Badass Breastfeeding Podcast
Badass Breastfeeding Podcast
Pumping Myths
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Are you pumping? Or planning to start pumping?
Have you been pumping for a while, and hate it?
Have you heard any pumping myths? We guarantee you have.
Tune into this episode to get the run down on pumping myths.
If you are a new listener, we would love to hear from you. Please consider leaving us a review on itunes or sending us an email with your suggestions and comments to badassbreastfeedingpodcast@gmail.com
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Things we talked about:
Jumping right in with the first myth [3:30]
It’s never a bad time to feed your baby [6:03]
Pumping more instead of less [7:12]
Pumping output does not equal milk supply [9:29]
Flange sizes [10:40]
Pumped milk [15:22]
Human milk is live! [21:49]
Giving milk at specific times [25:23]
Painful pumping [29:54]
Paced bottle feeds [31:42]
You do not need a pump to successfully breastfeed [36:29]
*This Episode is sponsored by Fairhaven Health and Sheila Darling Coaching
Links to information we discussed or episodes you should check out!
https://badassbreastfeedingpodcast.com/episode/100-tips-to-pump-more-milk/
https://badassbreastfeedingpodcast.com/episode/071-overfeeding-paced-bottle-feeding/
https://badassbreastfeedingpodcast.com/episode/bottles-versus-breast/
Set up your consultation with Dianne
https://badassbreastfeedingpodcast.com/consultations/
Check out Dianne’s blog here~
https://diannecassidyconsulting.com/milklytheblog/
Follow our Podcast~
Here is how you can connect with Dianne and Abby~
- Abby Theuring https://www.thebadassbreastfeeder.com
- Dianne Cassidy http://www.diannecassidyconsulting.com
Music we use~
Music: "Levels of Greatness" from "We Used to Paint Stars in the Sky (2012)" courtesy of Scott Holmes at freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott Holmes
dianne (00:00):
Welcome to the badass breastfeeding podcast. This is Dianne your lactation consultant.
abby (00:25):
and I'm Abby, the badass breastfeeder and today's episode is brought to you by, uh, Sheila Darling Coaching. Sheila Darling is a social worker, a certified hypnotherapist and a mindfulness meditation teacher, and could be your start to a more peaceful life. And today's episode is also brought to you by Fair Haven Health. The Milkies nipple nurture balm is your organic and lanolin free answer to sore or cracked nipples. Uh, we'll hear more from our sponsors later, but these sponsors make this podcast possible. So please head to badassbreastfeedingpodcast.com and check out our sponsor page there. If you need anything, see if you can give any of our sponsors your business while you're there, scroll down and enter your email address and get episodes sent straight to your inbox. Every Monday, when our episodes publish. And now Dianne has our review of the week,
dianne (01:17):
it comes off of iTunes, which obviously I can find, but Abby can't find, but that's okay.
abby (01:22):
I have a real hard time finding iTunes. I don't know why everybody's got this everybody's in on this secret.
dianne (01:28):
Oh gosh, but this comes from Katamakat. Hope I said that. Right? And she cannot stop listening to us, which I think is so fun. So she said, I stumbled across this podcast a few days ago, actually, the first podcast that I ever listened to when trying to find more information on co-sleeping and bed sharing, these ladies are amazing. I'm just bending the channel now and I can't stop listening. Love it. And if you want to find, I know, thank you so much. If you want to find information on co-sleeping and bed sharing, we are definitely the ones for that.
abby (02:01):
So we have a lot of episodes on that.
dianne (02:03):
Yeah. Well thank you so much. And I'm honored where your first podcast. That's fun.
abby (02:08):
That is cool. Yeah, it's awesome. I don't, I honestly, I don't listen to podcasts. I've listened to like a couple of podcasts, but like people that listen to podcasts, like podcasts, people, they like listen to a million of them.
dianne (02:20):
Yeah. People just all the time. I know people that do that all the time.
abby (02:24):
and I guess once you're in, you're in and you're like hooked. Yeah. So we're so honored to be on your list of podcasts.
dianne (02:31):
I know that's so cool. Well, thank you so much. And it said that was on iTunes. You can send us an email Badassbreastfeeding podcast@gmail.com or you can put your reviews on iTunes and we'd love to get them. So thank you so much. Today We have a fun podcast though.
abby (02:50):
We do. We love myths.
dianne (02:53):
We do.
