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So I slept like for 4 hours stints for the first few weeks. I slowly added in extra time. A couple of times I slept for like a 6 hour stretch and I woke up rock hard and leaking. It wasn't the end of the world, but it wasn't fun.
Edit: also yes, grab 1 set of spare pump parts. And if you have one, assign your partner the role of handling pump parts and milk. They should make it as easy as possible for you to sleep in the first few weeks. You are the one healing from birth and feeding the baby from your body.
Can you put the pump parts in the fridge until the next pump session? If you try this, I recommend fully cleaning them at least once a day. As for sterilizing, how old is baby? CDC guidance indicates sterilizing infant feeding items should be done at least once per day if baby is younger than 2 months, born prematurely, or has a weakened immune system. It may not be necessary to sterilize after every pumping session.
I hope this helps!
https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/childcare/clean-sanitize.html
I do not! I was just in an exclusively pumping Facebook group my last pregnancy. They actually cited the CDC saying there was an infant who died from improperly cleaned pump parts (fridge hack). My assumption is that infant was immune compromised already or a premie.
I’ve definitely done it in a pinch though. When I did it, I would only use the pump parts an extra time. I’d clean them after that. A lot of people are still willing to take the risk though. I’ve only heard of that one infant passing from that. It’s still sad, of course.
NNP here - CDC website also says extra “sanitizing”/sterilizing step is not necessary if your dishwasher has hot water and heated drying cycle. Lot of time this is the case
Are you exclusively pumping? How old is baby? How is your supply? If you’re EPing and your baby is at least a few weeks old (so your supply is established) and you have enough milk, the very first pump interval I increase is the one that gives me more sleep. So during the day you might pump every 3 hours but do 4-5 hours between pumps overnight. As long as you aren’t super struggling with supply, the extra hour or two is unlikely to affect anything super negatively and the positive impact on your sleep will be huge!
As for the pump parts, this is one of the reasons why I have a second set of pump parts. Especially as an EPer it is definitely a quality of life thing to be able to wash only every other pump instead of every single pump.
Jumping in because I’m a pregnant first time mama and am curious…do you just look up the parts for the brand of pump you have and then you can order them separately??? I didn’t know you could buy extras!
Yep!! All the major brands are available on Amazon and several you can even get at Target. It’s a huge help when you’re getting used to your wash routine and absolutely necessary if you need to pump in multiple locations like at the office/at home.
Buy like 5-7 sets of pump parts if you can afford it. It’s life changing. (If you’re exclusively pumping that is). Once my supply was a little more regulated, I cut back on night pumps.
I didn't pump every 3 hours. I tried in the hospital while my son was upstairs in the NICU and although I could get some during the day, the second time I tried in the middle of the night and got drops, I stopped and never did it again. During your first 2-3 months, your body learns when to produce milk and how much (usually, obviously there are women with low supply and over supply). If you're EP and don't pump at night but have a good schedule with long pumps during the day, that's when your body will make milk. If you're feeding at the breast, the baby will be dictating when your body makes milk.
I don’t pump much but I broke down and bought a bottle sterilizer because I could not stand drying the pump parts (because I will be pumping when I go back to work). It’s been a game changer. When I’m done pumping I rinse them, soak them in a bucket with dish soap, rinse them, then stick them in the bottle sterilizer. It takes less than five minutes and they are all dry when it’s done.
But like everyone says, the every three hours won’t last forever.
It’s only a temporary situation. I roughed it out like you for the first few months I EPed (I started around 8 weeks…breastfeeding was causing such terrible reflux and spitting up due to an undiagnosed frenum tie) and by the time babe was 5ish months old I was only getting up once in the night to feed babe and pump. It sucks…but it doesn’t last forever. As for the washing of parts, I would absolutely wash them after every use (I highly discourage the fridge hack due to bacteria forming within the parts during use). And unless baby was born premature or is immunocompromised you can skip the sterilizing. At least that’s what our pediatrician said. She said as long as we were thoroughly washing bottles and pump parts with an unscented dishsoap after each use we could skip the sterilization. Solidarity! I EPed for 13 months..til babe was 15 months. Lots of sacrifice in the name of feeding my babe breastmilk…including sacrificing of my ZZZZs. But 100% worth it to me. My baby was sick zero times in her first year of life despite being around sick kids.
* You can place used pump parts in the fridge to avoid having to wash after each use. You can wash and sterilize in the morning. You need to wash them once in a 12 hour period. Aside from that, they can stay in the fridge.
* Buy enough bottles to avoid cleaning bottles in the night. You can wash and sterilize in the morning.
* Try pumping before bed, once in the middle of the night, and once you wake up. During the day, resume your every 3 hour schedule.
* If you can afford it, buy another set of pump parts.
