How do you find time for pumping?

Hello! Have you tried investing in a wearable pump? You can pump and do the laundry, pump and eat and pump while you change nappy’s. Maybe then you can use a hospital grade wall pump at night? That helped me as I didn’t have much help during the day to sit down and pump And setting alarms. It’s so stressful

I'm currently using a hospital grade pump loaned to me by the community midwives. I wondered if a wearable pump would be worth it if I'm not making much milk with the hospital grade one. I am setting alarms but struggling to stick to them or if I do then I'd literally not eat or sleep enough. It is very stressful and I'm not sure if that's helping either.

I was way more stressed suck to my hospital grade pump and as soon as I got a wearable one it was so much better, make sure you get actual hands free tho and not one with tubes they are annoying

I understand, I would definitely invest in a wearable. Insurance can cover most. I wasn’t making much milk either but the wearable helped increased my supply slowly but surely since I was able to constantly pump anywhere and everywhere. Something I also had to do unfortunately was load up on a lot of healthy snacks. I never got to eat much either, so always having healthy snacks laying around to munch on helped until I actually found the time to eat You got this mama. It gets easier with time. I believe in you

It’s been 5 and a half months and I’d say it’s still a struggle to find time. I find that evenings and nights are easy, but finding time during the day is tricky, even with a wearable pump. I play with my daughter a lot and we’re out and about a lot too, so pumping is difficult during the day. So I just do the best I can whenever I can. I 100% understand how you feel. I was in exactly the same situation initially. Those 3 hours pass by so quickly. It’s hard to find time for a rest. I’d say - do the best you can and be kind to yourself. I agree that it helps to have both hands free and hospital grade pumps. Good luck. I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it work.

I bought a wearable pump with extra pump parts, that’s the only way I could manage. Washing constantly was too much

You only need to pump for 10 mins each session you an also try to power pump once a day when you have a spare hour. I would pump after a feed

@Katrina yes the constant sterilising is also hard

@Shannen I've cut down from 20 to 15 but can try 10. What do you do with baby whilst you pump?

With 4 kids the only way I did it was getting myself a wearable pump

Try lots of skin to skin to boost your supply too! And also just let baby cluster feed as much as they want instead of just every 3 hours, this is the best way to build your supply as your baby will be telling your body how much they need. At 3 weeks pp I was still feeding my baby super regularly and she would cluster feed every evening to get my supply where it needed to be, trust your body and your baby and try not to stress too much! ❤️

@Flower I've heard they aren't as effective as the hospital grade pumps though. Is that your experience?

@Louisa thank you, that's helpful to know!