Thursday, June 25, 2015

Should You Invest in More than One Breast Pump?

If you are having your first baby and you have decided to breast feed there are many things you need to know. The more you know ahead of time the better off you will be when it comes time to put your plan into action. If you have already nursed a child before then you know how important using a breast pump can be.

New moms will want to take care of their babies every time they hear them even whimper…in the beginning. But after a while, mom needs a nap or she may need to step outside for a minute and get a little fresh air. How do you handle this when you are the sole source of nutrition for your baby? This is where a breast pump comes in.

Even though you want to make sure your child is getting the most nutritious food source available it is possible to do both. When you use a breast pump, you pump the milk from your breasts into baby bottles that you will store in the refrigerator. The milk will only last about 24 hours, but that’s okay, you are planning on using them within that time period anyway.

Now with a bottle already prepared and ready to go in the fridge, your spouse or grandmother can take the little one off your hands for a much-needed break. Baby still is enjoying your milk and getting to meet the other members of the family as well.

Now there are different types of breast pumps – automatic, hand-held, battery-operated, electric, hospital-grade, manual, hands-free, and double breast pumps - see more here. First you need to decide which type of breast pump suits your needs. With the Affordable Care Act your health insurance company will pay for certain breastfeeding products and supplies. It will also pay for the rental of a hospital-grade breast pump if you would like to try it out first before you purchase one.

If you are just going to use a pump sporadically you can get away with a manual pump. This is the least expensive of all the pumps and will take longer to gather the milk. If you are a busy mom who may be returning to work soon you may want to consider the hands-free and even double breast pumps. These pumps will draw the most milk in the shortest period of time, and usually do it hands-free.

This does not mean that you have to stick to only one kind of breast pump. You may get one that is covered through your insurance and then pay for an additional one so you have a backup device in case you need it. The breast pump allows you to introduce your baby to a bottle so you will be able to add juice and water to his daily diet.

Using a breast pump will give you the option to store milk quickly and have it ready when it is needed.