abby (02:53):
And uh, there's a lot of them around pumping, although there's so many around breastfeeding, we usually Focus on that, but we're going to focus specifically on pumping.
dianne (03:04):
Yeah. I had a bunch. I wrote them down. I hope I could read my own writing because they were good. And I'm like, I was like scribbling as I was going along. Like, listen, you know, like thinking of stuff, trying to write them down before my feeble mind just forgets one from the other, but I have a bunch. So I don't know, like how should we do it?
abby (03:24):
Just jump in. I only have a couple. So I think you have more than me. So why don't you do two and then I'll do one and then you do two and then I'll do one.
dianne (03:30):
Okay. So my first one is this is a biggie that pumping equals no breastfeeding because the milk is gone.
abby (03:42):
Oh yeah. You hear that a lot. Yep. I pumped. And so now I took it all out. So it's empty. So now baby has nothing, right?
dianne (03:50):
So I have to give baby the bottle that I just pumped. I hear all the time. And that is totally not the truth. It's not true. Pumping is so psychological and so visual, right? Like breastfeeding is not visual like that. And pumping is so visual. Like you see what's going into that bottle. So you're like, okay, this must. And then when nothing is coming out anymore, you automatically assume it's just gone. Right? Like you got it all, but you didn't and your baby is your baby. So if they latch they're you know, they're getting those hormones. They're connecting with you in a different way than your pump does and they can bring your milk down. So if your baby needs to eat after you pumped, you can just put your baby on. It's totally fine. Your milk is going to let down for your baby. And your milk is never, your breast is never empty anyway. So there's always, still gonna be milk there for your baby.
abby (04:48):
Yeah. I think that's a big one. Your breast is never empty. You can't just like, it's not just like, Oh, you finished this glass and it's empty. There's nothing in there anymore. Like your breast is never just completely empty.
dianne (05:00):
I mean, a pump can't get more milk out at some point.
abby (05:02):
Right? Because they're just not, it's just a machine.
dianne (05:04):
Yeah. It's just machine. They're not efficient. Even the best of pumps you could say, I've got the best top of the line pump. It's still not going to get all the milk. It's just not.
abby (05:15):
Yeah. It can get enough that you need for working or whatever, but it's not going to It. Doesn't empty it.
dianne (05:21):
No. So you are never, you can always feel comfortable that if you pumped, like, and I hear this a lot, like, Oh, the baby's taking a nap. So I thought it was a good time to pump. And then like half an hour later, they woke up. So I had to give him the bottle because I'd had just pumped. Like that's ok you could just breastfeed them. And the other thing to remember with that is supply and demand. Right? That's how we do breastfeeding. So we do breasts. That's how we make milk is by telling your body we need the milk. So if you pumped and then you latch your baby or vice versa, that is basically more stimulation, which tells your body, we need more milk. So you're actually doing positive things there. If you just feed your baby,
abby (06:03):
feed your baby whenever it's never a bad time.
dianne (06:05):
Never a bad time. So yeah. That's my number one. That's a good one. All right. Next one is waiting between pumps because that gives you more milk. Have you ever heard that one?
abby (06:19):
Yes. Yes. Yes. Like I just pumped an hour ago, so there's not enough milk in there.
dianne (06:24):
To pump. So I'm going to wait six hours cause I'll get more
abby (06:28):
Oh yeah. Right, right, right, right.
dianne (06:30):
You know? Yeah. So I've heard that one quite a bit too. Or if you were like, well, I could pump every two hours at work, but I really get more if I just pump, you know, twice a day instead, because then I go four or five hours in between, and then that's more milk. It's a very deceiving.
abby (06:51):
Because you're fuller or whatever.
dianne (06:52):
You're fuller. It's very deceiving. The more you empty the breasts, not empty, but the more you stimulate that supply, the more milk your body's going to make. So even if you're getting half an ounce, every two hours, that is way better than getting five ounces once a day. You do know that. Does that make sense?
abby (07:12):
Yeah. Yeah. So more frequently that you're pumping and breastfeeding, the more your body's going to get that signal to make more milk. If you're only doing it, you know? Yeah. If you, if you slow it down, then your body you'll get the will be like, okay, well this milk isn't being taken out, so it must not be needed. So I'm going to slow down production.
dianne (07:34):
Exactly. Exactly. But it doesn't work like that. And like I said, it's so visual that our mind thinks, Oh, okay, we're getting more if we wait longer. So we should wait longer. That way we can get more. But it doesn't that it's not as good for your supply.
