What should I do?

h&m+e · March 2011

So, I EP and I was pumping this morning when I got up and looked down after a few minutes to find the bottle full of bloody milk. Apparently, an area must have had a small crack that was pulled open or something when I turned the pump on. Obviously I'm planning to discard all that was pumped, but I shut it off after I noticed and I'm not really sure what to do now? Do I keep pumping that side for now? Should I skip it for a few sessions? fkdfjhgdjgdfg.

jerseygirl81 · March 2011

That happened to me a few times, too. Our pedi actually said it was ok to feed it to him, but that grossed me out so I dumped it. Do you see any obvious cracks or other issues?

I never skipped pumping, but that's just me. Maybe just turn down the suction a little bit.

h&m+e · March 2011

Yeah, I can see where it's coming from

I'm going to have to pump that side, still because just shortening the morning pumping on that side is killing me. It's already sore. I agree, there's no way I could have given it to her. If it was a drop of blood, maybe, but it was such a considerable amount that it looked like I was pumping just blood. Bleh. I've been meaning to ask you, how many times a day did you typically pump? She takes 5 bottles. Did you always pump the same number as feedings? Some days, because of work I only get to pump 3 times and it really hasn't seemed to hit my supply?

kel716 · March 2011

How many times a day total do you pump? At 12 weeks pp, you should be at 8 pumps/day possibly 6 or 7 if you have a really good supply. Not less than 6. At this point you will not be able to increase your supply easily, so if you want to EP for the long haul, you have to keep up your pumping sessions on a fairly regular cycle.

I believe I usually got 7 sessions/day in from months 3-6 and then I dropped to 6 sessions/day.

You might try aquaphor on your nipples or lanolin. Something to help ease the cracking. Also, don't forget that max suction doesn't always yield max milk. If it's uncomfortable, turn it down.

jerseygirl81 · March 2011

kel716:
How many times a day total do you pump? At 12 weeks pp, you should be at 8 pumps/day possibly 6 or 7 if you have a really good supply. Not less than 6. At this point you will not be able to increase your supply easily, so if you want to EP for the long haul, you have to keep up your pumping sessions on a fairly regular cycle.

Unfortunately, this is what I was going to say, too. I was pumping 8x, then went down to 7 around 12 weeks, I didn't start dropping any additional sessions until 5ish months. I wasn't down to three until 9 months. It might not have an immediate effect on your supply, but generally speaking you won't be able to maintain without more sessions. There are always exceptions, of course, and if you're an exception then consider yourself lucky

Want a personalized experience?

What should I do?

Re: What should I do?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards