Pumping - Mount Laurel,NJ

I think it definitely depends. However, if you're pumping, don't forget to add in all the extra time for cleaning parts, making bottles, storing milk, etc. One shortcut trick is to store the pump-setups in the fridge between pumping sessions--you can just wash them well or sterilize once per day, and keep them cold in between sessions. Saves a little time. I also remember reading that a pump session really isn't more effective past 15 minutes or so--basically that you'll get about all you're going to get in the first 15 minutes. Search www.kellymom.com for details about this.

Adding: Also consider that just pumping doesn't feed the baby--it can still take the baby up to 15-20 minutes to drink the bottle. Once you add together pump time and feeding time, that could easily be over 45 minutes.

I can't imagine pumping would be quicker than breastfeeding. And its so much more work, cleaning equipment, storing it, cleaning bottles, etc. When you are breastfeeding, it is all ready to go and clean up's a snap, literally, lol. And neither of my kids ever took 45 minutes except in the hospital maybe when it was still new to both of us and everybody was exhausted.

All babies are different. Some like to linger at the breast but most get in and get the job done and it doesn't take 45 minutes! My second was a champ! She would literally be done nursing both breasts in under 15 minutes and she was happy, satisfied and gained weight great so I knew she was getting the hind milk.

I had to pump exclusively for my preemie until I taught him to nurse. It was 12 long weeks, i can tell you. Once I taught him to nurse it was so much easier! Like Tori H said, you have to pump, then feed (actually in my case I would feed baby, hold him on my legs due to slight reflux, then pump for the next feeding), the wash, sterilize for the next feeding. It was tiring but I did it because I knew i could get him to learn to nurse.

I highly recommend taking a breastfeeding class thru maybe la leche league and Martha Sears has a great no-nonsense breastfeeding book that offers lots of great info on the basics. Breastfeeding.com and kellymom.com also have fantastic info. The more you know the facts about breastfeeding the better off you will be, the more comfortable you will be and the more successful you and baby will be. Don't listen to old wives tales.

My kids both nursed 10 minutes tops. The were very efficient eaters (a little noisy sometimes ;) ). Pumping was more difficult for me because I could not pump as much and it took at least 3 times as long for me.

I don't believe breastfeeding is the only way to bond with your baby (ummm Donna S?? that was rude and B****y) but I do suggest trying it first. Breastfeed for a couple weeks, and then decide if pumping is a better option.

Good luck and congratulations!

I could usually pump at work in about 15 minutes or so, but I produce a LOT of milk and mostly had to pump for comfort. Breastfeeding is so much easier and handier and I can't imagine giving my kids bottles, especially after having gone to the work of pumping. You can feed a baby with company or in public, but I can't imagine pumping in public. Ew. :)

There is the pumping time, the cleaning time, the prepping bottles time, and bottle feeding time, and then the cleaning of the bottle time. In the middle of the night, it is much better to just nurse. There is also research that shows that moms who breastfeed average more sleep than moms who do not. Also, because the pump is NOT as efficient as your baby at emptying your breasts, it can be difficult to maintain your supply as easily as you can if you are nursing. Save the pump for when you have to be away or go back to work--and besides, early on is really when babies nurse for so long, and you'll want and enjoy that snuggling and bonding time.

NO! It is not quicker and it's tough on you physically and mentally! I pumped exclusively with my first for about 4-5 months and it was hard. We had all kinds of BF issues with her that I won't bore you with, but I decided that I could do pumping and I did. It takes a lot longer because you have to pump, feed the baby, clean the pump, put away the milk and then go back to bed. Also, pumping doesn't stimulate your supply as effectively as actually nursing so I had issues with that too. I took an herbal supplement, fenugreek, and it worked well, but it's just one more thing to add to your list of things to do. If you do go with pumping over BFing, or even if you choose to do it frequently, you MUST get a hands free bustier. It is a life saver! It allows you to pump hands free so that you can feed the baby (or do anything else) at the same time. This was an absolute necessity in the middle of the night.

If you can breastfeed without issue, I would encourage doing that (while pumping when needed) over pumping exclusively. You are tied to the pump and it there are more steps involved! If you aren't able to breastfeed it's a great alternative.

I just had my 2nd baby a month ago and I am BFing also. Have a pump and keep meaning to pump some milk to have on hand if I need it, but it is such a hassle with time and cleanup. I pumped frequently when my son was a baby 3 years ago and it takes time. Unless you need to pump for any specific reason, there really isn't any benefit in doing it (in my opinion). You can help your baby be a more efficient nurser by making sure they are not sleepy on the breast, making sure they are latched on properly and paying attention to how often they are gulping/sucking. With my first baby, he would nurse forever and I was new at everything too. It took me quite a while until I got good at it (and so did he). Every baby is different though. You just need to get the hang of the whole process.

