but an electric pump will work way faster and you won’t have to sit there and manually pump it with your hand the entire time. If it’s free I say just get it anyways cause why not? If you don’t end up using it you can always gift it to somebody
@nicolecham Pumping can be helpful for triggering labor, helping your uterus contract post-birth, and increasing supply if you choose to breastfeed. You might have low supply and be able to switch to formula easily, but you could also have an oversupply and need to pump to avoid mastitis. I think it’s better to have and not use than to need and not have.
@nicolecham To help with the washing aspect, a lot of people just put their pump parts into the fridge when they’re done and wash them only once or twice a day. It helps to have multiple pump sets so you can use one while the other gets washed and dries.
But I’m also someone who hated pumping and I was so happy when I quit and no longer had to wash the parts. I think it’s important to read into things, figure out what you’re comfortable with, and keep in mind that things can always change with little to no way of helping it. You could have an oversupply and have to pump for all you know. It’s good to use your insurance to get a pump if it’s not going to cost you much, especially if it’s hospital grade or a rental. Get it if it’s a good deal, doesn’t matter if you end up using it or not. It’s always good to have backup plans, you have no idea what your journey with this baby will look like.
Edit: Apparently the CDC advises you not to do the fridge hack so maybe don’t do it. It’s up to you.
@kristen777 I think it’s somewhat new advice. But for a new baby definitely something to consider! I know once they’re mobile and mouthing everything possible, it’s less worrisome lol.
@lethimhear CDC still advices not to do it. There’s no evidence it slows growth on pump parts. OP is only breastfeeding for a very young baby and that’s a high risk to take.
As for that baby, the baby was stable and doing well, growing, & no longer relying on any equipment. Him being premature was completely separate and the death was solely linked to the breast pump and not because he was premature or high risk. A full term, healthy baby can still die because of cronobacter. By properly cleaning the breast pump, risks can be avoided. Shoving it in the fridge accepts the risks. Cronobacter is most likely to come from your hands, sink, where you store the equipment… So it’s only right to practice proper hygiene when handling anything related to infant feeding.
So yes, the baby did die because the pump was not being properly taken care of (aka… fridge hack). If it was cleaned, maybe sanitized, and left to dry… well. Talking about a newborn not a 6 month old.
@cc26 I’m not arguing that the CDC doesn’t also say putting pump parts in the fridge is not recommended. They do say that.
But in the case of this baby, the pump parts were not in a refrigerator. It was washed in a sink and used while still moist, which are different risk factors for bacteria. It’s misleading to say a baby died because of the fridge hack when the parents didn’t use the fridge hack.
@lethimhear Other babies have gotten sick from the fridge hack, Just because I mixed a story up (I literally put a “?”) & confused it with another, it is still not justified or any less risky. It’s the same bacteria risk, the point that they should be cleaned properly to avoid this bacteria is the main point I’m making.
@kristen777 I kept my parts in the fridge and washed every few pumps instead of every time. I also bought a second set of things so I was really just washing my parts once a day with all the bottles. Wasn’t bad at all. Pumping wasn’t my favorite but it was also really nice sometimes to have an excuse to go up to my room alone (I’d watch 20 min of an episode while pumping and it was great me time).
@nicolecham See if your insurance covers some wireless options. There are several websites for insurance covered pumps and each one gave me different options and prices so look into them all. If you decide later on you would like to pump, it would be nice if you were already prepared. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. You should also use every benefit your insurance offers, especially if it’s free. If you don’t end up using the pump, sell or donate it.
@nicolecham Yes, try to get one just in case. You never really know what you’re going to need or wish you had - and this is something that you can get for free to be prepared.
For the washing aspect, I highly recommend getting an extra set or two of the flanges and other items that need washing, saved me a lot of emotional load to know that I don’t HAVE to wash this set in the middle of the night just to be able to pump again in the morning.
I don’t think it’s covered by insurance, but Medela also makes a nice hand pump (Harmony) that, while potentially time intensive, is a BIT more human feeling than an electric pump. Also, it should only be like $20, so not a huge investment.
@nicolecham If it’s free, take it just so that you have options in case something doesn’t go the way you hoped it to or if you change your mind later.
You don’t have to ever use it, and can donate it to a pregnancy center or give it away on marketplace. But I would not turn down something free because all of this is so unpredictable that it’s better to have a pump in the corner that you don’t ever use than to be where you suddenly decide you need a pump and don’t have one.
For the record, I’m keeping my pump just in case, but don’t intend to make much (if any!) use of it. Pumping is awful and I hated it! I hate the way it feels, pulling on your boobs, and never sleeping because of washing parts always and constantly pumping and it interferes with actually taking care of the baby ugh. Never want to do that again! lol. I mean seriously. So this is NO pressure from me to pump, I’m all for it if you don’t want to! I just think you should have one in case things don’t go the way you planned and you decide later you needed one after all.
@nicolecham If insurance is covering it I say yes! It’s better to have than to not, esp in those first few days where your hormones are going crazy and you aren’t quite sure which feeding method you will choose. In the end I personally hated pumping but I know if I didn’t have the pump I’d be scrambling at 3am searching online for one
