I have a hard time getting let-down when I try to pump. I gave up after 10 minutes trying today. I have no problem when nursing, but want baby to take a bottle occasionally. Any tips/suggestions?
I tried thinking about baby's face and cries, tried pumping faster/slower, tried focusing on the physical stimulation... I don't pump often so I just have a manual single pump, and also wondering if a double electric would make any difference (it's a huge $$ investment for a "maybe").
With my second, I rented an electric pump. Much better than the manual. Lactation consultants will also have them available to rent.
I had the Medela and it worked fine, however I did have a hard time getting used to pumping. I can't imagine a manual hand pump would have worked for me. The first bottle I pumped didn't even make it to the 1 ounce line. I was so disappointed, but eventually I got there.
The manuel never worked for me. The electric was fantastic! I bought one used from my sister, sterilized it and it was great! It was the Medela pump-in-style.
Manual single like an Avent Isis? I used an Isis for when I went back to work fulltime, and I had a great result with it, people couldn't believe I used a manual pump. I found a good trick that worked for me. Cold horns = instant letdown, keep the horn in the fridge/freezer. Also, since you are only pumping for occasional use, try to build a little freezer stash of milk by pumping after your baby feeds. There's usually something left and you're taking advantage of the letdown you've already had. Good luck!
the pump makes a huge difference.. a snigle cheap pump was a painful device without much milk.. a good medela double pump was comfortable and was able to pump a lot of milk in a short time.
I had a horrible time nursing and pumping with my first, so I have done a lot of research on how to increase supply and help with letdown for my little one who is almost here. I haven't tried them yet, but I plan on using heated nursing pads. You can google them and find lots of different brands. Good luck!
you can get a evenflow pump (single or doouble) electric pump from walmart I used mine 4-5 times a day for TWO years. It had batteries & a plug. Having two helped me.
I would get the double electric pump--I used it for 4 mos. while I was working. I suggest checking baby consignment stores or websites because that's a high-priced product that women want to sell once they've moved past that stage. It's easy to buy replacement tubes.
I had the Medela Double electric pump. I never used a manual one, sicne I work full time and used my pump 4-5 times a day.
What I did do was think about other things.. played a game on my phone, read a book etc..
The other thing you can try is while nursing on one side pump on the other. your let down should be good then.
I always found it helpful to manually express to get the milk started then switch to the pump once I was getting a decent flow. It might also help to have a picture of your baby and/or something that smells like the baby. I also found it very important to be very relaxed so I would sit in a small space by myself and do deep, cleansing breaths at least until I got a really good flow going.
If you're only interested in storing milk for future use, I found it easiest to pump first thing in the morning when my breasts were most full. I would feed baby on one side and pump the other at the same time (alternating each morning). Baby getting one side to let down always helped the other to let down also for pumping. It never affected my daughter's take since I had too much once she was sleeping through the night anyways. I tried pumping after feeding but never got much even after days of trying so I gave up on that idea.
I had a double electric (one of the cheapest they made) and a manual (avent). I only used the electric when I was away from my daughter for a time, only because my hands would get tired from the manual pump after doing both sides. For storage only purposes I always used my manual and actually found it more comfortable and I liked being able to control it. With the manual I could often get a stream that lasted for 15+ seconds and would just hold the pressure until it died off rather than having a constant suck and release of the electric.
I used electric medela, but the first baby it took me close to 15 minutes to get let down reaction.
Maybe give it a few more minutes. I also found that when I nursed, I didn't always think about my baby. I was reading or working on the computer (don't ask). So when I pumped if I put my mind on something else it was easier:)
I started out with a single manual pump when my daughter was born to try to build up my supply of milk before I returned to work, but that pump seemed to get me nowhere but frustrated. Same as you, I had no problem with let down when I was feeding my baby, but with that pump it just didn't do the trick. When I returned to work I got a Medela double electric pump and that worked great! These pumps are costly so I guess you have to decide how far you want to go with pumping. For me, my baby was strictly fed breastmilk when I was away so with this pump it helped to ensure that I could keep up that supply. If you just want to pump occassionally then maybe you could shop around for an electric pump, but one that it not as expensive. Good luck!
