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Intro and Pumping Help (long)

mamahannmamahann member
in Breastfeeding
Hi ladies! I've been lurking this board since giving birth to my daughter in March. 

I apologize if this has already been addressed here but I'm having issues with my pumping output. BFing has been going really well after some early supply issues so this is really disheartening. I'm on my 3rd week back at work and average about 10oz each day over 3 pumping sessions. Yesterday LO ate 12oz and I pumped 10.5oz even after adding in a night session. Today she's had 7.5oz while I have only pumped 6oz. My SIL watches her every day and does paced bottle feeding with her giving her 1oz at a time. I take Fenugreek 3 times a day and pump for 20 minutes each time.  

I'm worried this is going to continue and I'm not going to be able to keep up with her demand. She's been sleeping more the past few days so I think she might be having a growth spurt as well. I have a Medela personal pump that was free from my insurance. My first thought is I need a better pump to increase my output. Any other suggestions for me? I love breastfeeding and really want to continue without supplementing. Thank you so much! 
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Re: Intro and Pumping Help (long)

  • mamahannmamahann member
    edited July 2014
    @Sing2phins‌ I drop her off at 8am and I'm home by 5:30pm. I pump at 10, 1 and 4. Until this week I was meeting her needs exactly so I'm hoping it's something temporary.

    I should also add she feeds on both sides so I can't pump 1 side while she feeds from the other.
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  • mamahannmamahann member
    It hasn't come back yet. I have been on the mini pill since 6 week PP (didn't experience a supply dip after starting). I was on it for 2 years prior to becoming pregnant and didn't have a period the whole time only occasional spotting every few months. 

    I just finished my 4pm pump and only got 2.5oz. I'm hoping I can get at least 2 more after DD goes to sleep tonight so I don't have to take some from the freezer again. 
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  • lindsayanne14lindsayanne14 member
    You may want to try pumping soon after her morning feed or as soon as you get to work. When I added a pumping session as soon as I got to work I usually was able to get about 2 oz.

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  • mamahannmamahann member
    Thanks so much for the advice ladies! I pumped after she went to bed last night and only got 1.5oz. I pumped after her first morning feed this morning and got 2oz. It's enough to have about 1.5oz "extra" today over what she ate yesterday. I started a small freezer stash when I was home on leave and typically got 2oz after her first morning feed then so I'm thinking my supply isn't really dropping. It's been warm here so maybe she's just eating a little more to stay hydrated. 

    Either way I'm going to try and fit the 2 extra pumps in a day and hope that helps. 
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  • BootsOrHeartsBootsOrHearts member

    You sometimes have to train your body to respond to the pump. You can certainly try renting a hospital grade pump they are definitely better. You can get them at BRU it's about $60/month at least where I am. I also find that a hand pump does a better job than my medela freestyle double electric (though the PISA might be better, never tried that one). I actually can get as much milk in 10 minutes pumping each side with the manual pump vs pumping 15-20 minutes both sides with the hospital pump. But everyone is different, some people can't get much out with the hand pump. You have to kind of play with the length of each stroke and the strength of it to see what give you the most milk. You have more flexibility with the manual pump to tailor it to what works best for you, but it takes some time and practice so be patient with it.

    You can also try doing breast compressions while you pump. Google 'hands on pumping'. It's a bit awkward at first but it makes a big difference in volume! You can also try playing with the let down button to get more let downs and some people find that looking at pictures of your LO and/or listening to a recording of her crying might help stimulate more let downs.

    Agree with trying to pump every 2 hours at work also. Try to pump for at least 15 minutes at a time. Even if no more is coming out, the stimulation will tell your body more milk is needed.

    Try adding a pumping session early in the morning too if you can get up an hour or so before LO wakes. You will get the most volume early in the morning and then volume diminishes throughout the day.

    HTH.

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