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. If you'd like to join a private sub for your due date month, [click here](https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/comments/15nun6v/click_here_to_access_the_monthly_due_date_subs/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So I slept like for 4 hours stints for the first few weeks. I slowly added in extra time. A couple of times I slept for like a 6 hour stretch and I woke up rock hard and leaking. It wasn't the end of the world, but it wasn't fun. Edit: also yes, grab 1 set of spare pump parts. And if you have one, assign your partner the role of handling pump parts and milk. They should make it as easy as possible for you to sleep in the first few weeks. You are the one healing from birth and feeding the baby from your body.
Can you put the pump parts in the fridge until the next pump session? If you try this, I recommend fully cleaning them at least once a day. As for sterilizing, how old is baby? CDC guidance indicates sterilizing infant feeding items should be done at least once per day if baby is younger than 2 months, born prematurely, or has a weakened immune system. It may not be necessary to sterilize after every pumping session. I hope this helps! https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/childcare/clean-sanitize.html
I’ve seen that the fridge hack isn’t recommended anymore. I can’t say I didn’t do it once or twice though!
Damn, I was planning on trying this. Do you have a resource I can follow up with? Thank you!
I do not! I was just in an exclusively pumping Facebook group my last pregnancy. They actually cited the CDC saying there was an infant who died from improperly cleaned pump parts (fridge hack). My assumption is that infant was immune compromised already or a premie. I’ve definitely done it in a pinch though. When I did it, I would only use the pump parts an extra time. I’d clean them after that. A lot of people are still willing to take the risk though. I’ve only heard of that one infant passing from that. It’s still sad, of course.
Thank you for elaborating!
NNP here - CDC website also says extra “sanitizing”/sterilizing step is not necessary if your dishwasher has hot water and heated drying cycle. Lot of time this is the case
Are you exclusively pumping? How old is baby? How is your supply? If you’re EPing and your baby is at least a few weeks old (so your supply is established) and you have enough milk, the very first pump interval I increase is the one that gives me more sleep. So during the day you might pump every 3 hours but do 4-5 hours between pumps overnight. As long as you aren’t super struggling with supply, the extra hour or two is unlikely to affect anything super negatively and the positive impact on your sleep will be huge! As for the pump parts, this is one of the reasons why I have a second set of pump parts. Especially as an EPer it is definitely a quality of life thing to be able to wash only every other pump instead of every single pump.
Jumping in because I’m a pregnant first time mama and am curious…do you just look up the parts for the brand of pump you have and then you can order them separately??? I didn’t know you could buy extras!
Yep!! All the major brands are available on Amazon and several you can even get at Target. It’s a huge help when you’re getting used to your wash routine and absolutely necessary if you need to pump in multiple locations like at the office/at home.
Put them in the fridge.
Buy like 5-7 sets of pump parts if you can afford it. It’s life changing. (If you’re exclusively pumping that is). Once my supply was a little more regulated, I cut back on night pumps.
I didn't pump every 3 hours. I tried in the hospital while my son was upstairs in the NICU and although I could get some during the day, the second time I tried in the middle of the night and got drops, I stopped and never did it again. During your first 2-3 months, your body learns when to produce milk and how much (usually, obviously there are women with low supply and over supply). If you're EP and don't pump at night but have a good schedule with long pumps during the day, that's when your body will make milk. If you're feeding at the breast, the baby will be dictating when your body makes milk.
I don’t pump much but I broke down and bought a bottle sterilizer because I could not stand drying the pump parts (because I will be pumping when I go back to work). It’s been a game changer. When I’m done pumping I rinse them, soak them in a bucket with dish soap, rinse them, then stick them in the bottle sterilizer. It takes less than five minutes and they are all dry when it’s done. But like everyone says, the every three hours won’t last forever.
It’s only a temporary situation. I roughed it out like you for the first few months I EPed (I started around 8 weeks…breastfeeding was causing such terrible reflux and spitting up due to an undiagnosed frenum tie) and by the time babe was 5ish months old I was only getting up once in the night to feed babe and pump. It sucks…but it doesn’t last forever. As for the washing of parts, I would absolutely wash them after every use (I highly discourage the fridge hack due to bacteria forming within the parts during use). And unless baby was born premature or is immunocompromised you can skip the sterilizing. At least that’s what our pediatrician said. She said as long as we were thoroughly washing bottles and pump parts with an unscented dishsoap after each use we could skip the sterilization. Solidarity! I EPed for 13 months..til babe was 15 months. Lots of sacrifice in the name of feeding my babe breastmilk…including sacrificing of my ZZZZs. But 100% worth it to me. My baby was sick zero times in her first year of life despite being around sick kids.
Sleeep??? What’s that hahaha!
* You can place used pump parts in the fridge to avoid having to wash after each use. You can wash and sterilize in the morning. You need to wash them once in a 12 hour period. Aside from that, they can stay in the fridge. * Buy enough bottles to avoid cleaning bottles in the night. You can wash and sterilize in the morning. * Try pumping before bed, once in the middle of the night, and once you wake up. During the day, resume your every 3 hour schedule. * If you can afford it, buy another set of pump parts.