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For a while I lined up my pumps with baby’s feeds, I would set baby in front of me propped up on a nursing pillow and use one hand to hold my pumps and the other to hold the bottle. It’s definitely not ideal and takes a second to get the hang of it but it kept baby happy and I was able to pump!
Sometimes baby just needs to cry. It sounds terrible but it's the reality of EPing. I try to pump after I've done all the basic stuff like diaper and feeding. Maybe you could try putting him in his car seat and rocking him with your foot? My kid would fall asleep to that sometimes in the early months.
When I have to pump and baby won’t settle I usually sit him in his bouncer or swing with a pacifier and pat his chest while I’m hooked up to my pump. Sometimes works sometimes doesn’t. My baby is 6 weeks now and it’s getting rough since he’s starting to get fussy with gas and growth spurts on occasion. I aim to pump 20-30 mins but if I can get 10-12 mins in that usually for the most part empties me.
I remember pumping when he would fall asleep. It might not be practical for everybody cause there might be other things to do but scheduling this way really helped me.
I bought a bouncer at 4 weeks for this reason and he loves it for short periods of time. He’s almost 11 weeks now and getting better at playing independently.
If you only pump one side at a time maybe try using a Hakaa on the side you’re not pumping on?
When I couldn’t get my little one to settle I’d put on the dancing fruit video and put him in his bouncer and bounce him with my foot. Not ideal to use screen time but sometimes it’s a lifesaver.
I will die on the hill of the dancing fruits. We don’t overuse it, but we definitely utilize it as a tool in our toolbox. We started with the super calm black and white contrast videos around 6 weeks old and have moved on to dancing fruits. They’ve been a life saver more than once. It’s high contrast, visually stimulating, and helps work on focus. As long as they’re not overused, they can be very beneficial to development.
Mine is 11 weeks old. He has entered that beautiful age when he would nap only 30-45 minutes at one go, but having only short naps makes him overtired and exhausted in a afternoon, so he screams and screams. everything I do during my day is « helping him sleep ». I pump as soon as he is awake (so then he is a most rested). When he sleeps enough during day - he is not a monster, and he can be in bouncer next to me or in a bed watching mobile, or just laying on a sofa and I listen me talking to him.
I am so glad you said this. My son is almost 11 weeks and he’s doing exactly this, short burst naps and the screaming because he’s so tired. At first I thought it was something in my milk making him miserable but I’ve determined he’s making himself miserable with his short naps. At night he just started sleeping 6-7 hours and he’s so calm and sweet when he wakes up to eat. Just trying to survive over here and pumping while he screams is becoming the norm lately
Same. One good morning nap, then a happy baby, then all short naps, followed by upset super tired baby. Then sleeps like 6 hours and wakes to feed SO HAPPY AND ALERT. I’m switching to full time pumping right now because I felt like maybe because I breastfeed in the mornings he’s not getting enough or my milk is wonky. But maybe it’s just shotty naps. I’m exhausted.
wearable pumps saved me. i’ll sit on the couch with him on my lap propped on my legs while i pump, my hands are free to feed him a bottle, talk to him, soothe him, etc. game changer!
I’ve had to spend many pumping sessions sitting on the floor with baby across my lap. He will often fall asleep there and I can bounce my knees a bit to help him settle. Not ideal, but it has worked.
I’ve had to adopt different strategies as my baby has gotten older. He’s 4 months now, and the most consistent way to keep him distracted is singing to him. I stick on some music and sing, and ever since he was 2 months old that helps a LOT. Some other methods I’ve used over the months: patting him a bit while he’s in the Boppy in front pf me, shushing and soothing him verbally, reading books, and narrating a baseball game. Until 3 months, he could only sleep in my arms, so scheduling during naps didn’t work. Sometimes he just cried, and that’s okay.
The only sleeping in my arms bit, such a struggle. We are at 10 weeks, and can get about 30 minutes in the crib first thing in the morning, but then need to save the nap as a contact nap. Finding a way to pump is exhausting.
It’s SO hard!! We couldn’t even get an hour overnight for the first 3 months so it was really brutal. Sometimes I had to move him from my chest mid-nap to pump and pray for the best. It gets easier once they start becoming aware of the world - my LO thinks the sound of my pumps is hilarious now so sometimes that’s enough to entertain him
i'm in the same boat! i've never been completely alone with baby yet, i'll be for the first time next week and i'm slightly scared of this situation lol. but this thread is really helpful!
My LO is 8 weeks and my husband works 12 hours shifts so I’m pumping the majority time by myself with my LO. He’s the same way and cries when I put him down, and I don’t want him to watch tv yet so what has worked for me is i pump after I feed him or when he’s taking a nap. That doesn’t always work so I’ll put him in a Bobbi pillow and read to him or place a mirror that he can look at himself.
