Can you tell me about EPing?

[Bernadine]

Why did you decide to do it? How? And for how long?

[Koala]

I decided to do it before the babies were born because I didn't have a desire to nurse them. I also wanted DH to be able to feed one of them.

I did it for 6 months. It was hard. I just couldn't do it any longer than that.

I'm glad I did it though.

[Koala]

I just realized I didn't answer your "how" question. I pumped 8x/day for 7 weeks. I slowly dropped down to 6x per day and kept that up until around 5 months, when I started dropping down to 4.

[jssymom14]

I am a little different in I EP combo feed with formula with DD. I never really produced, we struggled with latch etc. and had to give formula by day 5. It was a very tedious 4 weeks of fighting to get latched, feeding, pumping and giving formula. A vicious cycle of me never really leaving couch. Eventually I went to pumping and supplementing extra ounces of formula. It give me so much more freedom but still was giving her some breast milk. I stopped by 6 months.

[jewel]

I started when DS was a week old. He had a very hard time latching and was an ineffective nurser. He was nursing at least 75% of the day/night. He was frustrated and tired. I was completely exhausted and my nipples were bleeding.

I started off pumping every 2-3 hours, and leveled off around 7 times/day. I continued to casually try to get my kid to nurse again, and he did, around 3 months. It took about a month to totally wean off of the pump because of a huge oversupply.

I don't think I'd EP again. I might try to pump and combo feed, but pumping was a really terrible experience for me. It definitely clouded the first 3 months of life.

[cst2cst]

DD1 was a preemie and had to be bottle fed, at least partially a high cal formula, so we were already doing that. She didn't nurse and I have flat nipples which made it even harder. I EP'd for 9 months. 8x a day. I really hated it toward the end so I stopped and exclusively formula fed.

[missmaddie]

DS never really latched, even for 2 LCs, so I was initially just pumping "for now", not yet aware that EPing was a thing people did.

We made it to 7 months, and I started replacing 1-2 bottles a day with formula around 5 months so I could freeze more (joke was on me and we had lipase issues with the frozen milk so most ended up dumped).

I was proud I did it and could give him something that I worked so hard for, but wasn't sure I would do it all over again. Being home with him all day meant I could only attend to him when he was unhappy and then had to squeeze in pumps when he was settled. It also made it difficult with guests, outings, etc. It's not like you can really pump in public.

I could not have done it with DD, knowing I had to attend to DS's needs and commitments as well. Luckily she has been a breeze with BFing from the minute she was born (which 4 years later validated that it was DS, not something I was(n't) doing right).

[Narwhal]

I had been pumping while my boys were born until they were big enough to nurse (5 weeks?) and they were really good nursers in the NICU. I continued to pump because at this point, I was out producing what they would eat and I was just freezing the leftovers. Once we got home, their nursing went to crap and I was too tired/stressed/overwhelmed and had a shitty LC who gave me zero help so I said screw it. I pumped until they were 15 month (1 year adjusted).
I started by pumping every 3 hours for 20-30 minutes after they were born. I did this for 4-5 months I think. Once they started out eating me (30 oz each!!) at about 4-5 months I accepted combo feeding and dropped the MOTN pump and pumped at 6, 9, 12, 3, 6, 9 for 20ish min each time. I'd also throw in a power pump most weekend mornings. I kept this schedule for most of the year. I just slowly dropped pumps and time when I was trying to wean.
It was bad and I think it was PPD/PPA manifesting into a pumping obsession. I probably would do it again but I don't know if they had been term babies.

[Brie]

P was not gaining weight. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 3 months old so his mouth and tongue were too weak to transfer enough milk from the breast.

I EP from about 3-9 months. I basically pumped every 3-4 hours at that point.

It was miserable and I would have quit sooner if I wasn't all worked up about the benefits of BM on babies with brain damage.

[spitforspat]

Hopping over from ML.

I'm EPing dd, she's 11 weeks. I started because she would not latch and was losing too much weight. She was tongue tied, but still never latched after we had it clipped. I tried multiple trips to the lactation consultant, the supplemental nursing system, and we just couldn't make it work. I started to see her as the enemy and dreaded every feeding time because it made me feel like a failure.

I still wish we could've made BFing work, but I'm happy with my decision now. DH can give her a bottle, I can have a few drinks and not worry about my milk (I just dilute it with other milk!). It was hard to get used to at first - it's A LOT of work, and I stressed about how much I was producing. But now it's just my normal. I've gotten good at feeding and playing while pumping.

