2012-11-14, 01:34 PM
I did pump milk for my babies, since I had to go back to work when they were 3-4 months old, and I wanted them to have my milk at daycare. I was a member of a mailing list for pumping mothers for a long time, and not a single woman there would recommend exclusively pumping unless there is no choice.
Pumping is far less convenient than nursing. Washing and sterilizing bottles and pump parts, managing the milk so it does not spoil (so sometimes refrigerating, sometimes freezing, sometimes thawing), warming it up, carrying filled bottles when you go out, and so on. Pumps are less efficient than babies, which means that to keep up one's milk supply one needs to pump often and long. It's so much easier to just lift one's shirt and latch the baby on. It also feels so much nicer to be hugging your baby instead of communing with a noisy machine. (This is also where the bonding comes in, through the nursing hormones).
It is true that breastfeeding can hurt at first. It's worse if the baby latches on not quite right, which is where the lactation consultant comes in. But even if everything is done right, sensitive nipples can get chafed. There are creams one can use, that are safe for baby (so don't need to be washed off). The pain doesn't last long, and is totally worth it for the convenience afterwards.
However, it's worth having a pump even if your wife does not intend to work or go to school while the baby is young. It is not recommended to give bottles (of either breastmilk or formula) in the first few weeks, due to the possibility of nipple confusion (getting milk out of a bottle and out of a woman require entirely different techniques). However, after everything is going smoothly, you two might want to go out and leave the baby with grandma for a few hours. Or if wife is too tired for that, you might want to let her sleep a full night while you feed the baby. Or there can be other situations when you might want to have some expressed breastmilk on hand. It can be kept in a regular freezer for 3 months, and deep freeze for 6.
I hope that answers your question. If not, ask again / more
Pumping is far less convenient than nursing. Washing and sterilizing bottles and pump parts, managing the milk so it does not spoil (so sometimes refrigerating, sometimes freezing, sometimes thawing), warming it up, carrying filled bottles when you go out, and so on. Pumps are less efficient than babies, which means that to keep up one's milk supply one needs to pump often and long. It's so much easier to just lift one's shirt and latch the baby on. It also feels so much nicer to be hugging your baby instead of communing with a noisy machine. (This is also where the bonding comes in, through the nursing hormones).
It is true that breastfeeding can hurt at first. It's worse if the baby latches on not quite right, which is where the lactation consultant comes in. But even if everything is done right, sensitive nipples can get chafed. There are creams one can use, that are safe for baby (so don't need to be washed off). The pain doesn't last long, and is totally worth it for the convenience afterwards.
However, it's worth having a pump even if your wife does not intend to work or go to school while the baby is young. It is not recommended to give bottles (of either breastmilk or formula) in the first few weeks, due to the possibility of nipple confusion (getting milk out of a bottle and out of a woman require entirely different techniques). However, after everything is going smoothly, you two might want to go out and leave the baby with grandma for a few hours. Or if wife is too tired for that, you might want to let her sleep a full night while you feed the baby. Or there can be other situations when you might want to have some expressed breastmilk on hand. It can be kept in a regular freezer for 3 months, and deep freeze for 6.
I hope that answers your question. If not, ask again / more