Breastfeeding & Pumping | My Journey and Essentials

Ya’ll. Pumping and breastfeeding are no joke. In those first two weeks of Baby J’s life, I feel like I was just a feeding pumping machine. I have nothing against breastfeeding, but pumping… not my jam. If you’re here just to see what products made my breastfeeding/pumping journey easier, skip on down. If not, buckle up for the brief version of my journey.

In the hospital, Baby J had no issues latching. Four days after her birth, my milk came in full. The morning of day five, I was engorged and my breasts were rock. hard. My baby girl could no longer latch with her tiny mouth and my unmalleable areolas. I panicked, I cried, Baby J screamed, and I called the after-hours nurse who called me back to say, “You have to feed the baby.” AS IF I WAS PLANNING TO STARVE HER. “Yes, but how?!” I asked through stuttered inhalations. She told me to pump and feed her with a syringe (which I had received from the lactation consultant just in case).

I cried even more. I wasn’t expecting to use my pump until I had returned to work and I was panicked at having to do it on the fly with a screaming babe. Thankfully, my family was there to help me through. I gave my pump to my husband who has more patience with reading directions than I do. He learned how it all worked and how to put it together, my mother-in-law cleaned the parts, my mom sanitized them while trying to console me, and my dad rocked the baby. After finally getting milk out, failing at the syringe, finally finding a small nipple among our bottle options, and Googling how to keep a newborn from choking on milk from a bottle, Baby J was fed.

Then I headed down the painstaking journey of attempting to offer my baby the breast (with a nipple shield), giving her a bottle when she inevitably couldn’t latch or couldn’t stay awake long enough for the letdown, and then pumping in place of her feeding. Every. two. hours. I was a slave to the pump. I told friends that I liken it to sleeping with your ex — giving your body to something and feeling queasy about it afterward. Hey, just being honest. The only thing that kept me going was that sweet, sweet face and knowing that I was doing it for her.

Flash forward a month and a half — Baby J was taking the breast much more often with the assistance of a nipple shield but was growing frustrated when it kept folding into her face. I called an LC who said to try quitting the nipple shield cold turkey, and it worked. Sweet, sweet relief! My baby, just as they said she would, was finally big enough to latch and alert enough to work for the letdown. HALLELUJAH! I was no longer a slave to my breast pump. Flash forward another month and a half when I had to go back to the office. I would pump twice at work and once during the middle of the night when she sleeps through the night and doesn’t wake to feed. Baby J is around five months now, and I’ve stopped pumping in the middle of the night. I just use my Haakaa in the morning to catch that extra milk.

I hope your breastfeeding journey is smoother than mine, but if it’s not, just know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s what got me (and continues to get me) through my journey:

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

I needed SO much emotional support during my journey, especially in the beginning and sometimes still today (a little over three months in). My cousin, my sister-in-law, the Facebook breastfeeding group, my mama friends, my parents, my husband, my pediatrician, the LCs at my local breastfeeding center… the list goes on. Find people who can support you in this journey and don’t be afraid to reach out to them. To all of you who helped me through this THANK YOU x infinity!

I hope that I can offer someone else the same support someday because it’s important to know you’re not alone, everything you’re experiencing is likely normal, and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

PUMPS

My main pump is the Medela Pump In Style with Max Flow. It’s a closed system, which makes it so much easier to clean than some other pumps. With all of my pumping, I quickly became an overproducer, so I didn’t have any issues pumping. But even after Baby J moved back to the breast, I still felt like this pump did a pretty great job of expressing my milk. Do yourself a favor and go ahead and purchase extra bottles, an extra set of Flex Connectors, and a rechargeable battery pack — game changer.
I also have the Medela Harmony hand pump for when Baby J only eats from one breast and I just need a quick pump on the go for the other side. Pumping that thing is sometimes the only workout I can swing in a day, so there’s a tiny win.
And, because I’m all about convenience, I recently purchased the iAPOY Hands-Free Electric Breast Pumps. They were a budget-friendly recommendation from Healthline and are easy to pop into my nursing bra or nursing tank. But heed the reviews and take care to make sure the lip doesn’t catch when you pull it out. I spilled milk allll over myself just the other day.