If you do decide to EP I highly recommend a spectra s9. It's very compact and has a rechargeable battery. I just charge it up, put on my hands free bra and throw the pump in my pocket. I can walk around, make dinner, change the baby, etc, all while pumping.

[open24hours]

I'm pumping/combo feeding. DD is 10 weeks old and refused to latch. The "help" I received from the hospital lactation specialists at the hospital was horrible and left me with a lot of anxiety about feeding DD. At home, I settled into pumping. Initially I was pumping every 2-3 hours, but that was too overwhelming at the time. I wasn't able to enjoy my newborn because I was always counting down until the next time I needed to pump. I've settled into a routine of pumping 4x per day and DD gets about a 50/50 mix of milk and formula. It's not my ideal, but DD is happy, healthy, and gaining weight and that is what is most important.

[sent]

I was pumping with DD born at 33 weeks. The day before she was released, the LC did a trial nursing session with me and sent me home with a 4 pound baby saying she was all good to go just keep nursing her. I struggled for about seven weeks with that. DD was nursing every 90 minutes to two hours overnight. What finally made me realize that she sucked at nursing was that when my husband watched her, he would feed her a bottle and she would sleep peacefully for three hours. She never did that with Me while nursing. I switched to EP and did it for 6 1/2 months. I had to stop for two reasons – DD was out drinking me and she was rolling all over the place and becoming impossible to watch while pumping.

[Bernadine]

Jul 24, 2016 9:39:18 GMT -5 @starry said:

What is the main reason you want to EP? I think it can be a good choice for many people but it also can be a tough one (although I know someone IRL who EP and only had to pump 3x a day to meet the needs of their baby for 9 months so it can go the other way too).

I'm just having an overall rough time with breastfeeding, but I feel pretty strongly about not switching to formula.

Mentally, I have a hard time feeling so tied down by being the only one that can feed her. I've pumped a few bottles here and there, and that has helped.

Right now, my issue is that I have an oversupply/overactive letdown, and dd will nurse for a minute, then choke, and then scream and cry and refuse to latch back on. I've tried nursing on an incline, pumping an ounce off first, hand expressing, and only feeding from one side, and none of that has seemed to make a difference. I also tried nursing laying down and she has trouble latching, and I didn't find it very comfortable. I have very large boobs and it can be difficult to get them positioned well.

[thebreakfastclub]

I know @astrid did this for a year.

[kate1482]

Dd never latched. I started pumping when she was 24hrs old. When I was on maternity leave I tried to pump 5-6 times a day. After I returned to work I pumped at 5am/once at work/5:30pm/ right before bed and left out a bottle for moth feeding. Around 10 months I dropped to 3 times a day then just morning and night after she was a year. I EP for 14 months. I wanted to stop at a year but I had such a oversupply from day 2 that it took forever to wean. Things that made it doable- renting a Medela symphony, dh washed all the pump parts/bottles and buying million sets of pump parts.

[PennyCandy]

Nursing was excruciating. I went to lactation consultants and support groups and it never got better despite them telling me I was doing everything right. I started out pumping every time he ate. Eventually I was able to reduce it to every 4 hours during the day and once motn. In the beginning I had to supplement, but haven't had to in a couple of months. Biggest challenges for me are keeping him happy while I pump. It's harder the older he gets. Scheduling my life around the pump is also hard. It would be nice to be able to get out for more than 4 hours without having to worry about getting home or pumping in the car. The motn pump is also hard, but it's when I get the most output so I can't drop it.

[sarahsas]

I started within hours of DS being born. He was in the NICU with breathing problems and I wanted to stimulate my milk since he couldn't nurse. Unfortunately I got no help in the NICU with nursing and so he got used to the bottle and never wanted to latch, despite no physical issues being able to do so. So I continued because it was important to me that he get BM. I had a goal of 6 mos but I ended up doing it for a year. It was really hard and there were many times when I wanted to give up. Having a supportive partner made the difference for me - my husband washed all bottles and pump parts every night and watched my son while I pumped. I also had the benefit of being "the boss" at work so I have my own office and some freedom for scheduling, so I could do it then and even scheduled it into my calendar.

