Exclusive Pumpers: Never Give Up! Never Surrender!

Breastfeeding can be hard. Exclusively pumping can be hard. I get it. But try...just try. I am sure that you wouldn't be reading the blog if you weren't planning on trying or did and you get high fives!
I pumped for 13 months and I will say that I am extremely proud of myself. I breastfed for the first month but we were just having issues latching on and I was pumping at the same time to get my supply going and pumping just kind of took over. It was also nice so then my husband could feed her, which he loved.
These are some of the tips or advice that seemed to help me get the best out of my pumping. These may not work for you since every boobie is different. 

1. Make sure you have the right size flange. 
This is a huge one that will DESTROY your pumping experience and I am convinced this causes a lot of moms to stop. I used the flanges that came with my pump and they ended up being too small....YEEOOOUCCH! They don't cost a lot of money and I bought mine on Amazon, but try to get another size up. You can google breast pump flanges and see how they are supposed to fit properly.

2. Pump Often.  
Your fun bags are actually extremely smart, which seems a bit oxymoronic. They know that if you breastfeed or pump a lot, that they need to start producing more. If you start breastfeeding first like I did, you should always try to pump afterwards to make sure that all of the milk is out. Your jubblies will only product what they emptied so if you don't empty them, they won't produce as much the next time. The instructions even say in the pump to continue to pump after the last drop for about 5 minutes and I think that is why I ended up producing so much and ultimately allowed me to get away with only having to pump 3-4 times a day. I started out pumping at least 6-7 times a day until about 10 weeks and then slowly started to do fewer pumps but longer sessions to readjust the jugs to my upcoming work environment. 

3. Take supplements if you have to.  
There is no shame in taking herbs or making lactation cookies to help your supply. I got sick at about 9 months and had to take a Z-pack. Even though the doctor said it wouldn't affect my supply, it definitely did. I went down about 6-7 ounces each day, which is a lot if you don't have a huge stash in the freezer. Fenugreek is extremely helpful as well as these supplements that have a little bit of everything. Mother's Love Supplements have lots of different herbs that definitely helped to maintain my current supply and not let it dwindle. I ultimately did add another session to my day. Lactation cookies work great as long as the recipe has the 3 main ingredients: oats, brewers yeast, and flax. Unfortunately the recipe that I originally followed had like a cup of ground flax. My stomach churned the rest of the day anytime I ate those, but they did certainly work. That is the only reason why I am not posting a recipe. Just search Google and you will find a lot. 

4. Replace the white membranes often.  
These are the little white flaps that...well flap...inside the bottle to drop the milk in. If they get washed to hard or generally worn out they don't provide a proper seal and decrease the amount of suction necessary. These little effers are dirt cheap and you can buy a large amount of them to have in your bag for when you need them. 

5. Wash your pieces carefully. 
I'll be honest, I hated washing my breast pump pieces. Breast milk is very oily and sticks to everything and you always need to devote a good amount of attention to give them a deep cleaning. I did find that the little brush that comes with the Dr. Brown bottles is EXTREMELY handy when cleaning the main part. It just fits perfectly and bends around in the little crevices. 
The one piece of advice that I found saves you so much headache....DON'T WASH THE TUBING! For crying out loud....no milk comes in contact with the tubing and when you put water within the tubing, it is near impossible to get all the water out and therefore it can get into the motor and mold. Yes..mold. It even says in the manuals that washing the tubing is not necessary. If you were researching pumps like me, and lots of reviews say they hated the pump, because water got in there and it molded, it is their own damn fault. They are the dumb reviewers that put I hate this product because the person shipping it didn't wrap it nice enough.....what? 

Some perks to pumping?
- Most to all insurances cover really nice pump for free
- You legally get breaks at work to pump. Some mothers complain that their workplace is not very nice about them pumping or they make it difficult. It is your right so stand up for yourself. If they make you feel ashamed, don't. It is their own damn insecurities and they should be ashamed themselves. 
- It's free! Woop Woop!
- For an introvert like myself...it's your "Get out of Jail Free" card to not have to socialize or leave places early. 

What were some tips that got you through pumping or what are some perks of pumping for you?

Breastfeeding and Colds can Bite me!

I am sure most of you have had a cold before. In fact I have one right now, which is what spurs this post. And I am sure most of you have not been concerned because you knew you could take all those lovelies medicines for congestion etc. 
Well if you plan to breastfeed or are breastfeeding, be prepared for you to feel like your head will explode. 
When you are breastfeeding, there are certain things you can't take that could affect your milk supply. I know that after spending 12 weeks getting my supply established I sure as hell wasn't going to let that go down because my nose is a bit stuffy. 
Like I said before, I am currently sick. My husband was sick for 2 weeks and now it has passed on to me. My daughter has not gotten sick and I would like to think that is because of my breast milk. I have the headaches, sore throat, coughing, and nose so congested that standing in a shower for an hour doesn't loosen it up. All I want to do it take some sudafed. But I can't! And you can't either! Here are some DO's and DON'Ts of breastfeeding while being sick. 

DON'T take Sudafed or anything with pseudoephedrine in it. Basically don't take anything that has a nasal decongestant in it no matter what it is called. The idea behind a decongestant is that it dries up your sinuses, but a decongestant isn't picky and it dries up everything else in your body, including your milk. I have read that you can re-establish your supply afterwards but that is not a risk I am willing to take. 
DO try using a Neti-Pot instead. They have these all over the place now, but I remember the first time I saw

these they looked absolutely ridiculous. This GIF makes me giggle.  Make sure to follow the instructions correctly and when it says to not blow your nose afterwards for quite a while, for god sakes don't blow your nose. It will make you feel ten times worse. Now you can't use one of these if your nose is completely blocked but a dinner of spicy food or hot shower might loosen it up enough to use it. I use it randomly for my allergies and I really do think it helps out. 
DO drink Mother's Milk tea or any tea with Fenugreek in it. Fenugreek can help with colds and congestion and it can also help with your milk supply at the same time. The only down side is that it can give you wee-one some gas. Drinking tea in general is good with honey. The honey soothes the throat. 
DON'T take too much zinc. The Food and Nutrition Board recommends no more than 13mgs of zinc daily for nursing mothers. 
DO research any medicine you are going to take before taking it. Check out Kellymom.com for more information on this. 
DO stick with it. I know you don't feel good and I know you just want to lay in bed. But if you don't pump or nurse your supply might decrease, which would lead to your child possibly needing formula and not getting the antigens that keep your babies immunity up.

What are some ways that you do deal with being sick while breastfeeding?