Operation Breast Pump

Tonight was the first time I pumped breast milk since Jude has been born.

I attempted the whole pumping thing with Noah when he was only a couple months old. I used this lame, hand held pump that took F O R E V E R to get a piddly amount of milk. Not to mention the hand cramping! So I gave up on that and I think only pumped one other time when Noah was about 4 months old.

But there are so many things coming up for which I need to pump - namely my sister's wedding. I am the maid of honour and while I do hope to get in at least 2 morning feedings and hopefully one other one, I know that my main duty is to my sister that day and that we'll be taking pictures and bridesmaid dresses are not typically known for being breastfeeding friendly. And that's okay. But I do need to pump so that I don't inconvenience others and so Jude can be fed by someone else.

SO.

Operation Breast Pump.

So I borrowed a friend's electric breast pump (Thanks, Katt!) and it was okay. I didn't take long for me to figure it out and while it did take longer to get the milk out, there is no breast pump that is going to be as efficient as a baby.

But the thing is I have no idea how much milk Jude takes in each feeding. He only feeds from one side per feed and he's not a long feeder. Like, usually 5 minutes is the average time. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a bit more.

So I got about 4 oz and pumped for 20 minutes. We'll see. I think the whole pumping thing is a bit annoying because it's totally going to mess with my supply, but we'll see how it all goes and it'll be interesting to see Jude with a bottle since he's never had one at all! I don't imagine he'll have a hard time with it.

So my plan is to pump once a day and try out a bottle by the end of the week with Jude. Then if he takes it okay, I'll keep pumping and start storing up milk.

Now to research how much a 6-7 month old baby takes per feeding!