Pumping Tips

In most cases, we recommend exclusively breastfeeding for the first 3-4 weeks to allow your body to build up your milk supply. After that, you can start pumping once a day in the morning before your baby wakes up or within an hour of feeding your baby their first morning feed, so you can start storing milk in the freezer.

This is also the time that you should begin introducing a bottle to your baby to get them familiar with how a bottle works. We recommend avoiding using a pacifier or artificial nipples until breastfeeding is well established.

While each infant is different, breast-fed babies do not need to drink more than 1-1.5 ounces per hour from the bottle once up to full feeds.

Here is a general guide on the amount of milk per day by weight that your baby could eat:

Best Practices

Here are some tips and tricks for pumping but remember our certified lactation consultants are always here to help answer your questions and give guidance if needed.

• Start the suction on low each time you pump and gradually increase the suction over the first 2-3 minutes to the maximum setting that is comfortable for you.

• Each pump is preset to the strength of an infant's suck, but if you find it too strong and it begins to pinch, stop increasing the suction. Too much suction can collapse your milk ducts and result in poor milk emptying.

• Do a 10–15-minute session or watch for 2-3 let-down reflexes (when the milk is flowing faster, then it slows down again)

• Pump for 2-3 minutes after the last drops of milk.

• If you are pressed for time, short frequent sessions are better than just one long one.

Another key area for successful pumping is to ensure the pump kit you are using fits you. To tell if it is right for you, look for these items:

• The nipple should move in and out with each suction cycle.

• There should be no white ring around the nipple and your breasts should empty completely.

• If it hurts or you are not getting milk, it is probably too small, and you need larger flanges.

• There are no pockets of hardness in your breast.

• None of your areola is pulled into the nipple tunnel.

• Your nipple is not sore or cracked and there is no pressure ring or blanched skin around your nipple.

Storing Breastmilk

When storing breastmilk, just remember '5'. Breastmilk can be stored at room temperature for 5 hours, in the refrigerator for 5 days, and in the freezer for 5 months. Once you have thawed frozen breastmilk, it is only good for 24 hours.

You can choose to store your breastmilk in the bottle you pumped it into with a tightly fit lid or you can use plastic milk bags. It is a good idea to keep milk in small quantities at first until you have a better idea of how much your baby will eat at one time.

After feeding your baby a bottle, left over milk in the bottle must be discarded if not consumed. Also, make sure to choose bottles that are not made of polycarbonate due to BPA contamination concerns about breastmilk stored and heated in them.

While at Work

We fully understand that returning to work after maternity leave can be stressful and emotional for you, but we are here to empower you with advice!

The first step to successfully returning to work is to choose someone you trust to care for your baby. Secondly, purchase the best breast pump you can afford as it will be worth it. Or you can choose to rent a breast pump. We also recommend choosing one that you can pump both sides as the same time.

Talk to your employer about a private, clean place that you can sue your pump. Some employers have a designated room. Before starting work, you may want to do a practice run to ensure you know how long it takes to travel to the designated room, locate where you can store your breastmilk, and how long it takes to use your breast pump.

Lastly, you may want to consider stockpiling some milk before you return to work to use as a back-up. About 2 weeks' worth of milk in your freezer will give you confidence that you have breastmilk to fall back on if you are not able to pump quite enough as you get adjusted to your new routine. To help you get in your new routine, plan to pump the same number of times that your baby will feed while you are away. Try to keep your pumping sessions routine each day and avoid skipping or postponing as doing this could affect your milk supply. Make it a priority to at least pump 2-3 times per workday, even if that means doing it during your commute!