Journey of an Exclusively Pumping Mom and how you can do it too!

My nursing journey by exclusively pumping milk bottles for my little one. The early struggles we had with nursing and how I decided to only pump breastmilk for her. Also my favorite nursing products and trick and tips that help me successfully pump for over a year.

I started this post while still nursing and after enough courage I am finally posting this a year later 🙂 Hopefully this helps a new mama who may be going through the same struggles as me.

“Are you breastfeeding?”

As a new mom the one question I hate to answer was “Are you breastfeeding?”. I always stumble saying “yes, I mean no, well kinda but with a bottle”. Although I can find comfort when I meet another new mom and I say I am a EPing she immediately understands my situation. The truth is I was a nursing mama but not in the traditional way. Whenever I had to answer that question I immediately feel the need to explain or defend my decision to exclusively pump milk for my child. I can’t be considered a breastfeeding mom or formula feeding mom. Pumping mamas are somewhere in the middle and usually isn’t one of the traditional methods. It certainly can make someone feel lonely, make you think you are crazy and doubt your decision. Some people think EPers (exclusive pumpers) are insane for choosing this route for feeding their baby. So yes in the thick of the newborn fog I decided to take this on this as our feeding routine. The good the bad and the ugly. I feel you mamas who decide this is the best for you and your babe. I feel your labor of love 🙂

How I started exclusively pumping

Here I am over a year later from when I originally started this post. I NEVER thought or intended to be an EPer. I’ve wanted to get my story out there for awhile but have held back until I could see light at the end of the tunnel of my feeding journey for my new babe. With my 1st daughter I was able to nurse but had to intially supplment due to low weight gain. I was fine with it, I accepted that this was best for her. I throughly enjoyed the bonding time while we nursed but I still had to supplement when I went back to work.

3 years later we welcomed our sweet little 2nd daughter. She came 2 weeks early and was a peanut. After numerous appointments with lactation nurses and numerous weighted feeds we continued the course of nurse with a shield, pump and then bottle feed to top her off. Then I hit a wall I just couldn’t take it any longer. Feedings took over an hour. When you have 2-3 hour window between feedings this just wasn’t working, oh and then there was a 3 year old running around that also needed my attention. She struggled with nursing and it broke my heart to see her cry and wiggle trying to find what she wanted. We tired this for a couple of weeks but I knew we had to change our course. She would cry and I would cry in frustration. Something had to give. I knew I wanted to give her some breastmilk, like I did with her sister. Eventually we moved into exclusive pumping as our feeding method.

I can do this!

Months later, here I am on the other side with my full on toddler and the pump is packed away! I have no idea how I did it but 13 months of EPing is now done! I would’ve never made it that far without setting small attainable goals. The only way I knew I could make it work was to set small goals, “ok lets try this for 1 more week”, then it turned into one more month and then eventually let’s make it to one year.

Our days revolved around set time schedules and routines. Pump, feed, play, and then sleep (repeat over and over). Luckily my little one took the bottle easily so it was so nice to have my husband and other family members actually feed her. It gave them good bonding time as well. Once we were out of the newborn fog and I was going back to the office life got busy and my trusty pump came with me everywhere. I pumped while driving around town, in car rides to the beach/mountains, numerous airport mother rooms, baseball stadiums, Nordstrom dressing rooms, weddings, festivals. Pretty much anywhere. 🙂 At work I was able to squeeze in 2-3 sessions a day. I was extremely lucky that my employer provided a private room with a sink and refrigerator. I would bring in a bag with all my parts and a cooler to bring home all the filled bottles.

It wasn’t easy. The beginning I pumped every 3 hours…day and night. Then we got into a good schedule which revolved around wake and nap times and extra pump times after the baby went to bed. Eventually I had a good freezer stash that would help with nights away from our little one. I was so proud of myself for that stash!

You CAN do this!

If nursing just isn’t working out or your thing I encourage you to look at other options. The world is changing and becoming more accommodating for new moms. New and improved products are being offered to help and ease the obstabcles of feeding. Amazon prime is amazing for all those pump replacement pieces, extra canisters, storage bags etc! But ultimately however you choose to feed fed you baby is up to you. Fed is best 🙂 and for those EPing mamas… you got this! Keep up the great job, I see all those early and late hours you put in attached to the pump/bottling/cleaning parts/defrosting bottles/packing up coolers and bags/counting oz.

Exclusively Pumping Resources

Here are some of my favorite resources for making it over a year of EPing.. Feel free to reach out to me if you have an personal questions. I am more than happy to help you in your EP journey.

• KellyMom an informative website dedicated to nursing moms
• Join a FB group! this got me through the beginning when I didn’t have anyone personally I knew who went through the same thing. Type Exclusively Pumping in the group search bar and see all the other amazing mamas going through the same thing.
• Amazon for all Spectra replacement parts (you will need to replace every 3 months or so to get strong pumps and the most milk). Also for canisters, coolers, ice packs, car adapters, and bottle/pump cleaning supplies.
• Target for storage bags! Their Up and Up brand is amazing. Only had a few leaks and that was due to freezing to much milk. They ship to you! I highly recommend the freezer storage system as well.
• Research what bottles can fit directly onto your pump flanges. One less thing to clean. FYI Avent Bottles ARE compatible with the Spectra pump :). There may be more. Thats personally what we used.