unable to pump, not wanting to FF

[TXmom2]

Hey all New here and looking for help.
I'm TRYING to pump. When I started pumping (day 5) I was getting 1-2 oz. per side and built up quite a stash. I slacked off pumping at 5 weeks because DD was nursing non-stop and began pumping again at 9 weeks...although only 1-2 xs a day (am and after she is down for the night) because she was still non-stop nursing all day. I was trying to prepare for my return to work at 11 wks. However I am only able to get a few ml now...often not even enough to save. My "stash" is quickly dwindling and I am worried I'm not be able to pump for the workday. DD is 12 weeks now, still nursing for several hours in the morning and all evening. I am trying but unable to pump. Any new ideas to increase pump output???
I'm using a new (1 month old) PNS. Taking Fenugreek, tried the pictures, music, DD in the room, etc.. Just ordered Dom. I dont know what else to do to get more from pumping

[lolar2]

You could try renting a hospital-grade pump such as a Medela Symphony (from a hospital or from an LC). They are a little stronger than PIS.

I had one friend who said she got her best results with a hand pump. Sounds like a quick road to carpal tunnel, to me, but I'll throw it out there.

[lolar2]

Another thought, sorry: I had low supply plus DS couldn't latch, so he always got formula, but do you have any of those itty-bitty "nurser" bottles? They are good for saving those few milliliters. You can pile them up in the freezer and I would get up to 6 ounces a day sometimes.

The other thing you can do, if you aren't already, is nurse on one side and pump on the other.

Oh, and are you looking at pictures of your baby while you pump at work? That's supposed to help.

[Carita]

just try pumping right after each feed - and save those MLs... and pump fro an extra frew min afer it looks like you are done.

When you are at work with no one to nurse, your output will be different! I never had much of a stash built up - never more than a few days worth.

[_betsy_]

Steel cut oats works wonders for me. Oatmeal every morning, an extra 2-3 ounces when I pump during my work shift, and I have to assume DD's getting more throughout the day because she doesn't take as much by bottle when I'm gone on those days.

Lots of water. Good, healthy calories. Lots of sleep. Take good care of yourself.

Remember that when you go back to work, you're missing those feedings, but your body is still producing all that milk.

One thing that helps me is to NOT think about it. As soon as I start thinking about how many ounces I've pumped, or how many ounces I need to get, milk stops flowing.

I gave DD1 pumped milk till she was 19 months old (and I was a month or so PG). She got nothing but BM (in addition to some solids by then) till 13 months, I supplemented with cow's milk, not formula at that point.

Good luck!

[Leav97]

I'll second the lots of water. I drink a glass of water well I pump. During the time I'm at work I drink a min of 3 bottles of water.

Ideally you'll want enough in the freezer to cover at least 2 days when you start back at work. I had ~20 oz in the freezer when I started back. What I pumped the first day he ate the second day. It took me a while to build my supply to support adding to the freezer stash.

[Sophie07]

Here are some suggestions based on things that worked for me. I went back to work when DD was 11 weeks and didn't have much of a stash built up before my return to work. I never had to give DD formula.

Try to minimize the amount of milk DD will need while you are at work. Nurse as close to drop-off as possible. Even at the day care provider. Plan to nurse at pick-up. I pick-up DD and we nurse in the car before we leave. I let the DCP know that I am planning to nurse at pick-up so that they don’t feed her right before I get there. Of course I do not want her to go hungry. If they do give her a bottle right before I get there, I pump as soon as I get home.

Try to encourage DD to reverse cycle. She will nurse more at night, but sleep more during the day and need less milk while you are at work.

How often are you pumping? Aim to pump every 3 hours for 20 minutes. If it’s possible to pump 2 hours after you nurse in the morning, that should increase output since volume is higher in the morning. If you can pump every 2.5 hours, even better. You can try power pumping – 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off. Breast compressions while you are pumping will also help. Try to relax while you are pumping and don’t watch the output. You may try replacing the white membranes on your pump. Is it possible to rent a hospital grade pump to see if it makes a difference. I tried the Medela Lactina and others like the Symphony. Eventually my body started responding better to a regular pump.

Drink Mother’s Milk Tea. This worked better for me than Fenugreek. I never tried Dom. The directions say to drink 3-5 cups a day. It seems like a lot, but it will increase supply. If I was a little short for the next day, I would drink a cup before bed and set the alarm to wake up in the middle of the night to pump. I got more milk if I was able to sleep a little. I do feel like you need to take a break from MM Tea. I would take it for 4 weeks, take a break and start up again if supply started to drop.

