Here are some tips on how to pump breast milk. There are different ways available to women in order to pump their breasts and storing the milk obtained. These methods include hand and pump expressing.

Hand expressing breast milk should be done only is a bottle is needed infrequently. This milk is collected by massaging the breast and collecting the milk as it falls into the cup. To hand express, place your hands in a C-shape cupping the breast with the thumb above the areola and the first two fingers a couple of inches below the nipple. Push your hand toward your chest, roll your fingers forward toward the nipple and a few drops of liquid should be expelled. The fingers and thumb should be rotated to milk other reserves, with both hands being used on each breast. Do not squeeze or slide the hands over the breast. Avoid pulling on the nipple of the breast also.

The baby should be at least the age of three weeks old before initiating pumping periods for milk storage. Waiting until this time will encourage the establishment of adequate milk supply produced in the breasts. Pumping should not result in any pain. If it is a doctor should be consulted.

Pumping your breast less than five times a week requires a manual pump that should meet your needs. High- quality electric pumps also are available for women who choose to pump many times per day. Electric pumps also significantly reduce pumping time. Many electric pumps allow for both breasts can also be pumped at the same time to reduce pumping session. Read the rest of this entry »

While life does sometimes becomes a juggling act, most of us have learned how to keep all the balls in the air. For a new mother with a job outside the home, however, the simple desire to continue breastfeeding her baby may seem impossible.

Don’t give up!

It’s a well known fact that breast feeding has significant benefits to both mother and baby. I have written several previous articles addressing these benefits. Just last week I wrote about how 60% of the 4 million pregnant women in America are currently employed and that the majority of these new mothers will want to return to the workforce soon after delivery. This should not be a deterrent for promoting optimal infant health and therefore, it becomes extremely important for women to be encouraged to continue to breast-feed their newborns in a convenient way while still carrying on their daily work lives. Since women are not available for demand feeding, it is vital they know how to use a breast pump and how to store milk so that another caregiver can provide milk for the newborn. The blog this week will deal with the proper way to store breast milk.

What is the length of time that I can store milk? Read the rest of this entry »

It’s common knowledge that “breast milk is best” and so many women try their hardest to breastfeed or at least provide breast milk for their babies. No breast pump is as good as a baby’s suckle when it comes to stimulating and evoking the production of milk, so it is an uphill battle if the baby or mother is unable to breastfeed directly. Even so, there are many women choosing to exclusively pump their breast milk. I am one of those women, and have pumped for my two children after breastfeeding failed.

When my first was born, I was prompted by the NICU nurses to pump every 2-3 hours; when my milk came in, I had more milk than I knew what to do with. After that, I got lazy and decided to pump every 4 hours. Inevitably, my milk supply decreased. It decreased even more when I became pregnant with my second (5 months after the first was born!); when the second was born and he failed to latch on to my inverted nipples, I turned to pumping. My supply went up and down, and after figuring out how to keep my breast milk supply up without killing myself over it, I can provide all the milk my growing baby needs (and he’s a big, growing baby at that!).

To Make Milk, You Need Liquid

Increasing your liquid intake will increase the amount of milk you produce, so drink up on a lot of water! Your liquid of choice doesn’t necessarily have to be water, but it’s the healthiest liquid there is. If you’re like me and don’t like to drink water unless it’s flavored or super cold, you can add sliced cucumbers, frozen or crushed fresh berries, herbs like mint or parsley, or even just a bit of fruit juice to make the water a little more interesting. Read the rest of this entry »