[midwest07]

I mostly nursed DD while on maternity leave until she was 3 months. She nurses Ok but takes forever and we always had to use a shield. Once I returned to work, the time it took to nurse in the AM (which meant waking her up early), after work and before bed was really killing me because all of our free time during the week was nursing. First we started doing a morning bottle (H gave) and I pumped while getting ready. Then I realized I could just pump right before bed and replace another feeding, which was the feeding when we got home from work. I did still nurse right before bed and overnight until she STTN. The weekdays quickly morphed into weekend pumping because I kind of liked the routine of a pumping schedule and could still pump and feed as quick as nurse. Also opened it up to H or others feeding her.

She is now almost 9.5 months. Since around 4.5 months, the schedule has been to pump 5 times a day - wake up, 3 times during the day, and before bed. This has generally gotten the milk I needed, though had some lower times and had to pull from frozen milk. Starting next month, I plan to pump 4 times a day and then maybe 3 and wean down from there when she is 11 months.

I am glad I nursed during leave. I think this built my supply and I had the time to nurse all the time. But then going back to work, I would have not kept it up this long without EPing.

[loira]

Jul 24, 2016 7:47:30 GMT -5 @this said:

I was having so much anxiety about BFing and though EPing might take some of that away. I mean, it kind of did? But it was also three times the work of BFing. Instead of just (ha - "just") nursing, it was pumping then feeding then cleaning bottles. Then it has been two hours and it was time to start the whole cycle over.

Looking back, I wish I had either kept trying to make nursing work or switched to formula. I only lasted a month or two EPing before I just couldn't do it anymore.

This exactly. I lasted 8 weeks EPing. I'm glad she had some breast milk, and it was important for my anxiety (I had 8 weeks as an arbitrary goal) but it was a LOT more work than only nursing or only FFing. I pumped about 6-7 times a day and I felt like my entire day revolved around pumping. I couldn't relax when I went out because I was always anxious about being home in time to pump. The cleaning of bottles and parts was never ending. My life improved dramatically when we switched to formula.

Oh, I started EPing because she had a tongue tie that wasn't fixed until my nipples were thoroughly damaged. I thought pumping would give them a break, and then we just never really got back into the nursing groove.

[linz]

My twins were in the nicu so I couldnt nurse right away. I decided to just keep pumping bc DD was struggling to gain and was a sleepy eater. I EP'd till my twins turned 1. Never had to supplement but it was a ton of work. I wanted to give up so many times but producing enough pushed me. Spectra is your best bet for pump. I was renting a symphony until I bought it. I used a pisa at work.

[Elsa]

I did with M for 11 months. I started because vasospasms in my nipples made it incredibly painful to nurse.

I said early on in this pg that I wouldn't do it again. It was brutal. Such a drain on my time, I was tied to the pump which made outings hard, etc.

I also obsessed over my output and created an intentional oversupply but still had serious anxiety about having enough. At one point I had over 2,000oz frozen. And I still obsessed.

I would do everything you could to avoid it. Or if you DO decide to EP, supplement with formula so you aren't stressed all the time.

Are you having trouble? Have you talked to a LC?

[ellipsis]

I was readmitted to the hospital 3 days postpartum and DD would not latch after I was back home with her. I pumped every 3 hours during the day and 1x in the MOTN. I did it for 3 months and then broke down because I felt like it was a huge source of anxiety.

[patbutcher]

Jul 24, 2016 9:05:32 GMT -5 spitforspat said:

Hopping over from ML.

I'm EPing dd, she's 11 weeks. I started because she would not latch and was losing too much weight. She was tongue tied, but still never latched after we had it clipped. I tried multiple trips to the lactation consultant, the supplemental nursing system, and we just couldn't make it work. I started to see her as the enemy and dreaded every feeding time because it made me feel like a failure.

I still wish we could've made BFing work, but I'm happy with my decision now. DH can give her a bottle, I can have a few drinks and not worry about my milk (I just dilute it with other milk!). It was hard to get used to at first - it's A LOT of work, and I stressed about how much I was producing. But now it's just my normal. I've gotten good at feeding and playing while pumping.

If you do decide to EP I highly recommend a spectra s9. It's very compact and has a rechargeable battery. I just charge it up, put on my hands free bra and throw the pump in my pocket. I can walk around, make dinner, change the baby, etc, all while pumping.

Basically ditto this except my dd is 10 weeks. We got her tongue tie lasered but it didn't make a difference and by then (7 weeks), I think she was too used to the fast flow of the bottle.

