One of the secrets of breastfeeding is the one regarding pumping breast milk. When thinking about breastfeeding there is one rule that you have to keep in mind: the one of demand and supply.
The more milk the baby demands the more milk your body will produce. There are some tips to succeed with pumping.
Relaxing and breast milk pumping
Don’t forget that if you are stressed, it will become more difficult for the body to release the breast milk.
Make sure that you are in a quiet place when you pump. It may be useful to massage the breasts or to use warm compresses. Some women think about their baby or listen to relaxing music.
Pump often
As it has been mentioned before regarding breast pumping, the more often you pump, the more milk you produce.
Make sure that you have a high quality pump and if you are working full time, you should pump for 15 minutes every 3-4 hours. It is best to pump both of the breasts in the same time.
The advantage of this kind of pumping breast milk is that you can save some time and your body will produce even more prolactin, the hormone that is responsible for the milk production. In order to be able to do so you really need to be relaxed and not to be stressed about time.
Feeding on demand
When it comes to breast milk pumping, it is good to know that the more often you feed the baby when you are together, the more milk you will have when you are pumping.
It may be best to try to feed the baby more often during the morning, the evening and during the weekends.
Another thing to know regarding breast pumping is that if you pump right after feeding the baby you can increase the milk supply. In this case it is possible that there will be no milk, even if you pump. You shouldn’t be worried about this, the activities that you do will still be effective.
Formula feedings
If you are thinking about pumping breast milk, you should know that if you introduce the formula, the need of the baby for milk will decrease and so you will have a smaller milk production. To upkeep the supply, you should pump every time you feed the baby with formula.
You can go on with breast milk pumping even when the baby already has some formula as well, because this will maintain the milk production. Another good idea that you may use is to pump even between the feedings or when you’re not with the baby and freeze it for later use.
Stay well hydrated
Regarding breast pumping it is important to stay hydrated and for this you should have water, milk or juice. The intake of soda, caffeinated beverages and coffee should be limited as much as possible.
Now you know all about pumping breast milk and you know what to do to make the best of it.