You have a lot of people weighing in here :D

My two-cents: I breast-fed both my kids, one who is petitte, there other in the 90-95th percentile. Both ere efficient nursers - breast-feeding rarely took more than 25 min. On the infrequent occasions that I pumped, it was definitely more than 25 minutes out of my schedule...and I had to stay put! After I and my child got the hang of BF-ing, I could wear them in a carrier and nurse, so could be mobile at home, or out and about, without having to worry about carrying a bottle with me, warm it up, etc...or stop and pump b'c of engorgement. And yes, I have to agree with the majority of folks, babies do drain the breast much more thoroughly than a pump.

Hope this helps!

I don't ever remember actually timing nursing, but I'm quite sure my daughter never nursed for as long as 45 minutes a time. The older she got, the quicker she was at it, too.

What is your concern about the time it takes to feed your baby?

Every kid is different. BF never took me longer than 30 min in the begining & after about a 2 weeks we were down to 15 min. My kids were frequent eaters & fed every 2 hours for the first 3 months. (I should probably add that they were very big, both over 9lbs at birth & they stayed in the 90th percentile the first 6 months). My sister's baby nursed for less than 15 mins & she waited longer between feedings. One of my friends had kids who were much slower eaters & they would usually take 45 mins. I think that lasted a couple of months then they got down to a more reasonable time.
When I pumped (on the rare occassions that I pumped...I hated it) I hardly got any milk & it took forever. BF worked much better for me. But, I do know people who had a much easier time pumping (I also had a cheap pump. I recommend investing in a good one if you plan on pumping).

both my kids were always pretty "efficient" when nursing but i pumped while i was at work...always took me at least 30 minutes to pump, plus all of the cleanup & washing the pump parts afterwords. I always enjoyed the downtime i could take while nursing...those first few months it seemed that that was the only time i actually sat down and relaxed! lol but iagree with PP's...every baby is different. some take longer than others.

I can't imagine pumping to be quicker. It almost seems ridiculous. My dd was premature and so a very slow nurser. Took her about 45 mins to nurse the first few weeks. She got quicker at it and soon was nursing one side only for 10 mins each feeding. My son nursed for about 10 mins as a newborn but soon was under 5 mins a feed by the time he was a month old. He never nursed longer than 5 mins and he was off the charts in weight(over 100%) and 97th %tile for height. So he was a huge baby, birthweight was 10 lbs and he never lost weight in the hospital like most babies do even tho he was only nursing 10 mins total and eventually under 5 mins. I did a lot of research as I was worried he was so quick, but found that babies get 95% of their milk in the first 5 mins of bf and the rest of the time is mostly comfort sucking. Of course if you have a preemie this does not apply since they don't suck well at first. After reading this I would pop my son off after 5 mins if he was going longer, and he still continued to gain at incredible rates. So my time nursing him was always very quick. I couldn't even set the pump up in the time it took him to be done. Even with my daughter who I had to pump for,, it was still easier to bf, and I was so thankful when I didn't have to pump anymore with her. It is a huge hassle to set up, pump and then clean up and someone else has to hold the baby while you do all that. BF is so much quicker and easier. I would have hated to bottle feed, all the mess of bottles and cleaning and preparing. I suspect formula feeding is a bit quicker than pumping, but still there is the time mixing and feeding a bottle can take just as long as nursing and in my experience longer sometimes, and then there is the cleanup of washing bottles and refilling and measuring, etc. I wouldn't want the extra hassle, if I didn't have to. Like I said I had no choice with my daughter, but was so happy when she could just nurse, made life so much easier. I can't imagine anyone saying pumping could be quicker. Unless they were just talking about the time actually pumping(which is probably about equal to nursing but can be longer if you don't respond well to the pump), but then you also have to count the time preparing the pump, and cleanup and then the actual feeding of the bottle. When I was pumping for my daughter, it took me about 45 mins to pump a bottle and then cleanup and everything was well over an hour and that didn't include actually feeding her. So, having experienced both, I truly can't imagine anyone saying it could be quicker to pump.

Pumping is quicker BUT you cannot get as much milk out with a pump as the baby can get sucking. Some people just do not respond to the pump at all. I breastfed when at home for the first 3 months exclusively, then morning, dinner, evening and during the night for the next 9 mos while pumping 3 times a day at work with baby #2. That worked out OK to get enough milk for his bottles for daycare BUT when I was exclusively pumping for baby #1 because she had a bad latch that wasn't fixed with multiple lactation consultants, feeding with aid devices, etc after 5 weeks, I dried up TOTALLY by 4 months using a double-pump Medela Pump In Style and had to resort to formula. If you decide to pump exclusively, I would RENT a hospital grade pump from a pharmacy that rents them (you can find one at Medela.com). If your baby is a slow eater, yes it can take 45 minutes to nurse. They generally get faster as they age (unless you have a dawdler) and then nursing is faster and more convenient for sure.

