Very low output pumping, is there any solution?

[P.J.]

My baby is 8 months old. So far we've had no problem BFing, I produce enough milk for him. He eats a little bit of solids but still gets most of his nutrition from BFing, and is at the breast quite often.

However, I have never been able to get much milk out from pumping. At first I had one of those Medela Symphony rental pumps (as my milk was slow to come in after the birth, we kept it only the first month though once the milk was established gave it back). I then bought a used Medela small electric pump, and then read on here that some women have better luck with a hand pump, so I've been using the Philips Isis hand pump. It does seem to get a little more milk than the electric, but we are talking 20-25 minutes of pumping (about 7 mins each breast, 2x each) yielding about one ounce / 35 ml. It usually takes 3-5 minutes for a let down, if I even get one, and then the milk flows for about 1 minute and it's over.

I have tried the Stanford method (I think that's what it's called) where you pump and then hand express and then pump....I can get maybe 1/3 oz or a few extra milliliters from the hand expressing, but honestly I find it very sticky and messy and so little milk for so much work.

I have tried massaging my breasts and using warm pads on them before and during pumping....if I massage during the pump I can get a little more milk but nothing significant.

I also drink nursing tea all the time.

Is there anything else I can do? We have just started with some in-home daycare 2x/week, plus DH has a couple specific papa-times a week when I go out, and in the summer DS will start out-of-home daycare 3x/week. Of course by then he'll need less milk, but I'll still have to give at least one bottle per time there.

I find it so frustrating every time I pump. Lately I try 3x/day if I can, but DS is pretty high-needs and will not just sit there while I pump (he gets all interested and tries to grab the pump and gets upset). For me to get a 5 oz/ 150ml bottle it takes 3 sessions and more than an hour total of pumping!

Is there something wrong with me? Has anyone else had this and found a solution /  a specific kind of pump that helped? Or do I just have to spend an hour pumping for every time I want to leave DS?

[Llyra]

There are two separate problems that I had with pumping:
1. getting the letdown in the first place

That's a tricky one. Letdown has a strongly psychological component, though, so it can help if you pump in the same place and at roughly the same time of day, and if you put baby on one breast, and one flange of the pump on the other breast, then baby will elicit the letdown for you, which can be a big help if you have baby with you. Then you switch sides, and let baby attempt to elicit another letdown on the other side, with the pump back on the first side. If you don't have baby with you, pictures and videos and audio recordings of baby crying or cooing can really help bring on that hormonal response. It is easier to get a letdown, too, if you pump both sides simultaneously (if you don't have baby there to do the job for you.)

2. extracting the milk once you do let down

Pumps just aren't as efficient as babies at doing this, unfortunately. Often you get the initial spurt, but then it just stops. Things that can help with this include replacing the soft parts of your pump, if you've been using them regularly for more than a few months, and also looking into different sizes of flange, in case the flange you have isn't a good fit for your breast size. The breast pump company is the place to start looking for this. I've only ever used hospital-grade double electrics, so I have no specific pump suggestions unfortunately.

Establishing a pumping routine is important, too, because right now you are likely making just exactly what baby needs. At this age, baby has established your supply to meet his needs. So you may not have much left over for the pump. Pumping regularly can provide the stimulation you need to boost the supply to meet this new demand.