abby (07:53):
Right. You want to be frequently pumping frequently nursing. Um, you don't have to spazz out and be like pumping every half an hour, you know, just don't like, wait, don't, you know, in your mind, do you think like, well, the fuller, my breasts are, the more milk will come out. And like, while that's True, Like you're going to see more milk in the bottle than you would, you know, more frequently that your body is not going to be producing as much,
dianne (08:22):
But the fuller you get like that. And the longer you let that go, like Abby was saying, the more your body's going to go, Oh, we don't need this milk as much. We're going to start to decline. And your body's just not gonna, you know, it's going to stop making it when we need it. Yeah. So frequent is better. Do more frequent stuff, more frequent, feeds, more frequent pumping for your supply.
abby (08:45):
If you're away from your baby during the day, you probably don't want to go more than what, like two or three hours.
dianne (08:50):
Yeah. Yeah. If you can. I mean, there are some, some people, unfortunately they go back to jobs that make it very, very hard to pump. But I mean an ideal world, like three hours. Yeah.
abby (09:04):
Yeah. Whenever your baby would be nursing is when you want to be pumping. Absolutely. Yeah. If you can, obviously. Yeah. There's people like
dianne (09:15):
Yeah. Teachers and Nurses,
abby (09:19):
Jobs where you can't be pumping a lot, but as much as you can, as much as you can. All right.
dianne (09:27):
My first two, what do you got?
abby (09:29):
All right. Well, so I have the big one that we always talk about. And then I always think like, well, we talked about this, so everybody knows. Um, but then I get messages about it all the time. So we don't know this. And I feel like this is a tricky one too, because it makes sense that this is a myth to me. This one makes sense. So the, like your pumping output does not equal your milk supply. So I pumped, you know, I can only pump, you know, one ounce out of this breast. So therefore I'm not making enough milk for my baby, but what you pump does not equal what is in your breast for reasons that we talked about earlier is that your pump does not, is not as efficient as your baby, but it makes sense to me that obviously people think this. Cause if you just don't know that particular fact about pumps, then of course, you're going to think, well, this is what I pumped. So therefore that's, what's in there. Like, you know, it makes sense that people would think this. And then of course, that it would make you very nervous. Um, but the fear, there's a few things. First of all, pumping also is it's not effective, but also we're not taught how to do it. You know, we're not taught like that. There's not just one size of flange. Like I was the badass breast feeder for a while before I actually knew that. Yeah, I did not know that flanges came in different sizes and that if it was too big or too small, you might not be able to pump as much as you may have otherwise. And that people just respond differently to pumps. Some people respond really well and some people don't, you know, and then there's things like hands-on pumping, you know, the, um, the combination of breast compression and breast massage in order to increase milk output while you're pumping, what we don't, we're not taught that we have to really like stumble upon that information in order to, to know.
dianne (11:25):
If you're Lucky, you might get handed a pump at some point and people will be like, okay, here it is. Here you go. Start pumping.
abby (11:33):
Yeah. Just turn it on, turn it on, stick your nipple in there and then turn it on. And you know, it'll be fine, but then that's not how it works. Sometimes people are really lucky and that milk just starts coming out and you know, they don't run into any problems, but a lot of times people are not just milks, Not just coming out. Cause it's not, it's not suckling on your breast the way that your baby does. Like, it can not mimic that action that can really just, your baby can get, you know, your baby can get out as much as they need, but a pump is just, is not, is not, um, it's not pumping the same. It's not, it's not doing that same action.
dianne (12:18):
No, it's not. And it doesn't have the hormones. And it's very, usually you're pumping under a circumstance that is not relaxing. Um, it's just, it's a very different process. And I meet people all the time who say, Oh, I didn't, you know, I, I, I must not be making enough because I'm only pumping an ounce. Or, Oh my gosh, I hear this all the time. People will say to me, well, my pediatrician said to pump for 24 hours and see what the baby's getting. Oh yeah. Maybe that's not gaining well or something like that. They told me to pump for 24 hours. So I can see what what I'm making. That does not tell you what you're making at all. It is so discouraging to hear that still.
