Water Intake - How Much Water Should I Be Drinking While Pumping?

The simple answer is the same for a healthy woman breastfeeding or pumping. You should be drinking enough water to quench your thirst plus a bit more.

Not exactly quantifiable, we know.

So instead think of it this way: if you are asking your body to create more liquid output in the form of breast milk, you’ll want to increase your liquid input. A general guideline is to drink an extra four 8 oz glasses of water daily.

But you’re busy! You have a baby to care for and a life before pregnancy to remember and a schedule to return to and – jeez – how can you remember to drink (and then actually drink) an extra four glasses of water daily?

Sterilizing Your Pump

Before its first use, you will want to fully sterilize your breast pump. However, every pump is different, with different parts. So before you boil up that big pot of water, consult your user’s manual for directions on proper sterilization. Failure to follow the recommended procedure could damage the pump or invalidate your warranty.

Breast Milk 101 – Milk Production

Whether you decide to exclusively nurse, exclusively pump, uniquely combine the two efforts, or introduce formula, the Breast Milk 101 series is an effort to give you basic information about breast milk without opinion or judgment, to help you form your decision.

Breast Milk 101 – Three Stages of Breast Milk

New moms and dads you meet, your family and friends, your colleagues, the online forums, even your local politician – it seems that everyone has an opinion about breastfeeding these days and they aren’t afraid to share it with you. But this is your baby to raise and the way you plan to feed him or her is your decision. Gather all the information you can before he or she arrives, decide on a feeding plan, and then follow that plan to the best of your ability, health, and sanity.

How Should I Set Up My Pump Station?

An article from Psychology Today, discussing the pros and cons of routines, begins
like this: 

If you’ve got a good routine set up…you’ve freed yourself from a lot of small decisions that could slow you down or capture valuable brain space that you’d prefer to use for something else. You can now go on autopilot and still accomplish your goals. In this way, paradoxically, a good routine can be freeing. No need for constant decision-making about what’s coming next or what you should do. You’re going to brush your teeth before you leave the house, and that’s that! (1)

While we intend to say nothing about sticking to routines for the rest of your life, we do suggest making everything about your breast pumping a routine so that it can become easy and relaxing! Part of establishing your pumping routine is establishing a pump station—one place that you regularly pump when you’re home.

How Do I Get My No-Cost Breast Pump?

Because of the Affordable Care Act most health insurance policies are required to cover the cost of a breast pump for mothers. This applies to all private health insurance plans (with the exception of grandfathered plans), Medicaid in certain states, and through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in some instances. See (link to overview of ACA post) for an overview of the Affordable Care Act and its effect on maternity benefits.

What are the Features of Top Breast Pumps?

To select the best breast pump for your needs it’s important to do a bit of preliminary reading and research. Narrow down the options by first determining which breast pumps are available to you at no cost under your insurance policy.  Gather further information about specific makes and models through the manufacturers’ websites, asking recent moms which models they use(d) and the features they liked or disliked, or reading relevant user reviews.*

How Much Time Should I Spend Pumping?

Don’t you hate it when you want a quick and definitive answer to a straight-forward question and instead you get: There is no one answer. Everyone is different.

Well—we hate to tell you that, so…we’ll pretend like we didn’t (although it is true) and move on to a few generalities and average breast pumping times as provided by published medical practitioners and experienced moms.

Is my Breast Pump Really “Free” Under the Affordable Care Act?

“The best things in life are free.” 

Who can argue with the wisdom of Coco Chanel? And even though the fashion and cultural icon had no children running through and cuddling into her own life, she too would undoubtedly agree that the little midnight coos, morning hugs, the budding smiles of happy content—some of the precious first moments shared between mother and baby—are free and the very, very best.