i was just *mildly* freaked out when i saw the electric pump wheeled into my postpartum recovery room. even more when i turned it on. i asked for more tylenol 3 when my husband saw me use it (oh nurse, my pain level just skyrocketed from a 4 to mental horror). i understand why they are used- they are wonderful machines in many ways, plus they help us get that colostrum out and prepare us for those little non-electric suck machines: babies. for those that like them, you go girls! to me, it felt all types of wrong and weird. i was sent home with the bag of parts so i could add them to the medela electric one i apparently supposed to get at my baby shower.
like you, i registered for the ridiculously expensive double electric breast pump kit that came with an fancy bag to hold everything. that's what i was supposed to do, right? well, that's what babies r us registry helper told me. the books also say that though they are must-have items, you really should rent a hospital-grade pump from your local lactation consultant or hospital. but why? are they better? the companies that make these pumps also make manual ones... but they can make MORE money by selling you an expensive (read: electric) pump. so what is their incentive for having you do it yourself? also- who the hell decided that manuals should only be for occasional use? i have a feeling its the companies themselves. they gotta make money, right?
i said, f that, I'm getting a hand pump. i don't have enough money for one of those fancy ones (that no one got me at my shower- and seriously when you think about it, what a weird present) anyway. friends thought, isn't that old fashioned and tiresome? how do you do it? it cant work as well as this one that plugs into the wall and recommended by mrs. bukowski, ibclc. then they saw me pumpin... they were shocked! it really does work as well or even better-TRUST ME!
so bought myself an avent manual pump and i have to say, i love it love it love it. i have a lansinoh one too (to fit into my awesomely cute, soon to be delivered bottles- more on that later). it only takes a few minutes to pump enough for a feeding. i do both boobs and voila- baby gets my milk. its quiet, except for the occasional squeak or loss of suction (aka boob fart). i have an electric attachment that i thought i needed (don't tell mom i don't use it, she'd kill me) but nothing works as well as my hand. why? because i can mimic the way baby sucks better than a machine. you go quickly at first pumppumppumppump until you let down and then its pummmmmp pummmmmp when the milk starts flowing. you can see exactly how your boobs work, how the milk comes out and make adjustments as needed. you can use your other hand to massage around to make sure you get all the milk. i do it on the couch. in the chair. in bed. in the car. in the bathroom of my grandparent's house. anywhere!! i pop it in my purse (since i rarely use a diaper bag) and I'm good to go.
the best part is that i can either refrigerate it as a cool treat for my tired boobies or leave it on the coffee table all day while I'm home. no tubes to clean (did you know they can get moldy? ew) the most wonderful thing about breast milk is that it can stay good for hours at room temperature, so i don't have to worry about sterilizing it while I'm out and about, either.
i know they aren't for everyone, but i think that if you're scared of the electric milker, you should try out a manual pump. they're cheap, easy, convenient and have the foxy mama stamp of approval!
so this all brings me to the biggest question raised by all this pump talk: shouldn't manual breast pumps be available for ALL new mothers? we get loads of formula samples, diaper samples- why not a cheapo pump sample? what kind of an impact would that have on breastfeeding success?
probably a big one.
No comments:
Post a Comment