Eat as much oatmeal as you can stand. Oatmeal for breakfast, granola, oatmeal bars and even oatmeal cookies help. Barley, almonds and dark greens also helped increase my supply.

Avoid things that decrease supply like cabbage and mint (even breath mints or mint gum).

You may need to pump on the weekends for a little while. Try pumping 1 side at a time when DD takes a nap. You may not get much, but every little bit adds up. Nurse on demand, but if DD doesn't want to nurse and it has been 2 hours or so, pump 1 side. I only pumped one side just in case DD got hungry - she would get frustrated with nursing if I just pumped.

It got easier for me around 5 months. DD was a lot more interested in watching the other kids and playing and started taking less.

[Caneel]

Water intake made a big difference for me too.

When I was preparing to go back to work, I set a pumping schedule and would, for example, pump in the middle of DS's nap time.

When I returned to work, I kept that time to pump on the weekends.

Like someone mentioned, you will like put out much more when you are back to work.

I massaged my breast tissue to encourage as much as possible to release. I believe there is a demo on Kellymoms website (don't remember the URL but you should be able to find it on goggle) I would get an extra ounce or two when massaging.

I remember finding good tips in a nursing mother's companion book too.

I, against the advice of my LC, got larger shield/horns (can't remember what they are called). I had read a lot about going up a size and I had a feeling it would help me. I don't know how to explain it but I felt not enough of my nipple/breast was being cupped into the horn.

My LC said it wasn't necessary but I tried it anyway and it made a huge difference in output. I don't look particularly large chested (40 band/F cup but is it more surrounding tissue than giant boobs) which is why she might have thought is wasn't necessary

[Ellien C]

I rarely pumped when I was home with DD. She nursed too much. I had no trouble pumping during the work day. Is your pump OK? Has anything become loose or clogged? Do you still have good suction? You're not on battery power with dwindling batteries are you? And do listen to the advice not to look too much at the output and start judging yourself by that. Over 24 hours your baby will take as much from you as they need. It may be that they reverse-cycle and get it while you are available.

[Katwoman]

I never had a stash. I pumped at work on Wednesday and dropped it off at Grandma's house that night when I picked up DD1 for Thursday. Friday's pumping went into the freezer for Monday.

I know lots of people like stashes and it certainly wouldn't have hurt me to have a stash. I just didn't. Pumping didn't work when I was home with her because she ate all the time. But boy was I HUGE during the week when she wasn't around.

I do want to warn you though, because I didn't know and I was worried. Pumping out put slows down around the 9th month. Doesn't mean you can't, just that a person doesn't get as much after that. A lactation consultant told me that. It was still enough to feed my ebf baby. Just wasn't as impressive looking in the bottle any more.

[kltroy]

I suggest joining the Yahoo group "Pumpmoms". Lots of good experience there.

That said, you've gotten some good suggestions. I suggest that you need to be getting good sleep, eating and drinking plenty, using a good quality pump, and you need to get a good let down when you pump. Can you feel your letdowns? Pumping is sort of like masturbating - if you're not "into it" it doesn't really work very well. This is one reason that pumping one side and nursing off the other works - your baby takes care of the let down for you. If you are worried/stressed about how much you're getting, it doesn't work well. If you're cold it also doesn't work well. Best is to be relaxed, warm enough, and to close your eyes and imagine your baby. I also agree about minimizing the amt of pumping you need - you can nurse your baby when you drop him off and immediately when you pick him up, which should help.

Edited to add: might want to see a lactation consultant to make sure that the horns on your pump are the right size for you. This can make a huge difference too.

[Latte Mama]

Good suggestions so far, I second the oatmeal. I had it everyday for breakfast. However, I really think you'll have no issues once you get the Dom, it IS that good. I stopped taking it around 8 months and noticed a sharp decrease in output. Luckily, my DS is a reverse cycler anyway.
Good luck.

[TXmom2]

wow, lots of good input. Thank you ladies

had to take DD to ped because of low urine output. Discovered she'd lost 10 oz. in the last week. NOT a good sign. Guess I am still having supply issues Did get a RX for the hospital grade pump, so hopefully insurance will help with that. Also ped said to supplement (1-2oz) at each nursing session and to keep pumping.
I will keep up the fluids, work harder on eating better, and TRY to eat oatmeal (yuck). Also, I'll keep up the Fenugreek and the Dom (as soon as I receive it). I use DD blanket as a wrap/cover when pumping as well. I'll also try to add in another pumping session while at work.
I got a whopping 6ml combined at last pumping, so I'll keep at it.
Oh, have a wierd thing going on when I pump. A strange pulling type pain from deep inside my chest on the right side. It just started a couple of days ago. Anyone know anything about that?