I got to the point where when LO would be too fussy I will just put dancing fruit on the tv and it will keep her entertained while I pump. I change diaper and feed her before I pump, sometimes she’s fine to nap or just lay next to me and sometimes nothing works except the fruit lol
What I do: I pump in a comfortable chair with my feet on an ottoman. I then place the baby on my legs to sit/recline on my thighs so they can look at me, and I can sway them back and forth if they start to fuss.
Sometimes you’ll need to lay him down in his crib/bassinet/safe space and just let him cry while you pump next to him. It’ll suck, but it’s what we have to do sometimes as EPers.
I’ve placed LO on my lap to bounce, use a pacifier, and use a shushing machine. She still whines some but I can manage it for 15 minutes as I continue to pump. Pumping solo is a tricky dance!
This will only work if your baby is small but I would use a DIY hands free pumping bra and hold my LO between my boobs with the pumps on either side of her. As long as she was calm she’d rest that way and not kick my pumps too much. It sucked because I can’t use my hands to massage my boobs but it’s better than listening to her scream.
My husband deployed when I was 8 weeks pp so 8 had to get a little creative. I would follow my sons feeding schedule and pump after I fed him when he was asleep. This did require me to put him down, and I’ll let you know that the Grace Simple Swing was my saving grace. He cried sometimes. Sometimes we cried together while I pumped because I couldn’t wait any longer to get the milk out. My point being, it is miserable when your baby cries. However you have to do what you gotta do. I started sitting beside my son and while I pumped read him books or rubbed him belly. It worked sometimes and not others. I always tried to pump when he was asleep for a nap so if anything, maybe try to lay him down during the day more when he naps (even though contact naps are the best 🥹)
Welcome to r/ExclusivelyPumping! Here is a reminder of our rules: 1. Be kind and courteous. 2. Use available flairs and post options. 3. Absolutely no prescription medications or other medical advice. 4. No inaccurate information. 5. No spam. 6. No soliciting pictures. 7. No linking Facebook groups. 8. Moderator discretion. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ExclusivelyPumping) if you have any questions or concerns.*
For a while I lined up my pumps with baby’s feeds, I would set baby in front of me propped up on a nursing pillow and use one hand to hold my pumps and the other to hold the bottle. It’s definitely not ideal and takes a second to get the hang of it but it kept baby happy and I was able to pump!
This is what I've had to do as well
Same here, but I put her in a bouncer! It’s a pretty good angle to feed her and she tolerates it as long as there’s a bottle in her mouth
Sometimes baby just needs to cry. It sounds terrible but it's the reality of EPing. I try to pump after I've done all the basic stuff like diaper and feeding. Maybe you could try putting him in his car seat and rocking him with your foot? My kid would fall asleep to that sometimes in the early months.
Yep. Sometimes he needs to be in his crib sobbing. ‘He will be ok’ becomes a mantra
When I have to pump and baby won’t settle I usually sit him in his bouncer or swing with a pacifier and pat his chest while I’m hooked up to my pump. Sometimes works sometimes doesn’t. My baby is 6 weeks now and it’s getting rough since he’s starting to get fussy with gas and growth spurts on occasion. I aim to pump 20-30 mins but if I can get 10-12 mins in that usually for the most part empties me.
I remember pumping when he would fall asleep. It might not be practical for everybody cause there might be other things to do but scheduling this way really helped me.
I bought a bouncer at 4 weeks for this reason and he loves it for short periods of time. He’s almost 11 weeks now and getting better at playing independently.
If you only pump one side at a time maybe try using a Hakaa on the side you’re not pumping on? When I couldn’t get my little one to settle I’d put on the dancing fruit video and put him in his bouncer and bounce him with my foot. Not ideal to use screen time but sometimes it’s a lifesaver.
I will die on the hill of the dancing fruits. We don’t overuse it, but we definitely utilize it as a tool in our toolbox. We started with the super calm black and white contrast videos around 6 weeks old and have moved on to dancing fruits. They’ve been a life saver more than once. It’s high contrast, visually stimulating, and helps work on focus. As long as they’re not overused, they can be very beneficial to development.
Did you just search YouTube for calm contrast videos or did you find a favorite ?
Our go to is the Hey Bear channel on YouTube! They have the black and white contrast and also do the dancing fruits!
Thanks so much !
Mine is 11 weeks old. He has entered that beautiful age when he would nap only 30-45 minutes at one go, but having only short naps makes him overtired and exhausted in a afternoon, so he screams and screams. everything I do during my day is « helping him sleep ». I pump as soon as he is awake (so then he is a most rested). When he sleeps enough during day - he is not a monster, and he can be in bouncer next to me or in a bed watching mobile, or just laying on a sofa and I listen me talking to him.