BRAS, TANKS & HANDS-FREE PUMPING ACCESSORIES

After my milk came in, I went from an easy-to-shop-for bra size to a where-the-hell-do-I-buy-bras size. That being said, I definitely recommend getting some nursing tanks before the baby is born, but highly recommend waiting to get your nursing bras until after your milk comes in and you know what size your boobs will actually be. These all came in clutch for me:

BRAVADO Buttercup Nursing Bra — I got one of these in black and one in nude and they fit the best. No underwire to press on your ducts, but enough support that my boobs aren’t sagging to my waist. Sadly, I think they’re discontinuing this particular bra, so I’ll have to try one of their others with my next pregnancy.
The Cake Maternity Cotton Candy Wirefree Nursing Bra is great for sleeping/lounging (it’s so comfy) when you still need some support (though, it doesn’t offer a ton).
The Morrow + Mint Lace Clip & Pump Nursing Bra is GOLD for pumping at work with the Medela pump. No need to add an insert or change your bra. It comes in larger sizes for us bustier gals and has great support! It’s not great with the iAPOY, though.
I made the mistake of not purchasing a single nursing or pumping item until after my baby girl was born — you know when there’s zero time to research anything and you haven’t had enough sleep to comprehend what you’re looking at anyway. Thankfully, my sister-in-law had the Touch Loom Nursing Tanks sent to my house and they’re fantastic. They’re comfortable and are structured enough to provide support, so I can wear them out under a cardigan without feeling sloppy or needing to put on another bra.
The DAISITY Nursing Tanks have been great for lounging around the house (they offer no cups or support, so I wasn’t comfortable wearing them out and about). I spent the first two weeks on my couch in either one of these tank tops or half-naked. Everything feels like an obstacle when you’ve had no sleep and you have to go through the cycle I did (see above) every two hours.
For hands-free pumping at home, the Medela Easy Expression Hands-Free Pumping Bra was super easy to use because I was already half-naked in a robe. However, for work, the BRAVADO Women’s Hands-Free Clip and Pump Strapless Pumping Accessory has been more convenient because you can use it with any nursing bra or nursing tank without having to strip down. Again, both of these are better with the Medela pump and not great for the iAPOY since it’s a wearable pump.

BOTTLES

We tried the Dr. Brown’s, the Tommee Tippee, and the Boon Nursh bottles, but Baby J only seemed to do well with the Philips Avent Natural Baby Bottle. Thankfully, we were gifted two sets that already came with the 0m+ nipples! We still had to practice the paced bottle feeding method in the beginning with these though. In my research, I saw that Philips makes a first flow nipple that would supposedly be slower, but I also read that there isn’t actually much difference.

NIPPLE CARE

All you need is coconut oil. Like, from the grocery store. I tried the Medela and Lansinoh nipple creams and the Earth Mama nipple butter (which was the best of them all), but coconut oil is what healed my cracked and bleeding nipples when Baby J and I were on the latch struggle bus. Baby girl’s pediatrician actually recommended it because it absorbs quicker, heals faster, and doesn’t have to be removed before breastfeeding. Once my nipples were all healed up, I never had to use anything again (well, so far).

ENGORGEMENT RELIEF

For engorged breasts, it’s recommended that you use heat and massage prior to feeding/pumping, use a massager during feeding or pumping, and then ice after. It was recommended to me to lie on my back and massage the breast back toward the armpit to help clear clogged ducts.

For heat, I used Core Products Hot & Cold Packs (because we already had them for muscle relief). A few minutes in the microwave and they were quite toasty.
For massage, I just used a freebie handheld massager we got from who knows where. Here’s a similar one.
For ice, I used Lansinoh’s TheraPearl Breast Therapy Packs. They’re basically ice packs for your boobs, but they come in a perfect donut shape.
The Facebook breastfeeding group I’m in kept mentioning sunflower lecithin to thin the milk and help keep my ducts from clogging. The LC said it was safe for baby and doesn’t reduce any nutrients in the breastmilk, so I started taking the Legendairy Milk® Sunflower Lecithin based on the KellyMom method schedule. I did that until Baby J was around 4 months, and then my breasts were fine. Some people use it through their entire breastfeeding journey, and that’s okay too!

NURSING TOPS & DRESSES

I purchased all of these in my pre-pregnancy size.

Do you have any products that made your breastfeeding or pumping journey easier? I’d love to hear about them!