Suddenly producing less for the pump?

[crystal_buffaloe]

Hi there,

I have a 4mo who is exclusively breastfed. I pump once every morning and then usually once more when I teach a night class on Mon/Wed (so 9 times per week). I teach a day class on Tue/Thur and don't have the opportunity to pump. She generally takes one bottle of pumped milk on the four days per week that I work outside the home, and maybe one additional bottle .

Recently, my output for the pump has gone waaay down. I was getting 4-6 ounces every morning, and then usually 4 in the eveing pumping that replaced a feeding as well. Now I'm getting maybe 2 ounces in the morning and about 3 in the evening.

She has plenty of diapers and weight gain has always been good. Is it possible that my supply is starting to get low? Maybe this is an early sign?

I skipped pumping on Wednesday night -- could that have done it? I've also started using a Pumpease -- could that have an effect?

Also, I generally only pump for 10 minutes -- should I be pumping longer?

Ideas?

TIA!

[Llyra]

It's a very common age for pumping output to decrease. Your supply shifts, after the first month or two, from being hormonally-driven, to being driven by supply and demand, and that can cause many mamas to see what looks like a dip in supply. Chances are, baby is taking more of the milk than she did before, and so there's less left for the pump. The pump is much less efficient at emptying the breast than baby is, too. Also, this is a common time, if you've been pumping for a few months, for the soft parts on your pump to start to seal less effectively, so your pump may not even be as efficient as it was when it was new. Replacing the soft parts can help-- when I was pumping often, I replaced them every four to six months.

Hang on-- I don't know what's a Pumpease. My kids have been weaned awhile, so it's a long time since I've pumped, and I don't know the newest gadgets. Are you saying that you've recently changed pumps? It may just be that the new pump is less efficient.

Other than that, it may just be that you need more demand, which means adding a few pumpings to your schedule, and maybe pumping a bit longer each time, to send the message to your hormones that you need MORE milk. You'll want to pump until the flow has completely stopped, and then continue pumping awhile longer-- maybe five minutes past milk flow.

I also found I could get better output if I put baby on one breast, and the pump on the other. It's a juggling act, at first, but if you can work out how to do it, it really helps. Baby elicits the letdown, and since baby can often get multiple letdowns in a single feed, you wind up pumping out more milk from that one side than you otherwise could. Then you wait until baby wants to nurse again, and then put baby on the other side, and the pump on the first side, and repeat it. Basically, you're tricking your breasts into thinking they're nursing twins. Do that a few times a day, for a few days or a week, and you should see a bountiful increase in output!

[crystal_buffaloe]

Thanks for your response!

A Pumpease is a hands-free pumping thingy -- kind of like a tube top with slits to put the horns through.

I tried feeding on one side and pumping the other twice, but it was awkard and I gave it up -- I'll try again now that we're a little more coordinated

It's just so disappointing to going from the ease of pumping what she needed in the morning and being able to freeze extra each week to having to combine two days just for one bottle, and even dipping into the freezer stash.

I have an Isis Duo Electric, and I have extra membranes on hand, so I can replace those easily. The other soft parts look okay, but I'm willing to give it a shot. New tubing, too, do you think?

I tried pumping during her nap, and got a little less than 1/2 an ounce

[Llyra]

Don't give up-- it can take three days or more of consistently increased demand, for your supply to show an increase. In the meantime, you may be pumping "dry" sometimes. But if you're consistent, it'll happen.