I'm actually really enjoying eping as it gives me more freedom so h can feed her and the type A in me likes seeing exactly how much she is getting.
Since I cut a hole in a bra to make it hands free, it's been glorious.

I pump every 2-3 hours with a power pump at night. I do give dd formula a few times a week so I can build up a freezer stash.

I joined a fb group about ep and that has really helped me learn the tricks of the trade.

[starburst604]

I did it because I couldn't get my DD to nurse, she just screamed at the nipple. I pumped every 3 hours and eventually cut out the overnight pumps when I went back to work because, sleep. This cut my supply so I supplemented. Once I realized she did just fine on formula I started pumping less and finished when she was about 12 weeks. That doesn't sound like much time at all in retrospect, but it felt like foreverrrrrrr.

Pros: other people could feed her. Huge pro for me.

Cons: pumping. Pumping sucks, I had to think of everything in my life in 3 hour increments. Can I go out to dinner and a movie without my boobs exploding? But I suppose same is true if you're EBFing. I pumped in my car more than once. A manual pump for those occasions will be your friend.

[Deleted]

He never latched well. Between flat nipples, a traumatic birth (lots of bruising to his head), lots of breast tissue in the way of his tiny nose, and a tongue tie, I said fuck it at about day 2. I had a good supply that I worked on frequently. I ate lots of ice cream (lecithin), took lecithin supplements at the beginning and the end, and also hand expressed with pumpings to stimulate the breast. At the beginning I pumped 8 times a day, which was really hard and also made my husband a little nuts. I did about 6 times a day (20 minutes) during maternity leave and then settled into 4 (30 minutes) until he was 11 months. I fed him until he was over a year with assistance from donor milk and a little formula at the very beginning before my milk came in. I'm neurotic and a little crazy, so I was neurotic and a little crazy about pumping, but overall I had a good experience. H could participate in feedings so it led to more sleep. If you have other specifics, I can tell you my experience.

[boxerdog]

I did it for a year. DS was a preemie and got bottles in the hospital and then wouldn't/couldn't latch after that.

I got lucky that I had great supply, so by the time I went back to work I was only pumping 4-5 times a day.

Two things that might make it easier - don't bother hand washing any bottles/pump parts (we did that for a while then realized that was dumb and the dishwasher cleaned them just fine), and keep pump parts in the fridge in between pumpings.

[stephm0188]

I EP'd for 6 months because mine wouldn't latch.

It was a very negative experience for me and probably one of my biggest regrets looking back at it. Being tied to the pump constantly was miserable. I barely made enough to keep up with him, so I HAD to pump on a strict schedule. It made outings tough. NIP, no big deal. Pumping? A whole different animal. I felt like I missed out on just enjoying that time with my baby because I was constantly dealing with feeding and pumping. I wouldn't do it again.

Pumpin Pals shields are way more comfortable than Medela. I recommend them.

[coribelle26]

I EPed for 4 months and combo pumped/FF for 4 more. I would not do it again.

I pumped about an hour 4 or 5 times a day because my output was better in longer stretches rather than more frequent shorter intervals.

DS had problems latching and I had a lot of anxiety about how much he was getting, so pumping felt like a way to still get him BM but have some control over the amount. I wish I would have tried harder to work on nursing (I didn't get any help after we left the hospital), but I told myself it didn't work because he was 4 weeks early and too little. Barring that, I wish I would have just switched to formula much sooner. Pumping made me seriously miserable and I feel like I wasted most of his first year being angry and sad about "having" to do it. It also separated me from my baby and created a situation where H fed him and held him much more than I did, and as a result H is still the person he goes to for comfort, not me (almost a year later).

This is just our experience but I want to be very honest that it was the worst decision I made as a parent so far. I convinced myself that he needed the antibodies from breast milk because he was born early and he has his heart condition. Well, he still got sick more his first year than any other baby I've ever known, so that logic was flawed. Looking back I feel like I did it more for me than him and I really regret it.

[crabgrass]

I EP, DS is about 11 months now and I am starting to think about how I want to wean from the pump. I planned to EP from the start. Thankfully, it was easy for me and I had an oversupply, the most I ever pumped was 5x a day. By the time I went back to work 12 weeks PP, I was only pumping 3x a day and able to keep up, if not, have an extra couple of ounces to freeze.

That being said though.. would I do this again? No. Even with the feels I am getting about stopping, that's an easy no.