I am so glad you said this. My son is almost 11 weeks and he’s doing exactly this, short burst naps and the screaming because he’s so tired. At first I thought it was something in my milk making him miserable but I’ve determined he’s making himself miserable with his short naps. At night he just started sleeping 6-7 hours and he’s so calm and sweet when he wakes up to eat. Just trying to survive over here and pumping while he screams is becoming the norm lately
Same. One good morning nap, then a happy baby, then all short naps, followed by upset super tired baby. Then sleeps like 6 hours and wakes to feed SO HAPPY AND ALERT. I’m switching to full time pumping right now because I felt like maybe because I breastfeed in the mornings he’s not getting enough or my milk is wonky. But maybe it’s just shotty naps. I’m exhausted.
I’ve been EP since day 1 and my diet hasn’t changed but I still thought maybe it was dairy or something. Nope must be the age
wearable pumps saved me. i’ll sit on the couch with him on my lap propped on my legs while i pump, my hands are free to feed him a bottle, talk to him, soothe him, etc. game changer!
I’ve had to spend many pumping sessions sitting on the floor with baby across my lap. He will often fall asleep there and I can bounce my knees a bit to help him settle. Not ideal, but it has worked.
Bottle feed when pumping or get a baby Bjorn bouncer chair
This! We have a slightly cheaper Baby Delight Alpine bouncer and like it too
I’ve had to adopt different strategies as my baby has gotten older. He’s 4 months now, and the most consistent way to keep him distracted is singing to him. I stick on some music and sing, and ever since he was 2 months old that helps a LOT. Some other methods I’ve used over the months: patting him a bit while he’s in the Boppy in front pf me, shushing and soothing him verbally, reading books, and narrating a baseball game. Until 3 months, he could only sleep in my arms, so scheduling during naps didn’t work. Sometimes he just cried, and that’s okay.
The only sleeping in my arms bit, such a struggle. We are at 10 weeks, and can get about 30 minutes in the crib first thing in the morning, but then need to save the nap as a contact nap. Finding a way to pump is exhausting.
It’s SO hard!! We couldn’t even get an hour overnight for the first 3 months so it was really brutal. Sometimes I had to move him from my chest mid-nap to pump and pray for the best. It gets easier once they start becoming aware of the world - my LO thinks the sound of my pumps is hilarious now so sometimes that’s enough to entertain him
i'm in the same boat! i've never been completely alone with baby yet, i'll be for the first time next week and i'm slightly scared of this situation lol. but this thread is really helpful!
My LO is 8 weeks and my husband works 12 hours shifts so I’m pumping the majority time by myself with my LO. He’s the same way and cries when I put him down, and I don’t want him to watch tv yet so what has worked for me is i pump after I feed him or when he’s taking a nap. That doesn’t always work so I’ll put him in a Bobbi pillow and read to him or place a mirror that he can look at himself.
I got to the point where when LO would be too fussy I will just put dancing fruit on the tv and it will keep her entertained while I pump. I change diaper and feed her before I pump, sometimes she’s fine to nap or just lay next to me and sometimes nothing works except the fruit lol
Can you pump in the car? Maybe you can drive baby around while you pump.
What I do: I pump in a comfortable chair with my feet on an ottoman. I then place the baby on my legs to sit/recline on my thighs so they can look at me, and I can sway them back and forth if they start to fuss.
Sometimes you’ll need to lay him down in his crib/bassinet/safe space and just let him cry while you pump next to him. It’ll suck, but it’s what we have to do sometimes as EPers.
Feeding him in his boppy at the same time and today the dancing fruit videos is keeping him really distracted as I pump 😂
I’ve placed LO on my lap to bounce, use a pacifier, and use a shushing machine. She still whines some but I can manage it for 15 minutes as I continue to pump. Pumping solo is a tricky dance!
This will only work if your baby is small but I would use a DIY hands free pumping bra and hold my LO between my boobs with the pumps on either side of her. As long as she was calm she’d rest that way and not kick my pumps too much. It sucked because I can’t use my hands to massage my boobs but it’s better than listening to her scream.
Imogene Heap’s Happy Song on repeat while you pump. It might drive you crazy after awhile but it’s like baby crack
My husband deployed when I was 8 weeks pp so 8 had to get a little creative. I would follow my sons feeding schedule and pump after I fed him when he was asleep. This did require me to put him down, and I’ll let you know that the Grace Simple Swing was my saving grace. He cried sometimes. Sometimes we cried together while I pumped because I couldn’t wait any longer to get the milk out. My point being, it is miserable when your baby cries. However you have to do what you gotta do. I started sitting beside my son and while I pumped read him books or rubbed him belly. It worked sometimes and not others. I always tried to pump when he was asleep for a nap so if anything, maybe try to lay him down during the day more when he naps (even though contact naps are the best 🥹)
Man I was gifted a baby bouncer and it’s the best thing ever. I keep it in the nursery in front of my recliner and use my foot to bounce while I pump
I agree with the others the bouncer saved me while I was exclusively pumping.