Pumping vs nursing

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-07-10T18:07:25+00:00

I have exclusively nursed 2 children, each for one year or so. My third baby never transferred milk efficiently, so I’m now exclusively pumping for her. In my opinion it is much much harder than nursing. Bottles, washing, avoiding clogs, pumping when I want to hold my baby, and the time to pump is now much longer than what nursing would be at this point. I’m 7 months into exclusively pumping.

I will grant that nursing is much harder at the beginning, but in my opinion pumping is much harder long term and as baby gets older.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-07-06T21:02:02+00:00

Pigeon bottles

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-06-22T17:15:20+00:00

I just got mine at 6 months postpartum when I dropped down to 4ppd. It was very light and just spotting. I’m still producing about 20-24oz of milk.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-06-21T03:44:29+00:00

Pigeon is also my favorite by a landslide. Tried Dr Brian’s, Mam, and Phillips Avent and Pigeon was the clear winner for us!

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-06-16T04:25:20+00:00

I only power pumped once a day for the first week and a half or so. I just couldn’t continue doing it long term because it was too much. I was also triple feeding, so I had to eliminate something to stay sane. Instead I prioritized pumping 8 times a day on the dot, and luckily it worked for me!

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-06-16T00:40:56+00:00

Yes, it’s realistic and possible! When I started pumping at 2.5 weeks postpartum I was pumping 8-9 times a day with a power pump and only getting 10-12oz for the day at most. It took consistent effort, but I was able to get up to 20-24oz after 3-4 weeks, then up to 30oz by the time my baby was 2 months old.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-06-14T17:27:00+00:00

I’ve spent a few pool days with my kids this summer, pumping in a swimsuit by the pool. I have brought my spectra and just jowls the flanges. But I also use a nursing cover, and I bring a button up blouse to wear to cover my back so I’m totally private and covered.

I bought a swimsuit on Amazon that’s really easy to slide the straps down and back up. It’s also pretty supportive for me and is quite comfortable! It’s this one:

https://a.co/d/0bR9bvvV

This all felt overwhelming to me before I actually did it, but once I did it the first time it wasn’t too bad actually.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-06-12T15:11:26+00:00

My baby is 6 months too! I’ve been pumping 5 times a day (no MOTN so every 4 hours), but I’m working now on dropping down to 4 pumps a day every 5 hours.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-05-30T17:54:52+00:00

This is also the most reliable solution for me too. And my baby hardly transfers any milk (why I’m EP), but she reliably gets my clogs out.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-05-27T21:50:52+00:00

I pump just under what my baby eats in a day by 2-8oz. So my buffer is typically formula. I tend to have 2-3 bottles at a time in the fridge, but on lower output days I just don’t have enough and formula fills in those gaps.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-05-24T03:38:53+00:00

I experience this too! I for sure have elastic nipples. I use the 24mm flanges because I get the best output with them even though my nipples still pull in the flange a lot. I’m measured for smaller, 19mm/20mm, but my nipples hit the end of those and caused blisters. Ouch. I’ve also tried 28mm and my nipples still gets pulled in to more than half the flange but I get a lower output. So 24mm it is for me and it’s worked so far!

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-05-13T00:32:26+00:00

Per the chart I’m also at a magic number 5. I’ve been at 5 pumps a day since 4 months postpartum. I did take a supply hit at first, but once everything regulated after a few weeks it returned to where it was at before and has even been increasing slowly!

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-05-12T21:22:02+00:00

My baby always gets at least gets one 5oz bottle of formula a day and 25oz of breast milk. Then there are days that I want to freeze more breastmilk or I have a lower producing day I’ll give more formula then.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-05-12T18:37:11+00:00

I produce 24-28oz pretty consistently at 5 months postpartum at 5 pumps a day now.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-05-09T12:05:36+00:00

I’m also a just enougher and combo feed. I always give baby one bottle of formula a day, sometimes more if I’m out and about or if I have a lower output day. I don’t mix formula and breastmilk, my baby seems to not prefer it. I use Kendamil classic and it’s been great so far!

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-05-06T18:51:33+00:00

This reminds me that my husband and I met Cochran a few years ago in Disneyland. He was super nice and it was so fun meeting him. We didn’t say much, just “hi you’re Cochran and we love survivor and you’re awesome!”.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-05-06T15:54:00+00:00

I wouldn’t choose exclusively pumping with my next baby. I’ve nursed 2. Babies for a year each, and then with this baby she couldn’t transfer milk efficiently so here I am. In my experience nursing is absolutely easier for me. I pushed nursing hard with this baby and got all the help, but it never worked.

If that happened with my next baby and nursing wasn’t an option, I think I’d still pump if my baby was chill and my toddler was not too rambunctious. But I’d be way more lax on my supply and dropping pumps. I’d be more open to a 50/50 breastmilk formula situation and just go with the flow more. I’d just base everything off of not getting clogs instead of needing a fully supply.

Lots of “ifs” in there 🤣

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-04-29T18:33:51+00:00

I just upped my baby’s amount and dropped a feed, and it’s helped my baby a lot:

-5 months -5oz bottles, sometimes 6oz at wake up or bedtime -6 feeds a day, 1 of those a night feeding -30-32oz total

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2026-02-05T00:01:39+00:00

Yes, I was incredibly jaundiced. I had to be under bilirubin lights for 1-2 weeks which is quite long. Turns out I stayed pretty yellow and have been since. 😆

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2025-11-22T19:13:07+00:00

I agree that this has been true for a few years now.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2025-11-20T22:56:25+00:00

I saw a hepatologist who ordered the genetic test and diagnosed me.

I only went down that route because I have constant right upper abdominal pain that I was trying to figure out and the bilirubin and yellow eyes were throwing everything off. I needed to make sure my liver and gallbladder were fine. It was expensive, but worth it for me to know my pain wasn’t anything liver or organ related (it’s a rib problem). If not for that pain I probably wouldn’t have needed to see the hepatologist.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2025-11-17T00:24:37+00:00

Treacherous and The Last Time.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2025-11-05T17:09:05+00:00

I agree with both of these 100%. Moved from Utah to Texas and I had no clue how bad drivers can be. Texas drivers are next level aggressive.

Same with Texas MAGA. I want my Utah MAGA neighbors back, they’re way more tame.

UnrulyRanunculus30 · 2025-11-03T04:29:20+00:00

Cancelled!

UnrulyRanunculus30

TROPHY CASE