[TXmom2]

just pumped and got another 18ml, woohoo!
Also, forgot to say I did make some other changes too:
1-changed out the little rubber seals 2-moved up a size to 27mm shields/cone thingys 3-switched to only using the little vials when pumping, at least it looks like more in there
Things I plan to work on now: 1-the reverse cycling 2-pump on one side, while nursing the other (especially since I have to supplement anyway) 3-STOP watching the drops in the vial

Thank you all for the help

[maddycakes]

I had problems with supply over time as well. Oatmeal helped quite a bit. But what REALLY helped was discovering that I was using the wrong size breastshields! I didn't even realize they came in different sizes. Instead of the standard issue size, I needed to increase up 2 sizes (I was using a Medela pump). I would look into this as a possibility as well. I had discovered somewhere along the way that if you're using too small of a shield, it basically restricts the ability to pull milk from all the milk ducts and over time you will produce less because you're basically not draining the breast each time so your body doesn't think it needs to make as much. Once I switched I realized that I had been stressing out for 6 months of dwindling supply when it was something that was so easily corrected.

Good luck.

[Carita]

glad you took your DD in. sorry about the low supply issues - make sure your water intake is up and you are getting lots of healthy fats.

ita with all of the other suggestions too. oh and oatmeal doesn't have to be had in its purest form... oatmeal cookies work well too - mmmm!

[Mrs-Mama]

Originally Posted by TXmom2

3-STOP watching the drops in the vial

Ya know, I find I get less when I'm focused on how much I'm getting, too. I get more (faster it seems) if I'm tuned into MDC or facebook or something while I'm pumping.

I don't notice it so much this time, but with my son, I would get a second let down almost exactly 14 minutes into pumping, which would give me another ounce or so. If you can play with the suction/speed on the pump, you can try to get another letdown by turning down the suction and turning up the speed for a minute or two (simulates how the baby gets your milk to let down) and then turn the speed back down and the suction back up.

Keep up the good work!

[MoonJelly]

Originally Posted by TXmom2

wow, lots of good input. Thank you ladies

had to take DD to ped because of low urine output. Discovered she'd lost 10 oz. in the last week. NOT a good sign. Guess I am still having supply issues Did get a RX for the hospital grade pump, so hopefully insurance will help with that. Also ped said to supplement (1-2oz) at each nursing session and to keep pumping.
I will keep up the fluids, work harder on eating better, and TRY to eat oatmeal (yuck). Also, I'll keep up the Fenugreek and the Dom (as soon as I receive it). I use DD blanket as a wrap/cover when pumping as well. I'll also try to add in another pumping session while at work.
I got a whopping 6ml combined at last pumping, so I'll keep at it.
Oh, have a wierd thing going on when I pump. A strange pulling type pain from deep inside my chest on the right side. It just started a couple of days ago. Anyone know anything about that?

Lots of good advice. The only thing I am concerned with is that you mentioned supplementing here. I don't see how supplementing is going to help you in any way. It seems particularly a mistake to supplement just so you can pump more.

Anyone else think this is a problem or did I miss something?

It continues to baffle me how standard it is for docs to jump right to recommending supplementing.

[Ellien C]

Well, I don't want to contradict the advice, but I'm wondering what is happening the pumped milk? Are you feeding that to the baby right away? I only pumped 1-2x a week until I went back to work. And then it was usually because I was full. I would think you could stop pumping and stop supplementing so baby is getting everything from the breast. But I don't want to contradict good sound medical advice.

OP - you are a really great mom and it's fantastic you noticed the reduced urine output and took her in. You're doing everything right.

[TXmom2]

Originally Posted by MoonJelly

Lots of good advice. The only thing I am concerned with is that you mentioned supplementing here. I don't see how supplementing is going to help you in any way. It seems particularly a mistake to supplement just so you can pump more.

Anyone else think this is a problem or did I miss something?

It continues to baffle me how standard it is for docs to jump right to recommending supplementing.

I'm not supplementing so I can pump more, I'm supplementing because even letting DD nurse on demand all day, she is not getting enough. She was losing weight, not having wet diapers, and very cranky. I'm trying to pump more so I don't have to use formula while at work AND to increase my production. I want to use EBM for her feedings when I'm away from her.
The EBM I'm getting right now is only 1 ounce (at most) in a 24 hour period, which is being frozen to try to build up enough to use for her daytime feedings. Hope that makes sense...