Mom1 : Cute baby! How old is she?
Mom2 : Thanks, she is 4 months.
Mom1 : Oh great! What do you give her?
Mom2 : I bottle feed her.
Mom1 : Oh, so you give her formula milk.
Mom2 : No , She takes breast milk BUT through a bottle. Cause I am a Pumping Mom!
I have this conversation often. And each time I fail to understand why “bottle feeding” is synonymous to “formula feeding”?
In our Indian culture, there are two types of moms. One who breastfeed and the other who bottle feed aka formula feed. In between these two extremes, there is a rapidly emerging section – Pumping Moms!
Who is a Pumping Mom?
A Mother who pumps out her breast milk to feed the baby through a bottle.
Breast milk is the best food your baby can take. But there can be reasons for which the mother cannot continue to breast feed for long. Maybe she has to join back work. Sore nipples. Difficulty in adjusting with breast feeding for both baby and mum. In all these cases, you can still feel happy about giving your baby the precious breast milk. Just turn into a pumping mom.
How does it work?
A baby has to work hard in drawing out milk from your breast. To replicate the suckling of a baby, there are various breast pumps available in the market. These pumps create a suction through electric motor or manual action and thus draw out milk from your breasts.
The breast milk can then be stored in the refrigerator and be given in a bottle when you need to feed your baby.
When to choose Pumping?
There could be various reasons for opting to be a pumping mother.
1. You are working or plan to join work soon.
2. You and your baby cannot settle well with breast feeding.
3. Your baby weans herself/himself off your breasts.
4. You get sore nipples or breast feeding hurts you.
5. You need some freedom for yourself.
6. You want to start bottle feeding for longer run. And do not want to give only formula milk to your lil one.
7. You want to sustain your milk supply even after your baby starts solid food.
The reasons can be many more but the important part is, amidst all these you can continue to give the benefits of breast milk to your baby!
Benefits
1. Anyone can feed your lil one. And from experience, It’s a bliss!
2. After starting on solids, babies tend to be fussy at breasts. They get distracted often. With a bottle fed baby you can continue your feeding routine.
3. Once babies start solids, they spend lesser time on your breasts. Some mums face the issue of decreased milk supply thereafter. Pumping moms are able to sustain their supply for long.And thus you also get the benefit of feedind breast milk to your baby for more months.
Downsides?
1. Pumping like breastfeeding has to follow a schedule. Especially when you are establishing your milk supply.
2. Babies are best at drawing milk from your breasts and pumping is the man made replica of that action. So, some days, it might take long to empty your breasts .
3. Laborious.
4. Mechanical and monotonous.
Last Words
Whatever be your reason, don’t shy away from turning to a pumping mom. Any amount of breast milk is great for your baby in his/her first year of life.
And it’s time people understand that bottle feeding is NOT synonymous to formula feeding! 🙂
P.S. Stay tuned for further articles on my pumping mom series!
Pingback: Pumping Moms - Breast Pumps to buy in India. | The Thinkin Hat
Pingback: Indian Moms Connect | Who are Pumping Moms
Working women, faces great difficulty in breastfeeding but fortunately, we have pumping machines to pump and store milk for the babies. Though its becoming so common now, still many has a stigma. In Dr Mehta’s Hospitals, if you are working women, they teaches how to pump and store milk hygienically