abby (13:01):
right. And stop breastfeeding so that you can see how much your baby gets when you're breastfeeding. It's ridiculous. Oh my gosh. What a mind snarl. I mean like what? Oh my God, it's such a, like, it just drives. No wonder people are being driven crazy. It's so hard to figure out and pumping, Oh my God, pumping is just hard. Pumping is really, really hard. Like the action and logistics of it and just the whole lifestyle around it. And you know, you've got this big pump that you got to carry around and then you've got to hook yourself up to it. And like the whole thing around it is just not natural at all. It's uncomfortable for most people. It's like, you know, you have to learn it, but nobody teaches it. It's so hard. And if like, if you're struggling and you can't figure it out, whatever you are just not alone, you are a completely normal person.
dianne (13:58):
And you're like dependent on this thing to leave milk for your baby. Like that's panicky.
abby (14:05):
And is it is, and we actually have a, um, we have a episode like tips to pump more milk or how to pump more milk where you can, you know, where we talk about more, like more in detail about like, you know, the, the, the art of pumping and how to, how to use your pump better and, and things like breast compressions and stuff like that. So that's in the show notes.
dianne (14:29):
Yeah. So that's not what we're talking about today.
abby (14:31):
Today is all the stuff that you hear that you can leave and they can flush. Yeah. So that was mine.
dianne (14:41):
So I get to go next.
abby (14:42):
You get to go,
dianne (14:43):
okay. Milk can look different even on the same day. Oh yeah. And one of the things that I remember, so when I had my first baby and was breastfeeding and I, you know, my mom was not a breastfeeder, so she really didn't know what to do with it or anything. And, uh, the first time I pumped, remember I put the milk in the refrigerator and we were living with them at the time. Cause we had just moved back to Rochester. So we were staying there and Nathan was like, I don't know, two months old or something. And I put milk in the fridge. And my mother was like, I don't think this milk is any good. This milk is bad. Cause you know it separates. Yeah. Right. Oh yeah. So look, you know, the, when I say it separates, if you've never seen human milk after it's been sitting, it will separate. And the fat will rise to the top. And then the, you know, the other milk is on the bottom. The other milk, the milk, that's not super fatty is on the bottom. So it does separate and it can look strange if you're not used to looking at it. And she said, I don't think this milk is any good. And of course me being the person that I am, I have to just counter everything that she says with, you know, and I was like, it's fine. And I had no idea if it was fine because I really had no clue at all. But I was like, if you're going to say, it's not fine. I'm just going to tell you that it's fine. And um, and of course it was, but you could pump milk on the same day, two different times of the day and it'll look completely different, completely different. And that is okay, there's nothing wrong with that milk.
abby (16:16):
And sometimes it can be green or pink. Right. Really weird colors. And these are things that people wouldn't even have known, no. Yeah. Pumps and them and invented or you weren't pumping or whatever, you'd be like, Oh my God, how many times on like Facebook or is there, like, I go to the like, you know, the, where people can post and there was this like a bottle of pink milk and people are like, Oh my God, what's wrong with my milk?
dianne (16:41):
Or like, what's really cool is when have you seen those ones? Where if somebody's sick, they'll have like the milk that they pumped when they weren't sick. And then the milk they pumped when they were sick and how different it looks. Right.
abby (16:53):
How much thicker and like darker sometimes even orange even than it looks when you're sick, because your body's producing all those antibodies and really hop, you know, hopping it up with nutrients
dianne (17:06):
I know it's really cool, but it's, it's like sometimes it's super thick with, you know, with more fat in it. And then some, at times of the day it might not be, it might be a little thinner, but then people go, Oh, is it okay? It's not as fat or what I love...Somebody said to me, one time my husband said the milk didn't look fatty enough. Oh, did your husband pump that milk? Because tell him to shut up. Right.
abby (17:28):
Well, that's the thing we freak out about too, is that our milk's not fatty enough. Her doctor said, you're not getting enough. The baby's not getting enough fat. And then like your friend's pump, maybe your friend pumps milk and you saw it in the fat on top was like half an inch thick. You know that you're like, Oh my God, my milk doesn't look like that. It doesn't need to, whatever comes out of your body is perfect. It's not whatever color it is. However thick. The fat on top becomes it's specifically made for your baby. Yeah. And
dianne (17:55):
And different, yeah. All the time. Yeah.
abby (17:58):
And sometimes affected by what you eat. Or if you have like a little like blood in there, it will turn it pink. It's fine to give it to your baby.
dianne (18:06):
Totally. Okay.
abby (18:07):
Not have to throw it away. Please do not throw it away. Totally. Your baby's designed to eat.
