The milk production in the breasts, much like so many other things, work on the shear principal of supply and demand. The more breast milk your baby consumes, the more your body will need to make. Breast pumps are generally used to insure continued production of breast milk when you cannot feed your baby – whether you are back to work, traveling, taking medication, or just out of town. Basic types of pumps Breast pumps can either be battery operated, hand operated, semi automatic electric, or even self cycling electric. Hand pumps Manual hand pumps are designed to use the strength of your hand or arm muscles for pumping one breast at a time. You can also get pumps that will use the leg and foot muscles for pumping both breasts at one time. Mothers that with carpal tunnel syndrome may want to consider using a pump designed for the arm or leg muscles or even an automatic model. Battery operated pumps Pumps with battery operation are the best for women who have an established supply of milk and want to pump once or even twice a day. These pumps use batteries to create suction, minimizing any type of muscle fatigue. Most battery type pumps are designed for pumping one breast at a time and are recommended for occasional usage. Electric pumps Even though electric pumps are more efficient than hand or even battery operated pumps, they also tend to be more expensive. You can however, rent them if you need to. Electric pumps can normally plug directly into an outlet and are designed for pumping both breasts at a time and even frequent use. Hospital grade pumps are the most efficient for initiating and maintaining milk supply, and are available for rent or purchase.
Breast milk is actually the only food your baby will need until 4 months of age, although most babies do well on breast milk alone for 6 months or better. There is really no advantage to adding other foods or milks before 4 – 6 months, except under unusual circumstances. Water Breast milk is over 90% water. Even in the hottest days of summer, a baby won’t require any extra water. If a baby isn’t feeding well, they still don’t require any extra water – although they will need the breast feeding problems to be fixed. Vitamin D Although breast milk doesn’t contain much vitamin D, it does have a little. The baby will store up vitamin D during pregnancy, and remain healthy without any vitamin D supplementation, unless you yourself had a problem with vitamin D deficiency when pregnant. Exposure to the outside will give your baby vitamin D, even in winter and when the sky is covered. An hour or more exposure during the week will give your baby more than enough vitamin D. Iron Breast milk contains less iron than formulas do, especially those that are iron enriched. Iron will give the baby added protection against infections, as many bacteria need iron in order to multiply. The iron found in breast milk is utilized well by the baby, while not being available to bacteria. The introduction of iron should never be delayed beyond the age of 6 months. Breast milk is the best that your can feed your baby, as it provides everything he will need for probably the first 6 months. After the first 6 months, you can introduce solid foods to your baby if he is taking an interest to them.
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