Pumping advice needed
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Flange size- you can measure your nipple with tape measure. Search “flange size guide” and that will give you a good idea. Make sure you measure both as sometimes they are different sizes! You can pump on the opposite side if you wish, or if baby wants to feed on both sides then you can pump on both sides afterward to fully empty your breast. The goal is to be completely empty to cue more milk! It is recommended to get the freshly pumped milk to the same temperature as refrigerated before combining. You can absolutely mix batches for feeding as long as none of it is expired! You don’t have to warm it up but some babies prefer it warmed over cold. You can get a bottle warmer, run the bottle under hot water, or put the bottle in boiling water. Never microwave and always test the milk temp on your arm before giving to baby! Hope this helps :)
@Samantha thanks so much!
For flanges, they are based on a mm scale. I didn’t have a flange sizer so I was told to use a soft measuring tape with the mm side. We’ll I didn’t even have that, so my husband got creative and grabbed a set of wrenches to put up to them and that worked🤣 You want to measure the entire areola, not just the tip of the nipple. When mixing different batches, it is recommended that the milk is the same temperature but in all truth I always poured fresh into the same jar as the cold milk. Can be stored in the fridge up to 3 days before freezing. Studies have shown that your body produces melatonin at night for baby, so I separated night time and day time milk and never had problems with sleep (other than typical regressions) could be unrelated, but I thought I’d share.
Following!