You are here:

Breastfeeding/how to start pumping

Advertisement

Expert: - 5/9/2006


Question
Hi Sally,

I am due to have my baby in a few weeks and plan to breastfeed, but I want my family to also be able to experience feeding him also, because of the bonding that takes place. My question to you is how and when do I pump milk if I am home breastfeeding him. Do I have to give him formula so that I can pump once a day to establish a supply of milk for bottles? or is there a way to avoid formula.     Thank You

Answer
Dear Tanya,

Congratulations on your soon-to-arrive baby and your intent to give him/her the best start in life by breastfeeding.

I urge you to hold off letting other people give the baby bottles until the course of breastfeeding is well established -- ideally at least six weeks after birth. There are many ways that fathers, grandparents, and other family members can bond with a baby besides feeding him, and the introduction of bottles too early may interfere with the optimal breastfeeding experience. In my  book (see below)I have a chapter just for fathers, which lists the many ways they can take care of their babies. This also applies to other loving people.

Also in the book I have an entire chapter about pumping, storing, and feeding breast milk, and I give suggestions for beginning to pump. It's not a bad idea to have a supplemental supply of your precious breast milk, so you can begin to do this as soon as your milk supply is established. Briefly, here's what I suggest: buy or rent a good-quality pump, pump from one breast while you're nursing from the other, and do it once a day at the beginning at the time when you seem to have the most milk.

Good luck!

Sally

Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters.  

Breastfeeding

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Sally Wendkos Olds

Expertise

What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.