Exclusive Pumping Doesn’t Have To Be So Hard

Welcome to Exclusively Expressing, your stress-free guide to breastfeeding your baby by the bottle. I am so glad you’re here and I’m excited to support you on your exclusive pumping journey.

Even though it’s often described as the most natural thing in the world, it doesn’t always come very naturally, and many problems can come up. Getting your baby to latch and latch properly is a common pain point for new moms. Your baby might have..

• A poor latch: Your baby might be having a hard time getting a good latch for various reasons, such as a lip or tongue tie, flat or inverted nipples, nipple confusion, or other medical condition that prevents them from latching the right way. A poor latch usually translates to poor transfer, meaning your baby isn’t getting enough milk, which can lead to weight gain issues and low milk supply.
• A painful latch: You might be experiencing a lot of pain if your baby has a poor latch or if he or she has started teething and biting. Not all babies bite, but some do when they start teething. There are ways to prevent your baby from biting, but if you’ve tried and nothing is working, you might be thinking about switching to pumping. Some moms have said this gives them a better bond with their baby because they’re not anxious about getting bit again.
• No latch: Your baby could be refusing to nurse, maybe because of a strong or overactive letdown, not enough skin-to-skin, he or she wasn’t able to nurse soon enough after birth, or he or she was bottle-fed too soon and got used to the instant flow of milk and doesn’t want to have to work for it.

3. Personal preference

You might just have a personal preference towards exclusive pumping. For example,

• You’d like to have more control over your milk supply and to be able to see your output and know exactly how much milk your baby is getting.
• Pumping might be easier for you, especially if you have twins or multiples, or if you have been triple feeding (nurse, pump, bottle-feed).
• Pumping might be better for your mental or emotional health if you find nursing too stressful, or if you have a past experience of abuse and nursing is a trigger for PTSD.

The Biggest Challenges of Exclusive Pumping 

Exclusive pumping can be very overwhelming and draining, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The 3 biggest challenges that you might be facing are..

Caring for a newborn is already time-consuming, with all the feeding, bathing, diaper changing, going to doctor’s appointments, and getting him or her to go to sleep. Then on top of that, you’re adding pumping, washing bottles and pump parts, and trying to just catch a break and maybe even get some sleep yourself. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you have zero time to do anything else.

If raising a child takes a village, then raising a child while exclusively pumping takes a village and a half, and you might be feeling a lack of support. For example,

• In the US, paid paternity leave is either short or nonexistent, so it’s hard to get enough help at home.
• There are still many doctors and even lactation consultants who aren’t well-educated on exclusive pumping, so you might end up having to do your own research.
• Then, when you go to look for answers, a lot of the information out there is incomplete, seems contradictory, or is intended for mothers who are only pumping part time. Or it’s scattered throughout random blog posts, forums, and support groups, so it’s very time-consuming to find what you’re looking for. 

There’s this global hatred towards pumping. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the phrase “sucking the life out of you”. If you’re like most pumping moms, myself included, you’ve probably described pumping as being like a “ball and chain”, like you’re “stuck” or “tethered”. There are so many negative emotions surrounding pumping and a lot of them go much deeper than just being a “prisoner of the robot baby”.

• You might feel a sense of isolation, especially when you’re around moms who are nursing their babies.
• You might feel a sense of guilt, like you quit or gave up too soon.
• You might feel a sense of grief if this is not how you envisioned feeding your baby.
• You might feel a sense of dread whenever it’s time to pump because it’s yet another reminder that you weren’t able to nurse.

Note about postpartum depression: 1 in 8 women suffer from postpartum depression, so it is pretty common. If you’re experiencing any of the signs, please mention it to your doctor. Don’t suffer in silence!

How Exclusively Expressing can help

Despite the many challenges, exclusive pumping can be a very rewarding experience. When I first started pumping, I had tons of questions. I was so overwhelmed and had a hard time finding all the info I needed in one place. I spent countless hours Googling, reading blogs, and searching through forums and support group posts, trying to gain some clarity and find some way to just make this whole process easier. It took an entire month before I finally got to the point where I could envision myself pumping long term. A mother’s time is precious, and I don’t want you to waste as much time as I did.

I want to make it easy to find all the info you need to be successful in reaching your breastfeeding goals. This site was created to help you get rid of the stress, confusion, and hatred surrounding pumping, and to find ways to give you more time, clarity, and peace.

Mother Teresa said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” Exclusive pumping is a true labor of love, and you are doing an amazing job. In the coming blog posts, you’ll find clear, step-by-step plans, tips, and advice to make pumping easier and more joyful, so that you spend less time stressing and more time loving that precious little baby.

Whether you are planning to exclusively pump from the start or if nursing just isn’t working out, but you still want to breastfeed, I hope you find all of the information you need here. I can’t promise you that it will be easy. Nothing about motherhood is. It’s hard work (understatement of the year!). But I can promise you that it will be worth it. What you are doing matters, and any amount of breast milk you give your baby makes a difference. Once you find a routine and a system that works for you and your family, everything becomes a little less complicated and more manageable. You’ll soon become an expert at this, and I’ll be here to support you along the way. 

I’d like to know exactly how I can help you. Leave me a comment below or click on the “Contact” link in the top menu and tell me one thing that you’re struggling with today.