dianne (18:14):
Yes. So no matter what it looks like when you pump it, it's fine. Don't ever question it. It's not going to come out of your breast Spoiled. I don't know why anybody thinks that. I know
abby (18:23):
It's like impossible. It's the best way. The best way to like give your baby the freshest food. That's never spoiled.
dianne (18:30):
I know. I don't know. I like, I can't even wrap my head around that.
abby (18:33):
And it's yeah. Well, let's talk more about this after a word from our sponsors. How about, okay.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Today's episode is brought to you by Sheila Darling coaching. The transition to Parenthood can be intense. Feelings of anxiety and depression are actually quite common. Your feelings should not be ignored. You deserve space where you can process this transition and all of the emotional and psychological changes that come with it. You may hear people telling you to just enjoy it, or it all goes by so fast. These statements are dismissive of the changes we go through and we have a new baby transitioning to a new family member. Isn't always the peaceful journey we see on TV. Sheila Darling coaching can be that professional support person that Dianne and I are always saying, there is no shame in getting. Sheila Darling is a social worker, a certified hypnotherapist and mindfulness meditation teacher. And could be your start to a more peaceful life. Head to Sheiladarling.com to schedule your consultation today and mention this podcast when scheduling your consultation and receive 10% off a coaching package. And today's episode is also brought to you by Fair Haven health. If you are struggling with sore nipples, you need pain relief fast. And when sore nipples turned a cracked nipples, forget about it. It's enough to want to call it quits. Damaged nipples can cause real problems with successfully breastfeeding your baby check with a lactation consultant to make sure that your baby is getting a good latch and get some Milkies nipple nurture balm. Nipple nurture Balm is formulated to sooth, protect and heal, sore or cracked nipples. This nipple balm is made with organic herbal ingredients and combined with natural moisturizers to help provide relief and to heal affected areas and even prevent cracks from reappearing nurture nipple balm alleviates the discomfort. So the joy can be restored to your special bonding time. It is safe for both parent and baby, and there is no need to wipe it off before breastfeeding head to fair Haven health.com. That's F a I R H a V E N. health.com and use promo code badass for 15% off of your purchase. And, uh, our sponsors and these promo codes can be found in our show notes. Under this episode at bad-ass breastfeeding podcast.com and our show also include further information about things we talked about in this episode, and you can find our breastfeeding resources, all of our other episodes and information about scheduling your very own one-on-one online lactation consultation with Dianne. And now back to pumping myths.
dianne (21:09):
Do you want to go next?
abby (21:10):
Yeah. Well, I was going to say some more too about like, well, I don't know if this was on, well, I'll say it. I'll let you make a note and I'll say it at then, or we can talk, are we going to talk about like storage stuff? Um, cause with the, just because with the like, you know, we were talking about, I would never spoils and how it's always fresh out of your breasts, but what about pumping? But like, it's not going to spoil after you pump it either. No, you know, like you'd really have to forget about that shit in your bag for like a month. I know that to be, you know, like people like, Oh my God, it was on the counter for six hours. It's not supposed to be on the counter for that long it's okay. It's fine. It's okay. It's totally great. Do not throw that milk away.
dianne (21:49):
One of the cool things with human milk is that there is live white blood cells in it, which actually kill the bacteria. So they have they've researched milk or they've looked at milk that has been sitting out versus milk that has just been pumped. And if they've seen that the milk that's been sitting out actually has less bacteria in it than the milk that's been pumped because the white blood cells kill it. So it's not growing fangs while it's sitting out. Yeah. You know, like it's just not
abby (22:18):
Like the milk from the cow in the carton. Oh. Like it that you have in your refrigerator next to it. Maybe you know that, that shit will go bad. Yeah.
dianne (22:27):
But this is different. This is totally different.
abby (22:31):
So yeah. So my other one is I keep saying that it's like related, but it's all related about pumping. Today's it's all related and all pumped milk. Um, but what is it? And I'll tell you right now. I do not know the science. I do not know details behind the science behind this. I've read it. And every time I read it, it makes me so angry because I'm like, this is like hard enough parenting and pumping is hard enough. Now we've got this nonsense going around. So have you heard, um, the whole, like once you pump the milk and it separates, so now it's separated. Right? And so you want to mix it again. You want to swirl it very carefully and not shake it too much because it will damage the milk.
