To celebrate Pump Momma Pump’s 7th Birthday, I’m sharing the “7 Things I Wish I Knew” at the start of my pumping journey. Here’s #1: I wish I knew… that Exclusive Pumping IS “a thing!” I wish I knew… That exclusive pumping IS breastfeeding! That exclusive pumping IS sustainable! That more people exclusively pump than you realize! That it can be an empowering CHOICE for your family!
Before giving birth for the first time, my husband and I took a series of prenatal classes offered by our hospital. One taught us about childbirth. One taught us about bringing home a newborn. And one, as you can guess… was on breastfeeding. I assumed I would breastfeed. That was our plan. In our limited experience at the time, we felt that the class “prepared” us for breastfeeding. Did they even MENTION pumping? One guess…. go ahead, guess…
Nope. We don’t even remember it being mentioned, let alone ever hearing the term “exclusive pumping.”
After giving birth a month early, my baby landed himself in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) because he didn’t have the stamina to nurse/transfer milk well from the breast. Over the first few days, I met with 3 lactation hospital counselors (that’s unheard of!) Guess how many of them helped me use a pump, flange-sized me, or even mentioned pumping as an option- 0. ZERO…. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Fast-forward to years later, this doesn’t surprise me at all because I hear it all the time. Why are hospital lactation consultants so bad? Aaaanyway… it was one amazing NICU nurse named Pat who taught me to use a breast pump, got me set up with a strict pumping schedule, and gave me the tough love I needed to stick to that schedule. I need to find Pat and give her a big ol’ hug or something. I owe a lot to that woman. She taught me that exclusive pumping is definitely “a thing” and definitely “a thing” that I could do for my baby when he was in the NICU and I was feeling so powerless.
Exclusive Pumping IS “a thing!”
Exclusive Pumping (often abbreviated as “EP”) is totally absolutely 100% a thing! Exclusive pumping means that you feed breastmilk by pumping and bottle-feeding instead of nursing/latching directly from the breast. Even if you are supplementing with formula, you’re still exclusively pumping. It’s how women all over the world feed their babies when their baby is unable to transfer milk well from the breast. When they are separated from their baby. When their baby is on a nursing strike. When they go back to work. And yeah…. When they choose to because it feels or works better for them. I have often felt like an outcast, being made to feel that EPing is somehow a lesser form of feeding that breastfeeding. But guess what, buttercup… exclusive pumping IS breastfeeding!
Exclusive Pumping IS breastfeeding!
When my baby was very young, my aunt asked me if I was breastfeeding. I replied that no, I was exclusively pumping. She put one hand on my forearm, looked me in the eyes, and said “Pumping is still breastfeeding, it’s just not nursing.” Life. Changing. Revelation!
- Breastfeeding: n. the action of feeding a baby with milk from the breast. (Oxford English Dictionary)
If you ever encounter a scenario in which you need to educate someone about this topic, you can steal my aunt’s very simple reply- “Pumping is still breastfeeding, it’s just not nursing.”
Exclusive Pumping IS sustainable!
I have heard SO many mommas tell me that their pediatrician (or mom, or cousin, or friend, or random person on the street with too many opinions) told them that they wouldn’t be able to exclusively pump because it isn’t sustainable. Why do they say this? Here’s my best guess:
- Because EPing requires regular, frequent pumping right from birth to bring in the next stage of lactation, to build, and to maintain supply. That’s not always possible for some women, as life and other priorities get in the way.
- Because everyone responds to breast pumps differently and it can take a lot of trial-and-error to find one that works well for you.
- Because moms don’t always know how to find an effective flange size and pump settings to make the most out of their supply.
- Because there isn’t enough support for exclusive pumping. In my formal CLC training, we used a textbook with 350 pages and only 15 of them mentioned pumping.
- Because they know someone who couldn’t sustain an exclusive pumping journey and that’s all they’re going from.
So yes, barring any primary low supply issues (Primary low milk supply occurs when a mother’s body is unable to produce enough breast milk to meet her baby’s needs, even when breastfeeding practices are optimal.) with enough support and knowledge, exclusive pumping can absolutely be sustainable.
More people exclusively pump than you realize!
I remember standing in the kitchen at work, washing my pump parts. A table of coworkers were eating lunch when another walked into the kitchen and struck up a conversation with me about her current exclusive pumping journey. Two of the women eating shared that they had exclusively pumped for their babies, too. That’s FOUR women in one office kitchen that exclusively pumped- How cool is that? I got SO EXCITED as you can imagine! People aren’t used to someone cheering about EPing. Many view EPing as a failure in some way. The women didn’t all immediately high-five each other. I honestly think they thought I was weird. It wasn’t until I explained what I do here at Pump Momma Pump that they realized why i was so excited. I hope they left lunch feeling more “normal” and celebrated, than they did before lunch that day!
Over the past 7 years I have “met” thousands of mommas online from AROUND THE WORLD that exclusively pump! They’re out there, you just have to find them! I hope that you’ve found community here at Pump Momma Pump and feel as celebrated as my friends at work did that day at lunch! If I could give each of you a high five, I would!
Be sure to follow Pump Momma Pump on Instagram for education, motivation, and support! (And more great tips like these!)