How long it takes to breastfeed completely depends on the baby. My first nursed 30-40 minutes each feeding and my second only does 15-20.

Pumping is definitely not quicker once you add on having to feed the pumped milk to the baby and clean your pump (as Tori pointed out) but you also have to account for the time spent washing bottles and the added expense of bottles, nipples...

I find nursing so convenient because you can go anywhere, any time without having to bring anything (other than diapers, wipes and maybe a change of clothes). You don't have to plan for how many bottles to bring, how to keep them cold, how to heat them up, etc. When baby is hungry you're ready. When s/he's done, you're done. No clean-up, no mess.

I exclusively breastfed my son and in the beginning it felt like I was nursing all of the time. He got more efficient pretty quickly, so it was fine after a couple of months. I also felt like I was realy inefficient with pumping, I had to pump twice to get a full bottle for him.

But, I also had a friend whose daughter was premature and she never latched properly, so my friend decided to pump and give her all breast milk. She said she felt like all she ever did was pump and feed her bottles because she was pumping ~30 minutes per feeding to get her supply up and her daughter was taking ~40 minutes to finish a bottle. By the time my friend's daughter was 6 months old she was only pumping twice a day and getting enough milk for all of her bottles. But, at the same time by the time my son was 6 months old he only nursed 5-7 minutes per side and he had drained the breast. If you take into account that bottle feeding requires storing, freezing, heating milk and cleaning bottles, I think nursing is less of a pain. If you decide to pump a lot I would just recommend nursing in the beginning to get your supply up and then switch to more pumping.

It depends on your baby, your breasts, and your pump.
In my experience, feeding my children directly from the best took 1/2 the time that pumping did. By the time you set the pump up, get the attachments ready, pump (which is often not the same amount your baby would get if they were nursing - I'd often pump twice to get one bottle), then clean the parts, you easily have 45 minutes. (And that's with a hospital grade pump)
Once breastfeeding was established, both my children took 20 minutes or less in a nursing session. Much more effective to nurse them than to pump.

The best class we went to prior to our children being born was a class offered by our local lactation consultant. She is wonderful. If you have one in your area, she can speak with you about the biological and logistics of feeding directly from the breast or pumping a bottle.

I just had my second child 3 months ago and I nurse and pump. It does take longer, sometimes up to an hour the first month or so, but now when i nurse my daughter, it only takes 10-15 minutes. When I pump at work, I feel more fuller faster than when my daughter nurses.

I did alot of pumping while I was on maternity leave so I had a big supply build up before returning back to work. Bottom line is, you need to do what you are most comfortable with and what works best for you and the baby.

Good luck and congrats on your new little one!

Totally depends. In the beginning, I was bfing for 45 minutes, pumping for 20, and then feeding the pumped milk-- which took about an hour and a half every 2 1/2 hours! So, I did NOTHING but nurse/pump/feed/clean up. It was awful. Then my baby got a bit better at nursing-- might have been down to 30 minutes to feed an then pump/ clean up, etc. Eventually (by 4 months), it probably took about an equal amount of time to nurse or pump. It is theoretically faster to pump with a double pump, but you have to factor in set up/clean up and bottle feeding. Also, some women find that it takes them much longer to let down with the pump than the baby. I think this is just one of those things you have to work out for yourself. The vast majority of women find that they get less when they pump then they do with the actual baby nursing, so you have to factor that in. For me, I only pumped when I was at work or away for the baby for more than a couple hours, except in those first 6 weeks or so when I was pumping AND nursing to increase my milk supply. At the end of the day, when you have a newborn, the only thing you can do is nurse and sleep. There is just no way around it, and you are setting yourself up to fail if you think you can somehow get more done. When the baby gets a little older, it gets faster, but you have to just accept how much time it takes in the beginning.

Every woman and baby is different. My kids rarely took/take longer than 15 mins. and when I pumped with my first child, it was comparable. This time around, I have less time to pump, and found I got a lot less milk for a lot more time - my son is way more efficient than my pump!;) If you are trying to make a choice based on time it takes, that's not a great indicator. As my first OB said - give yourself 3 weeks. If you hate nursing after that, at least you tried:)

