IBCLC rant about TOO MANY MOMS PUMPING | Stop Pumping!!!

I appreciate this perspective! It never occurred to me that I wouldn't have to pump.

I'm getting ready to have my 4th baby and I wish I would've found these videos years ago. I've given up on breast feeding so early with all my other babies because people made me feel like I was failing or not able to do enough because I couldn't make milk to store. I always thought I had feed at the breast, pump and bottle feed and I literally couldn't do. It was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting and I couldn't do it for more than 3 the months. I can't wait to go into this next journey with fresh eyes.

I be was pumping all the time on top of on the breast but over the last two weeks I’ve stopped pumping because I have my daughter all the time about tonight I got worried that my supply was taken a hit not because my baby seems unsatisfied I suppose just mom guilt because I was pumping a lot at the beginning

Thank you for posting this!! ❤

I wanted this to be my experience with my little girl. Unfortunately, exclusively breastfeeding only lasted one week. I was cut severely on both nipples and currently have mastitis. My little girl is 3 weeks now. It feels like I’ve been pumping for decades lol I’m tired. So… if there is an exclusive breastfeeding mom reading this, if you don’t have to pump, don’t pump! I believe that nursing a baby is actually easier. If you do pump, I think Allison is correct in saying you only need but 10-12oz if you are planning to be away from baby. I have way too many ounces in my fridge… and there’s really nothing to brag about. I also have mastitis due to over supply. So don’t over do it, mom! You don’t have to. ❤

I think this video just saved me from starting to pump for no good reason. Thank you for your thoughts!

I have 5 children, and I have pumped once, and I literally hand-expressed. I needed my gallbladder removed when my baby was 3 months old. Turns out he slept the entire time and he never even needed the milk!

This time around is completely different. I'm overdue with twins, and one of the babies has spina bifida and I'll be separated from him or her. So for the first time ever I'm having to educate myself on all this stuff.

Wish I saw this video sooner. I made the mistake of pumping and bottle feeding my second son too early after he was born and ended up having to exclusively pump for him for almost a year because he would Not latch again. It broke my heart and made feeding him so much more work. Not to mention I felt robbed of m bonding with him.

I dry up pretty quickly so I plan to pump to try and make it longer.

Such a helpful video, thank you! There's such a toxic culture, now, about needing to pump and being a failure if we can't pump 10oz per side every time (hey, momcozy, I'm looking at you and your sneaky marketing!). I've been in such a battle with my pediatrician over my baby's weight. He's expecting him to be a 25 pound baby at 5 months, he was 5lbs 12oz at birth, and insists that I pump around the clock, supplement with copious amounts of formula and take medication for my supply... I don't have a low supply and my son is thriving but he says "all other mothers pump, it's what you should do". There's so much blatant misinformation out there that it's nice to have a channel like this to turn to and share. Long story short, thank you

I EP because I had preeclampsia and had an excessively sleepy early baby for the first month or so. She’s now opinionated af and will only nurse under perfect conditions. I wish I could break up w the pump and go longer w BFing but I don’t know if it’ll happen. 🥺

Ive had 3 very different BF journeys! #1 I EBF until 3 months when I got pregnant with #2 and apparently your milk can change taste when you get pregnant and she just started to refuse the boob so we switched to formula. #2 I EBF all the way until 11 months effortlessly until when we switched to cows milk. I think he maybe had a few bottles of formula when he would be with grandparents or a sitter but that’s all and for #3 I started pumping to get a small stash because our 2 older children (10 year age gap!) that are very active in extracurricular activities and I knew in some situations I would not be comfortable just whipping out a boob 😂 ie: school functions around their friends/teachers! Turns out it was a good thing because baby girl wouldn’t latch deep enough to not be painful and she also started getting frustrated with the amount of work she had to do to eat after my letdown was over. She’s not exactly a patient baby 🤷🏻‍♀️ I now exclusively pump and she loves the bottle so much more! Pumping is kinda a pain but I’ve figured out how to make it work for us and I’m so glad pumps are an option! I’ve got an oversupply so when I get enough stashed up I plan on donating as much as I can which makes me feel really good!!

So why did the hospital staff tell me this is the way to increase supply? It wasn't my idea.

I have pcos so i undersupply even with 8 pumps a day. My son has a tongue tie so sadly pumping is my only option. There’s way too much pressure on moms in general but especially around breastfeeding.

I had to pump when baby was in the NICU but I would have preferred not to! I only pump while away from baby at work. If I were a stay at home mom, I wouldn’t pump at all.

Hi Allison! Thanks For everything you do!Question: would there be much benefit to pumping beyond babies first year? I’m a working mom who breast feeds and supplements with formula as needed (I don’t freeze). I’m trying to map out when to stop/cut back pumping at work- currently doing it 2ce a day (9mo baby). I plan to continue breastfeeding beyond a year, but thinking to stop pumping and make the switch to whole milk. Haven’t found info on this online- only that formula isn’t necessary after 1 year & continue to BF until M&bb wish to.

