Let me start by saying that in no way is this a post to condem those who are not/able to breastfeed. This is simply for those who are breastfeeding and wanting to build up an extra stash.
I have been blessed throughout Bray’s life to never worry about if I have enough frozen milk stashed away. From the very beginning it has been important to me to have extra milk at all times because I knew I was going back to work part-time, and would need it for while I was gone. Here are some of the things I have done that I truly believe helped me to have a great supply, which lead to the ability to stash away a lot.
- Start pumping early on. I pumped the first time when Bray was only a few days old, simply to help relieve the pressure when my milk came in. By doing this from the get-go, my body realized it needed to produce more.
- Pump at a consistent time. I am not shy about how much of a lover I am of a schedule, in life in general. When it comes to pumping though, I think it is especially important. I pumped at the same times every.single.day, and that way my body knew it needed to produce enough for that to happen. When Bray was about a month, and only waking to eat once in the night, I started to pump right after I fed him his 7am feeding {since he would only be able to eat one side at that time}, and I would pump around 10pm. That 10pm pumping was used for his Dream Feed for awhile, and when that feed didn’t happen anymore, it was just used for freezing.
- Get a good quality, double, electric pump. I have the Medela Pump In Style and I love it. A good pump is not exactly cheap, but they are worth their weight in gold. With this pump I am able to pump out {in the mornings when I can get a ton} 10oz in less than 10 minutes. It is so nice to be able to do both sides at once, not only for saving time, but also to help stimulate your let-down.
- Make sure you are getting enough calories and drinking enough water. I cannot stress those two things enough. I know, I know, as a new mom some of us are worried about losing the baby weight, but you need to make sure you are eating enough to keep your supply up. Eat lots of good fats, avocado, coconut oil, etc. Drink more water than you think possible 🙂
Bray is now 10 months old and I still am pumping before I go to bed each night, around 10pm. I know at this stage I could probably go 12 hours without feeding him, but I still worry about it affecting my supply. Just a few weeks ago I stopped pumping after his morning feeding, and it is so nice having that extra time.
Pumping to build up a stash is not easy. It takes patience and time {and money for all the bags}. But it is so nice not only knowing that I never have to worry about him having my milk or not, but I have also had the huge blessing of being able to help out many friends and family with my milk.
Again, if you are not breastfeeding for any reason, please know this is not to come down on you at all, I just get emails often asking how I built up such a stash and wanted to put personal tips out there. Each of us mommas are doing the best we can, and thats all we can do!
So glad to hear you’ve been able to bless others with that liquid gold! A lot of moms don’t know that it’s totally safe and awesome to donate their breast milk to babies who need it. I am an adoptive mama and have been able to feed my son 100% donated breast milk since he was 1 day old. It takes constant effort to find enough donors to keep up with his little growing appetite but it’s totally worth it! So if you’re a lactating mama who has a stash she’d like to share or you’d like to start pumping just to donate 😉 Eats on Feets is a great way to connect with needy mamas/babies around the Valley- http://www.facebook.com/EatsOnFeetsCentralAZ
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