I pumped exclusively for a few months... It was quite a bit quicker at first... I had a very slow nurser, she was taking at least 30 minutes each side, and pumping took about 10 each side (then about 15 to feed her the bottle) So it was 1 hr- 1.5 hr on average to nurse, 35 to pump... BUT when I finally got my DD back on breast at around 4 months, she was sooo much faster! They get more efficient as they get older. Now at 9 months, she takes about 10 minutes total. Pumping was nice, since I had an over-supply I was able to store quite a bit of milk. It was also nice being able to take a bottle around, since I am not comfortable nursing in public. The thing that did suck though was trying to pump when we were out and about... It takes a lot more planning. Also, the pump increased tenderness a lot for me. If you are going to pump, make sure you 'lubricate' your nipple with some milk before... I honestly would say to try to stick to breast though. I got lucky that my DD was willing to go back to breast after being on the bottle... but I know plenty of mothers who couldn't get their baby back on breast. Then you are stuck having to pump for the whole year (if that is what you choose...). Plus, while nursing can take a while, if you try the side-laying position, you can catch a nap or read a book... use the feeding time as a way to grab a little down-time for yourself. You're gonna need it! Good luck with whatever you choose. :)

I think it's faster in the beginning, however if you plan to do it long term (more than a month or two), nursing becomes much quicker. By the time my twins were two months old, they would nurse for 15-20 minutes and be done. So, count the time to pump and bottle feed and it's about the same amount of time.

I pumped and fed my son from a bottle for 8 months. It took about 15 minutes to pump both breasts as I had a double electric pump. It would then usually take about 30 minutes for him to feed (when he was a newborn) then only about 15-20 minutes after a few months. I would pump about every 2 to 3 hours which is typically what a newborn baby would do if he were breastfeeding. The more you pump, the more you will produce so I then began to create a supply that I could store in the fridge for the next feedings and then eventually freeze! Not only was it great for my little guy to get breastmilk for 8 months but it also really helped me to lose the weight fast and keep it off...everybody wins! Personally this was a great situation for me because it allowed me to give him what's best but also gave me a break so that Daddy and others could also help with feedings. You just have to be committed to pumping. I could make it all night mostly without pumping if I did it right away before I went to bed and as soon as I woke up in the morning while my husband would feed the baby. Ok so to really answer your question, its not necessarily quicker timewise but might be a better option for you if you don't want to solely be the one in charge of feeding.

I think it all depends on the baby and your boobs. My son was a premie and his mouth was too small to reach the sinuses (the pressure points that need squeezed to get the milk out), so pumping was a necessity (even without several other issues we had) and I would've loved to just nurse and forget the rest. Also, from being a premie, he would nurse, nap for 2mins, nurse, nap for 2mins, etc. Where as most full-term babies can nurse long enough to fill up.

I know several women who would nurse bucket-loads but barely get an ounce with pumping, so it wasn't efficient for them. Good luck!

For me, breastfeeding is much faster. Pumping takes me 20-30 min, plus setup and cleanup. And I do it every day at work, so I'm pretty efficient at it, and my body is used to it.

My 1st baby would eat for 10-15 min per side - so about 30 min total. About the same amount of time as pumping, except the setup and cleanup from pumping added extra time.

My 2nd baby is a very fast eater. He nurses only on 1 side per feeding for less than 10 minutes. So he's a LOT faster than pumping.

Every mom, baby and pump are different. I was always able to pump more, when my daughter was nursing more. When I would travel for work and I was away from her, my supply would decrease and pumping took longer (some of this is dehydration, flights, an adult beverage as a treat, and just breaking from your routine can be dehydrating which decreases your supply).

Whether my daughter was on the breast or a bottle, I tried to keep her focused on the task at hand, giving her cheek a gentle pinch to keep her from dozing during her feeding, but usually she was a pretty good eater. I think it just depends on whether the baby nurses for comfort or for hunger, I don't think my daughter ever took 45 minutes to nurse, but I know moms that felt like as soon as their newborn was finished one feeding they were ready for the next (I'm sure this is a slight exaggeration - but it would be possible that some babies may take 45 minutes).

Breast feeding is definitely WAY easier than bottle feeding, and pumping just adds to the amount of stuff that has to be washed and lugged around. For some mom's it takes a little while to be comfortable with the idea of BF around people, I was broken right in. I was trying to discretely nurse my newborn in one room, while the rest of my family was in another. My dad, who probably didn't even realize I was nursing, came over and plopped himself next to me to check out his first grandchild. I very quickly adjusted to BF anywhere after that. Good luck!

Absolutely not. You'd have to pump, then give the bottle. it's so much more fresh, warm and intimate if you just nurse. The baby will feel much better that way too.

I would have to disagree on this one. The baby is more efficient at draining your beasts then a any pump would be. In addition to your pump time you then have to add the time to sit and feed the bottle. Nursing avoids this two step process.

Hi, M.:
Why do you want to pump instead of breastfeeding?
Breast feeding is done to bond with the baby?
Is there some reason you don't want to bond with
your baby.
Just want to know.
D.