Pumping and the NICU - What You Need to Know
For many new parents, having a baby stay in the NICU is not part of the plan. But sometimes life gets in the way of those plans and all of a sudden these new parents need to create new plans. New plans for when their baby will come home from the hospital. New plans for how to care for their baby. And new plans for how to feed their baby breastmilk if breastfeeding had been part of the original goal.
For this week’s blog, we are honored to have two NICU moms share their top 7 tips for how to pump breastmilk while their baby is in the NICU. Take a look at their top pumping tips to help you establish and supply breastmilk for your little one all while juggling the demands of caring for a newborn in the NICU.
1. Create a pumping schedule and set alarms on your phone.
Utilize the lactation consultant at the hospital and come up with a pumping schedule that works for you. It’s recommended that you pump 8 times in a 24-hour period or stimulate your milk supply for about 100-120 minutes during that time fram. This means that you will need to pump every 2-3 hours but you may be able to build in a longer stretch to sleep during the night.
One possible pumping schedule that allows for 8 pumping sessions in a 24-hour period but also allows for a longer stretch of sleep looks like pumping during these times:
6:00am, 9:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 4:00pm, 7:00pm, 10:00pm, and 3:00am
Set alarms on your phone to remind you of your pump times. You have a lot going on and it’s easy to forget.
2. Invest in a pumping bra that is comfortable and hands-free. It will free you up to do other things because your time is precious. These were some of our favorites:
3. Utilize time in the car to get in your pump sessions. If you are able, throw on a cover and use time when you cannot be doing something else. If your pump has to be plugged in, look for a car adapter, like these:
4. Find as many extra sets of pump parts as possible. If you’re going to be pumping up to 8 times a day, you definitely don’t want to be washing parts every time. You can order extra pump kits from the pump manufacturer. Or to save a little bit of money, you can look for pump-compatible parts. These brands on Amazon worked well for us and are available for most major pumps:
5. Have pre-labeled bottles or bags to bring your milk to the NICU. Your NICU may provide you with containers for your milk. It’s really helpful to label them with the date and time before you start pumping. Keep ice packs available in the freezer and find a bag that works for you. Here’s some bags we liked:
6. Don’t beat yourself up about the amount of milk you produce. Pumping breast milk is never any one’s favorite thing to do. And many people don’t exactly feel the oxytocin flowing while pumping. Some things you can try to reduce stress and help your milk flow while pumping is look at pictures of your baby, keep an item nearby like a blanket or hat that has their smell on it, or watch videos of you holding your baby skin-to-skin. Anything you can do to relax and reduce stress while pumping will help you produce more milk.
And remember, the amount of milk you pump is not an indication of your overall supply. It is only an indication of how much milk your breastpump can remove.
You are doing the best that you can and it is not a reflection of you as a mother.
7. Don’t let pumping take away from your mental health. You have to take care of yourself in order to take care of your little one. It is okay to stop pumping before your goal. Any amount of breastmilk you can give your baby is precious and you should be proud!
Author Credit: Bethany and Claire are preemie mom friends living in Raleigh, NC. Bethany is mom to 27 weeker twins and Claire is mom to a 31 weeker singleton. They both spent countless hours pumping during their NICU journeys and hope to help other NICU parents.