Wanting to pump for DD's cup, but not successful.

[AnnaBees Mama]

Hi, my 8.5 mo DD is currently learning how to use a cup at mealtimes. I would prefer to put BM in it to help her quench her thirst and for those odd times that she needs liquid to help wash her solids down. Because I am not responding well to my pumps (getting <1 oz from both breasts combined), I've resorted to putting an ounce or two of water in her cup for the day. I know a little bit of water won't hurt, but the girl LOVES to practice drinking and I frequently feel tempted to refill her cup (and have on occasion... she also tends to sneak off with the sippy cup belonging to the little guy I watch during the day ). I hate to fill her little tummy with non-nutrative fluid though :( I pumped fairly regularly in her first month to help build up a stash (just to have, I wasn't planning on returning to work), but we've depleted it over the months. 

Things I've tried:

• Watching home videos of her when she was tiny. The first time I did this, I shocked myself and was able to pump 3.5 oz, but this result was not repeated with successive attempts.
• Looking at pictures of her. I guess I take too many pictures of her and look at them too often because it didn't do much for me.
• Holding her while pumping, or having her near, and thinking DD-thoughts. 
• Manual expression while doing all of these.
• Using my Lansinoh manual pump while doing all of these.
• Using my PIS while doing all of these.
• Pumping with the PIS while nursing on the opposite side. It did yield more than an ounce but is impractical for us since I needed DH's help (he held the PIS to my breast since it takes two hands to nurse DD [he's a keeper]) and it was incredibly distracting for DD. If all else fails, we could try to get a routine doing this, but it is a huge hassle. It would need to be done in the morning when I am full and DH isn't always around then to help. I could try doing it myself, but it is frustrating. I don't know that I'm that committed.

Is there anything else I can try or is this about it? There is always getting another pump to try that, but we do not have the funds to use for another pump.

Thanks for your help!

[Marissamom]

I don't really see the problem with water now that she's on solids? especially during summer my DD needed water to go with her solids to keep her from getting dehydrated, it never interfered with her nursing. 

[Megan73]

I think it's fine to offer water but I'd keep it to a few ounces a day in an OPEN cup so she can't guzzle it and dampen her appetite for nursing. From what I've read, babies who are nursing well don't really need water even in hot weather because BM is 88% water.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/baby-water.html

[hildare]

we gave water to dd when she began eating solids and it in no way impeded her desire for the boobies. 

 have you heard of the "rubber band trick" with the PIS?  (i pumped at work for a loooong time so that was my salvation for internet surfage while pumping)  cause you mentioned that might work but you couldn't find enough hands to do it...

what's her eating schedule like?  if you want to pump, you might either have to get up early to do a session or make a "pretend" feeding at night.. either way, the key to doing that is to be really consistent.  it might take a few days of pumping at the same time to tell your body to up the production so you get anything. 

[AnnaBees Mama]

Marissamom- the idea is that whatever water she takes in will in theory take the place of some of her BM intake, just as some of her solids take the place of BM. Because she's so young still and her energy requirements are ramping up, it is really important to me that she take in as much BM as she permits so that she is getting the nutrients she needs. As Megan73 explained, they don't really NEED water, as BM is mostly water anyway and does a fine job of quenching thirst. BM composition even takes weather into consideration, providing more water in hot days. 

hildare- LOL, I'm not sure the rubber band will work since I am extremely well-endowed and tend to droop---- badly. Novel idea! It's worth a shot.

Her schedule is as follows:

Overnight- Nurse 1-3x

Wakeup- a nursing "snack" (always super short)

Breakfast- whatever I'm eating

Morning Nap- nurse to sleep, and may or may not have a nursing "snack" when she awakens

Lunch- she mooches off of my plate

Afternoon Nap- same as morning nap

Dinner- if she is awake, she'll eat what we eat, if not...

Bedtime Routine- includes nursing as needed to settle, long nursing session to sleep

She doesn't initiate much anymore, but I don't know if that is because I'm in the habit of offering or she just doesn't care. It's nice to know she wants her milk during the night. It's comforting to her still :)

[katelove]

The first time I used a pump I couldn't get a letdown at all. So I fed J on one side and put the pump on the other. It worked really well and I only needed her to feed for a minute (or less) not the whole pumping session.