New Mom Seeks Advice on Pumping Breastmilk

I had the same issue. I would take a warm shower or put a warm cloth on my breasts before I got ready to pump. It helped the milk to flow more easily and it also made my breasts fell better. Hope it helps.

Hi S.,

Congratulations on your new baby!

On your pump - are you using the let down mode for the first few minutes? Try adjusting to a higher setting. And massage your breasts before you begin pumping, this will help stimulate the flow.

Are you having any pain? No clogged ducts?

-Char

Hi S.,

It's possible that you don't have the suction turned up high enough to express the milk...I know that it hurts, I have three kids that I breast fed and pumping was part of each one. If you haven't felt yourself "let down" then you aren't going to get nearly enough. You really have to relax during the process. Try looking at a picture of your baby, close your eyes and imagine feeding. Another trick I used on occasion was to allow the baby to start feeding (I know this sounds mean), remove the baby and pump the rest. You can also try letting the baby feed on one breast and pump the other as long as the noise isn't too distracting for your baby. Good luck to you.

P.

Hi S.-

How frustrating!! My daughter had problems latching on and I got soooo much support from the lactation center at Mary Birch. I would make an appointment and have them evaluate you. Hopefully you will work!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Pumping was a very frustrating experience for me. I ended up meeting with an in home lactation consultant through Welcome Home Baby program. It is a free program in California to help new mothers adjust. It was well worth it and I got great support. One tip she gave me that made a world of difference for me was to drink a huge glass of water about a half hour before pumping. Also...play around with the settings....try pumping fast at first and then slow it down once you let down. Good luck!

I would definitely go and see a lactation consultant. Most of the hospitals will offer free consults or a lactation support group where you can take baby and your pump and get all kinds of advice and information. They will check your baby's latch and will check that your pump is working properly, that you are using it correctly, and the phlanges fit your breasts properly. The standard ones that come with the Medela are size 24 or 26. Because of the shape and size of my nipples I needed a size 30. Once I got the right phlanges and the right suction setting I was good to go.

Pomerado Hospital and the hospital in Escondido offer a free lactation support group that meets once a week. You just need to call their womens boutique or go online to get the information. Here is the information from http://www.pph.org/default.aspx?nd=1022

The HealthSource at Palomar Pomerado Health offers a wide variety of classes* for new and expecting parents. Many of these classes are provided at the Women’s Health Connection at various times throughout the year. For more information, or to register for a class, call The HealthSource at 800.628.2880.

- Preparation for Childbirth
- Successful Breastfeeding Class
- Breastfeeding Support Group
- Mommies in Motion Prenatal Exercise Class
- Baby-Care Basics
- Basic Training for Dads
- Infant Massage
- Baby Sign Language
- Becoming a Big Brother / Big Sister
- CPR for Family & Friends
- Pediatric First Aid
- A Child’s Response to Love
- Mothers of Twins & Triplets Club

* Class offerings subject to change without notice

I had the same problem, but what worked wonders for me was to get a damp washrag warm in the microwave, and put it on your breast, and in about a minute or less the milk starts flowing - it did for me anyway. Good luck!

Hi S.,

Don't be too hard on yourself... it's the first month so even breastfeeding is not where it will be as you and baby both become experts. Pumping does take a little getting used to, and it started slow for me too. I agree a lot with what Pam said. Really imagine you are feeding your baby, so that the hormones/emotions will help get your milk to let down. I started pumping at 3 weeks, and we had daddy give a bottle with that expressed milk so that baby would get used to taking a bottle. This helped both of us (daddy gets to help with feeding and bond, mom learns to pump), and the milk did increase with time.

I do find that I can never pump quite as much as she eats. I've been told your milk supply is best in the morning, and I think I've found that to be true.

Good luck!

I had a similar problem several months ago. You see, know one exactly told me the proper way to pump and it turns out I was doing a few things wrong! You may ask yourself how could you possibly not know how to pump correctly ...well...somehow I managed to not know how!!!

When the pump first turns on it has a "let down" period where it goes a bit faster. Well you see...when I would turn the pump on I would already have a lot of milk coming out so I would automatically press the button because I thought my milk had already "let down" I would be so frustrated because I would only get like 1-3 oz total. After a long time of drinking teas and taking fenugreek suplements I still wasn't pumping a lot of milk. I knew I had plenty of milk, but why couldn't I pump enough???? Well, I wasn't letting my milk down properly. I finally figured out that you need to let the pump let it run it's 2 min deal and your milk will finally let down within that time frame. Sometimes it will take longer for my milk to let down so I will have to repeat the "let down" phase. I am sure you are working your pump correctly, but just incase you are doing what I was doing I thought I would share my story :) Good luck to you.