dianne (23:14):
Yeah. We, when I was first coming into the whole lactation world and learning, that was the theory that if you shake it, you will break the long-term or the long chain, fatty acids, longterm, the long chain, fatty acids that are in the milk. You will, you, you can damage them if you shake it too much. And then new research came out. That was like, what the F is that. Like, that's not a thing.
abby (23:39):
Yeah. So you will still hear this. You'll see, you'll hear this like, well, so now you pumped it, you went through all of that trouble of pumping. You went through all the trouble of storing it, defrosting it, maybe giving it to a caregiver maybe. And now you got to make sure you got to make sure you got to stress out about, you know, mixing this milk together carefully so that you don't damage it. Like it's China or you know, some delicate crystal or something, you know, swirl it in the bottle. Don't shake it. I don't know. Don't drop it, I guess. Cause that's kind of like shaking it. So then if you do that, you gotta throw it away or whatever. I dunno. It's bad. Oh my God. Stop your like that. I'm just like, Oh my God, I can't even take it anymore. It's not that hard. It is too much. This is too much. Do not start telling me the details of like things that I need. Now I need to start carrying it. Like, you know, some ancient artifact, no man, just mix that milk its fine. Feed it to your baby. Let's totally fine. Got to move on. We've got to stop with all of these things that make everything so hard and stressful. I don't know about everybody else, but that stuff really stresses me out. Yeah.
dianne (24:53):
I can't deal with that. And I have one that goes kind of along with that too, with the whole stressing me out with the pumping and everything. And that is, if you do this, if you are listening and you do this, I am absolutely not saying that this is wrong. I am not saying that this is something you shouldn't be doing. I'm just saying it's not necessary. And that is giving your pumped milk at the exact same time that you pump at,
abby (25:22):
Oh my God.
dianne (25:23):
Or I can only give nighttime milk, pumped nighttime milk at night. Or I can only give pumped daytime milk during the daytime. My, my baby's getting a bottle during the day. So I can only give them the milk that I pumped during the day. I can't give them the milk I pumped in the evening.
abby (25:43):
That's stressing me out right now.
dianne (25:45):
Stop doing that. And you can read that. Sometimes people will say, Oh, it's best. You know? Cause there's, cause it is true that your milk changes depending on the time of day, depending on what's going on, nighttime milk is higher melatonin. Yes. This stuff is all really true. But please do not make yourself crazy by trying to pump the exact same time that your baby is going to get a bottle or by only giving milk at certain times of day. Because that's, when you think they should be getting it. It's okay. Give them the milk that you pumped. When, whenever you want to pump it, put it in the freezer, put a date on it, use it before it gets old. That's all we got to say about it. Like it does not have to be certain times. It doesn't have to be anything like that. Like mothering is hard Enough. Parenting is hard. If you have to start balancing what time you're giving your baby a bottle based on what time you pump. It just is too hard. It's too much to even consider.
abby (26:44):
No. And it's not even better. Like there's not enough of a difference there of what's happening to make a difference. Like your baby is getting breast milk. Like that's that is what is making the impact on Their long-term health. That's that's what it is. Not just that. Not that like they got, you know, 2:00 AM milk at 2:00 PM, right? No, exactly. That's not. What's that's not what is making the difference.
dianne (27:12):
So don't worry about that stuff. All those little things. And it irritates me so much when I read and read that online or reading people's blogs that, you know, this is what you should be doing. Know if you give your baby this milk at night, because this is what they're getting. No, just give your baby the milk. It's fine.
abby (27:31):
I do feel like a lot of this stuff comes up because people want content for their blogs. I feel like a lot of this, a lot of these myths and stuff like that, get circulated still so that there is content because there is no it's, it's harder to, to, you know, it, it's content. And a lot of times you see these on this, like on these formula pages or these big pumping pages, here's, here's what you need to do. And then there's a big, long list of things that you need to do. And like, you know, because they want clicks on their blog. Right? And like, all it does is create confusion and stress. And it's it's, it's not, it's not even like the correct information.
dianne (28:15):
It's no, it's not.
abby (28:17):
Or its something they Want to sell. Or it's like wrapped around some sort of like manufacturing, um, you know, marketing ploy that they've got like this bottle, you know, this bottle does this. And then like, you know, it you know, you're supposed to do this with your pump. And so here's this part that you can buy or this, something or other that you can buy that will help you do it. It's not, no, no, no. You don't need to do any of that.
dianne (28:41):
Yeah. So be careful what you read.
abby (28:44):
Yeah. If you didn't hear it here.
dianne (28:48):
No, it's not right. I think we've said that before. It's not on one of our blogs do not pay attention to it. Okay. Next one is that it shouldn't hurt. Pumping should not hurt. Please. Don't hook yourself up to a pump and turn it out as high as it will go.
abby (29:07):
Oh my God. Yeah. People do that.
dianne (29:09):
You see that a lot. It should not be painful to pump. It Shouldn't be pinchy just like breastfeeding. It shouldn't be uncomfortable. And if it is like Abby was saying earlier, you know, like we were never taught. Flanges are sized. It could be that we need a different flange. It could be that you need a different size flange, a different type of flange. The other thing that kills me about the pumps is that they're like, they're made as if every single human is, is built the same.
abby (29:38):
Oh, right. Yeah. It's like, we're not, this is other thing. The other Reason why pumps just do not function across the board, you know, in the same way from person to person. There's so many reasons for that. And the fact that we're all built different. That's another reason.
dianne (29:54):
So if it, if it is painful, then we need to find out why just like with breastfeeding, if it's painful, I don't. And sometimes it may be you'll pump once or twice and be like, all right, it's okay. I can tolerate it. But then you need to start pumping at work. And you're pumping four times a day now, like that might get uncomfortable really quickly. So we, we can't just keep going on with that. I've seen a lot of breastfeeders with damaged tissue and their nipples and stuff. Like people sometimes will come to me with like, you know, with damage to their breast. And I'm like, that's a pumping thing, you know? And it all along thinking that it's a breastfeed, their babies, like not latched well or something, it's like, no, that's a pumping. That's a pumping thing. So make sure it's comfortable. If you feel comfortable, make sure it does not hurt. It's not pinchy,
abby (30:50):
and milk is not going to come out. If you're hurting or not as much, anyway, It's not going to let down, you can't like have a letdown if you're like all tense and in pain.
dianne (31:00):
Right. So, yeah. So we don't want it to be painful for you some, and then that kind of goes with like some just don't respond well to a pump, right? Some parents just don't respond well to a pump. And that doesn't mean there's something wrong with you.
abby (31:20):
And it also doesn't mean that you can't keep up working in and you providing breast milk to your baby, you know, there's ways. And there's like in that, you know, there's ways of like there's ways of, of learning how to express more milk while you're pumping, you know, like with the hands on pumping and also on the other side of that, what I always talk about when I couple that with always is paced bottle feeding. Yes. Is because this is like, another thing that goes along with pumping is that we are not taught how to use a bottle. We're not taught how to pump and we are not taught how to use a bottle. And this is what we always do. And you always see it in the movies or the TV, you know, a baby laying flat on their back with a bottle shoved in their mouth.
dianne (32:01):
Nobody taking the bottle out, they're just leaving it there. Yeah.
abby (32:03):
They just leave it there. And they have their big conversation early, you know, doze off or whatever. And the baby has no choice. You know, sucking in swallowing is this reflex to your baby. So they're going to, if there's a full bottle, they're going to have to suck and swallow that bottle until it's empty because they've got no other choice in the matter they can't be like, I'm done. I'm full. You know, this is a baby. They can't do anything except suck and swallow. So it's going to, and then you're going to go, Oh, well they're still hungry because they finished that bottle. So, Oh my gosh, I better get another bottle and feed them another bottle. Cause they're still sucking and swallowing. So they must still be hungry. No, they just don't have a choice. Right. And so, yeah. So you want to like pace bottle feeding. You want to like put your baby in a more upright position and you want to just be filling that nipple. And this is the other thing I actually did a paced bottle feeding. No, I was talking about paced bottle feeding on a, on, on a Facebook live the other day. And I got this question. I always get, I forgot to talk about it in the, uh, in the video. And I always want to say this because people see, when you see paced bottle feeding happening, you see the bottle is horizontal, right? And it's horizontal to the ground and you fill the nipple up with the milk and the, let the baby suck there for a little while. And then you leave the bottle in the mouth, but you let them, you tip the bottle so that the milk leaves the nipple for a little while and let the baby continue to kind of suckle on that so that the milk settles in their belly and whatever. So they're not just eating super fast. Well then I get this question. Well, but aren't they swallowing air. Isn't that bad? Oh man, we all swallow air. That's why we burp and fart. Your body is made to deal with the air that you swallow. That is, that is that myth was created by bottle manufacturers to get you to buy a certain kind of bottle or bottle baby swallows, less air .No no No, that is a marketing ploy. And there is no truth to that. You do not need to worry about that. Burp your fricking baby. And when they're in an upright position, you know, they're more likely to just have, that'll just come out more easily anyway, just like you when you're eating. So I forgot to say that. And I always, cause I always get that. Cause you always, I always get that question, but aren't they swallowing air. Yeah. I get that a lot too. It's like the biggest, that's one of those other things that piss me off because it comes directly from bottle manufacturers. They made that up to try to sell you that bottle where baby swallows less air. It has all the parts to it. Yeah. I don't even know. It's ridiculous. Not even looking into it because no, that's not a thing. Pace bottle feeding is the best way to feed your baby. And you do not need to worry about the whole empty nipple thing. You know, that they're suckling on for a minute. That's actually helping them, you know, to, to eat slower and to not, you know, spit up or get fussy because they've overeaten too quickly or you know, all those things, right? The benefit is way, way, way, way better. And the swallowing, the air thing is just a normal way of life. You know, that's going to happen the rest of your life. We all swallow air. We're all fine.
