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Pumping Question

AZAmy77AZAmy77 member
in Breastfeeding

Hopefully this is an alright place for this, I had a C-section last week and we are still working on the breastfeeding, or even feeding in general, Andrew was born at 35 weeks.  Right now I am mostly pumping and then we are trying breastfeeding 1-2 times a day.  We actually got him to latch and feed for about 15 minutes yesterday!

 So it seems that pumping for me has been going really well and I have a lot of milk so far. I was up to about 70-80 cc's/ml's at each session. The last 2 times now though, I've dropped down to 60. I'm guessing that this is a usual amount of variance between sessions, but was just looking for reassurance. Thanks!

Also my one breast seems like I am not really draining it completely.  Actually not sure I am draining either completely.  Originally they told me to do 15 minutes each session.  One side really seemed to make way more milk than the other( like 60 vs 25 cc's), so I started to add 5 minutes to the lower side to see if it would help.  The lower producing breast definitely seems harder and I try to work on it with massage while pumping.  Another LC told me that I can pump for up to 30 minutes or until drops coming out are gone for 2 minutes.  I never seem to make it even close to 2 minutes between something.

Thanks all!

~~~TTC #1 since Dec 2011, BFP 5/3 CP 5/6~~~
~~~BFP 10/9/12, EDD 6/17/13~~~
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Re: Pumping Question

  • AZAmy77AZAmy77 member

    Thanks, is there any good information on how to set the pump.  We rented an ameda elite, I have been using it at full cycles and then a little over half way on suction, sometimes I can set the suction up higher

    So should I keep pumping over 30 minutes in order to empty my breasts?

    ~~~TTC #1 since Dec 2011, BFP 5/3 CP 5/6~~~
    ~~~BFP 10/9/12, EDD 6/17/13~~~
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  • CLLDLLCLLDLL member
    imageAZAmy77:

    Thanks, is there any good information on how to set the pump.  We rented an ameda elite, I have been using it at full cycles and then a little over half way on suction, sometimes I can set the suction up higher

    So should I keep pumping over 30 minutes in order to empty my breasts?

    The best advice I heard for pump settings was to start with fast, light suction at first.  After a few minutes, reduce the speed and turn up the suction until it's at the highest you can stand and then reduce that suction just a little bit.  As you get to know your body & the way your baby sucks/BF's you can tweak this to what works best for you.

    You really shouldn't pump much longer than 30 minutes straight at a time.  You could damage breast tissue.  Not to mention that much stimulation may lead to an over-supply.  I would say aim for 20 minutes give or take a few minutes.  I sometimes get a second or third letdown right around 20 minutes and then I'll pump until that stops.

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  • AZAmy77AZAmy77 member
    imageCLLDLL:
    imageAZAmy77:

    Thanks, is there any good information on how to set the pump.  We rented an ameda elite, I have been using it at full cycles and then a little over half way on suction, sometimes I can set the suction up higher

    So should I keep pumping over 30 minutes in order to empty my breasts?

    The best advice I heard for pump settings was to start with fast, light suction at first.  After a few minutes, reduce the speed and turn up the suction until it's at the highest you can stand and then reduce that suction just a little bit.  As you get to know your body & the way your baby sucks/BF's you can tweak this to what works best for you.

    You really shouldn't pump much longer than 30 minutes straight at a time.  You could damage breast tissue.  Not to mention that much stimulation may lead to an over-supply.  I would say aim for 20 minutes give or take a few minutes.  I sometimes get a second or third letdown right around 20 minutes and then I'll pump until that stops.

     

    Thanks, I will try this next time!

    ~~~TTC #1 since Dec 2011, BFP 5/3 CP 5/6~~~
    ~~~BFP 10/9/12, EDD 6/17/13~~~
    BabyFruit Ticker
    Report Reply
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