Thank you Allison.
I was hell bent on creating a stash and becoming an over producer and even not being able to keep up with the milk demand bc I’m an exclusive pumper… not by choice.

My baby prefers bottle feeding and I’ve accepted this, however he will latch with my haakaa nipple shield. Ultimately I’ve come to terms with the fact that I won’t be able to increase my produce by way of my baby.
… but also not by way of my pump due to elastic nipple, cracked nipple and so on. I’ve been through it but I’ve learned so much thx to you

Pumping is breastfeeding. I’m so thankful that amazing pumps exist. It wasn’t my plan but having preemie twins, nursing them directly is just not in the cards.

I can't get pumps to work for me. I have the pink Spectra & an Ameda. Barely anything comes out, maybe half an ounce if I'm lucky. But when I hand express I get 5 oz. I feel the milk stuck up high in my boobs & I have to massage every time to get the milk to come down & out. I'm 6 weeks postpartum. I can't even breastfeed cause my baby gets irritated & cries when the milk won't come out fast enough cause it's stuck in there. I feel defeated.

I wish i can just stay home and exclusively breastfeed. Pumping is so much effort but i need to pump for my son’s milk for childcare. I have no issues breastfeeding at all too. If only i could stay home but im working and studying and mommying hehe

Something I remembered hearing only once before I gave birth was that some babies prefer either the left or right and that they will refuse to use the other they don't prefer and that's ok. Everything I heard after I gave birth was "you need to nurse and or pump both breast. Or to cluster pump" and I didn't know what to do moving forward because the hospital gave me a million reasons why I could not talk to their lactation consultant and in the end I stopped breast feeding because I HATED pumping and everytime I nursed my baby was definitely not getting enough milk because we would nurse for an hour and as soon as I took him off he would just cry as if he was hungry. I HATED pumping and i still do. It's just a reminder of how I failed and i had zero support from the hospital and female relatives too. I really want things to be different with my second baby (I'm currently pregnant with my second child ❤️)

I pump because I had surgery / nerve damage and because I have chronic low supply. If I didn’t , I would literally never pump

I nursed 10 babies without pumping more than a handful of times. My 11th has down syndrome and with his low tone he wasn't gaining weight and I started pumping and giving bottles. My eyes were opened to this whole pumping world! Wow. I didn't even know insurance would give me a pump. I'm thankful for it now but loved the simplicity of just nursing!

Thanks for this video. I for one also thought I should have been pumping. I’m a breastfeeding mumma, have for my first who is 2.5 yrs now. I pumped with the hakka because I found that easier to clean than the medela and pumped only when I was going out. But the rest was on the boob. doing for my second as well the same way. All my friends have pumped and for a second there I thought I should be doing that too. But I find just breastfeeding is so much easier for me.

I pump once in the morning after feeding my son. Then I don't pump unless he won't latch when he gets a bottle of expressed milk. I couldn't imagine pumping after every feed. I have a small stash cause I will be going back to work soon

I love the video

I pump at work so I can keep my supply for my baby

THANK YOU ❤️ I’m Done Pumping. I’m With My Baby 25/8 Lol ✨

I nursed 3 kids for 2-4 years each. A week before going back to work I did a daily AM pump (just a few oz) to build up 2 days worth of freezer milk for an emergency in case a bottle was spilled. What I pumped on Monday at work, was fed on Tuesday (making sure they were fed with paced bottle-feeding technique) and it was usually exactly enough. I never ran out; in fact I collected enough (ounce by ounce over about 9 months) to do a one time donation to my local milk bank.

I think moms that freezer stash a lot to give to moms in need are fantastic I think that’s the only acceptable reason to have a huge stash

Thanks for your words of wisdom!

I never pumped with my first and didn't feel guilty at all. With my second I did pump and circumstances made it necessary, but it was on occasion. Mainly I nursed on demand.

Thank you!

My baby is having a hard time to latching onto me. I want him to get the nutrients from me beside supplementing with formula. I am currently engorged right now and wondering how long after can I pump after engorgement is over?

I can’t imagine having a freezer full of milk- I have one days worth of milk in the fridge and sometimes I think what am I going to do with it???? Especially since I’m breastfeeding and pump when I go out anyway.

Pumping can be stressful! My (early) baby did not want to breastfeed for a few weeks so I pumped and supplemented while he got the hang of it and now two months later I am (almost) exclusively breastfeeding... but it’s such a big help for my husband to give him one or two bottles so I can rest. I pump to fill those bottles and I would honestly just use formula once or twice a day but of course, I worry about my supply 😳

I’ve been pumping once a day almost my entire postpartum life (8 months). At this point I’m afraid of getting mastitis if I don’t pump at some point overnight. My daughter can sleep up to 12 hours and after about 6 hours of not breastfeeding her I can pump up to 10 ounces. How do I stop doing this so that I can sleep through the night too? I don’t want to be in pain.

As a FTM I feel guilty for not pumping daily as scheduled, thanks to this video, I feel relieved. I do feed my child on demand ( she feeds every 1 hr 30 during the day and during the night she eats less. She eats about 10 to 12times per day to be exact).

In 20 months of breastfeeding I pump 3 times 🤷🏼‍♀️🥰

I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding for the past 3 months with my first baby and I’ve never pumped! To me pumping seemed like a hassle and one more thing to clean/sanitize/keep up with. For us it has worked out great, because I’m a SAHM. I’m sure pumping helpful if you need to, but not pumping is working out great for us. :)

EBF my daughter until she was 3 1/2, and the only times I pumped was before I HAD to leave her with my mom for a few hours and I would leave her with two or three 2oz bottles. Even at 8-9 months old, 2oz at a time by bottle was as much as she would drink.
It's not always about the fluid ounces because our milk has different cal/fat content. So size of stash doesn't matter. Also, social media and these "freezer stash" brag posts are really influential, and while very impressive, just not necessary!

I watched a video not long ago telling me to pump after nursing or else my supply will dry up. I’ve been stressing about incorporating pumping into my life for the pass week. I thought I had to pump in order to empty my breasts or else how would I know if my breasts were empty. As a new mom I’m easily worried about messing up, but this video helped me relax. I can wait to pump until I’m getting close to going back to work.

Thank you!!! I was so stressed out in the beginning and then thought to myself “Why am I listening to these you tubers you say I need to pump every two hours!” Forget that! I built a good stash before I returned to work and it was mainly from my haaka. I only pump when I’m at work and that’s that. I constantly remind myself to eat and I’ve always drank plenty of water. I want to spend time with my baby not pump every two hours

I really needed to hear this 🙏🏼 I hate pumping

Breast pump ad played during this video lol

It's astounding how many people don't trust their body to produce enough milk for their babies. I have a pump because I was always planning on going back to work after 6 months. It is handy to have milk in the freezer for my husband in case I need/want to go out without bub. But you don't NEED a pump. Baby will stimulate supply 🤷‍♀️

Some of us mom's have to work full time and can't breastfeed my baby all day long. I don't agree with formula unless you have no choice so.... Ya pumping is required for me 😑 y'all acting like we do it for fun

I REALLY needed this video! First time my daughter and I just couldn’t get the hang of breastfeeding so I exclusively pumped for a year to give her my milk. Second time around was twins they were great nursers and I had a huge supply naturally so I never needed to pump but I still felt I should be just in case bc I was feeding two. In 14 months I never needed the freezer milk once! Baby number four coming in June and for the first time you’ve given me permission! I don’t need to be a slave to the pump and I won’t be! Thank you!

The title does not match the content of this video. I thought that you were going to rant about mom’s exclusively pumping and trying to telling people not to pump. I think if you change your title to mention latching mama’s that the title will be more true to content. I think your content in this video is great though. I know so many mama’s who need to see this. I also know a couple mama’s who supply other women with breast milk. I am an exclusive pumper by necessity. I latched my first born for three month through a terrible latch and through terrible infections that I just did not heal from. My skin is really bad and I have dermatitis so my skin would not heal. With my second I lasted one week with latching. I went to pumping after that. I stocked my deep freeze as much as possible because pumping is way to time consuming with a baby and a toddler. My first born was eight months old when I got pregnant. If I have additional children I will go straight to exclusive pumping so I don’t have to take a month to heal from one week of latching. Both children would not latch deep enough and had tongue ties. My first born did not get hers dealt with until she was almost 3 months and the second got hers done on the second day after she was born.

I ended up having to exclusively pump and had a lot of extra milk at first, so I had a large freezer stash. Fast forward to 7-8 months post partum, I had plenty of issues that led to needing to constantly pump and dump and eventually my supply just tanked. She also had a tummy bug that led us to stopping solids for a bit so she needed way more milk than I was making at the time, and the stash was so useful then. Thankfully my freezer stash is enough to bridge the gap to get us to 1 year. I'm planning to try nursing again if we are lucky to have baby #2, but will definitely still pump for that extra supply. Definitely agree that moms shouldnt feel like they have to pump, but also good to know that sometimes we need that freezer stash even when we didnt expect to need it 🤷🏼‍♀️ surely you could use formula, no problems with that. But personally I was really hoping to get at least to 12 months with breastmilk, and if it wasnt for my large pumped stash, it wouldnt have happened.

With my first, I only ever pumped if I was overproducing because it was very painful. I would pump until it's comfortable again and I was good. We exclusively breastfed unless I was away from him for any amount of time. I had a few bags of milk that I would store in the freezer for those occasions. I didn't feel the need to pump more because I was always with him and my milk supply was great. I love all of the info in this video!