Help with pumping? My pumped quantity sucks!

bobbydsgirl

I don't know what the problem is but pumping has been getting very frustrating for me lately. Sometimes I only get less than 2 ounces from both breasts combined, and I know there is more in there because they still feel heavy when the milk has stopped flowing.

I try massaging the hard areas and sometimes that produces a few more drops, but not a consistent flow. I feel l like i am wasting my precious time and I don't know what's wrong. I try thinking about LO nursing and that doesn't seem to help much.

I used to be able to pump more ounces out of them ... it may be the pump but it still feels like the suction is strong when I first start ... after a while it doesn't feel as strong but I think that may be b/c my nips become desensitized ... many times i am only pumping one side at a time -- does this reduce flow?

Anyone have tips for emptying breasts with the pump! I need help! TIA!!

haleymay18

Have you tried warm wash cloths over them? I had mastitis and the flow became really slow but this seemed to do the trick.

Also, you could put a little lanolin on the shields and perhaps that would help the suction...

hriesen4

What the pp said.  How many minutes do you pump?

bobbydsgirl

I pump about 10 minutes but usually the flow only lasts about 5.

Where do you put the lanolin? on the outer edge or nearer to the nipple opening?

BetsyDavis

Try a larger breast shields. That helped me out a lot. If the shields are to small it reduces the amount of milk you will get an produce because some of the milk ducts get blocked.

ZacksBride

if you are only pumping for 10 minutes, you are probably only getting one let down.  for me, i need at least 2, if not 3 let downs to completely drain my breasts- takes about 20 minutes.  i also do breast massage and compression once i get a let down to help get more milk out.  what pump do you use? i have an ameda purely yours where you can adjust the cycle frequency/suction strength.  basically i start pumping with fast cycles and lower suction... once i get a let down, i slow the cycle speed and crank up the suction...when the milk flow stops, i again turn up cycle speed and down the suction. 

p0nd77

I'm not the OP, but have been having a similar issue -- can't get my right boob completely emptied.  I've also been getting some irritation on the nipples because they are rubbing on the sides of the shield.  I'm going to try larger breast shields -- thanks for this tip.