dianne (35:09):
They swallow Air when they cry too. Yeah. Right. So what are you going to do about that?
abby (35:13):
There's no way you can avoid swallowing air in your life. That's why literally why you burp and Fart. I mean, Oh my God.
dianne (35:21):
All right. I have one more.
abby (35:22):
Oh, okay.
dianne (35:23):
One more. And that is that you're going to like pumping.
abby (35:26):
You're going to what??
dianne (35:27):
Like pumping. Oh, I hear that All the time.
abby (35:31):
Who the hell said that?
dianne (35:31):
prenatal class. If people can't wait to pump. Oh my well, they come to prenatal classes. Don't give a shit about any of the breastfeeding information. Just want to know about pumping. That's where their biggest questions are. Pumping. Well, I'm going to want somebody else to give a bottle. I want my partner to help. I want to, you know, go back to work. I want to be able to go. And yes, we want all those things for you. If that is what your breastfeeding relationship looks like, that is what we want for you. But don't be in a hurry to do this because you're probably not going to like it. And I think everybody just figures, Oh, it's just the same thing. I'll just pump and that's it. Yeah. Yeah.
abby (36:10):
And pumps and bottles are so normalized in our culture. That as soon as somebody gets pregnant, that's like, Oh, here's a pump here. And you needed a pump. Yeah. Actually, you know, I don't, you do not need a pump unless you are spending time away from your baby and they need to eat while you're not there. That is the only reason you need a pump. You do not need a pump in order to successfully breastfeed.
dianne (36:33):
No, no you don't. And people do think, well, when do I start pumping to help my supply? Like you never need one. If you don't, if you don't need to leave milk for your baby, you don't need to have it. But we have this concept that pumping is going to be great. It's everybody wants a bottle. Yes.
abby (36:51):
Right. And they want to do it immediately. Yeah. Like in the hospital. Should I start pumping if you want too much milk, right? If you want to oversupply, maybe.
dianne (37:02):
like, no, just relax. Sit on your couch with your baby and don't worry about it now.
abby (37:08):
You don't need it. You don't need to worry about that right now. No. And yeah. The you'll even hear that in the hospital tell you to start pumping can then breastfeed and then pump.
dianne (37:19):
No, you don't need it. Give yourself some time. And I, and then after these babies are born, you hear people say, Oh my God, when can I stop pumping?
abby (37:29):
Oh yeah. I know. I'm always so excited to tell people when they can stop pumping. Like I spent a year, can I stop pumping? I'm like, yes, you can stop. Now. I that's like the best news. I love giving that.
dianne (37:41):
they have like ceremonies over putting their pump away, they cannot wait. And those are the same people that couldn't wait to start. You know? It's like, it is not, it is, it is not an enjoyable experience to pump. It's just not. And I guess it's something you can't realize until you're actually doing it. But like you said, we've normalized it so much that it's just like something that you assume you're going to have to do once you have a baby. That's just part of it. Just like anything else is what we think, but it's not needed. So those are my myths. All right. Well, thanks. Yeah. Fun. And if anybody has anything else share, we'd love to hear it.
abby (38:24):
And thanks for listening. Thank you. Bye
Speaker 1 (38:40):
[inaudible].