need to start pumping - help me problem solve!

[MamaRabbit]

I'm a birth doula and have said I'll start attending births again, starting with one in mid-September.

DS is 11mo old, exclusively breastfed and will NOT take a bottle! I have begun teaching him how to drink a little bit of water from a straw.

In the past, I've only pumped when engorged, feel a blocked duct, or was going to leave DS for an hour with a friend when he was tiny. I haven't pumped in 6 mo and know that I need enough pumped for me to be gone probably 24 - 36 hr. Is it going to take me a month to pump just that much?

I tried pumping today, in the morning with a higher supply and got maybe 1/4 oz. YIKES! As soon as I stopped pumping, DS woke up from his nap and nursed...of course he got a full meal. I doubt nursing and pumping at the same time will work. How do I raise my milk supply enough to pump enough for one birth a month? I should know this... but I've never needed to until now :

[ripcurlgirl26]

I think that some women just respond better to the pump than others. You can try looking at a picture of DS when you pump (of course, whenever I do that, I feel like the comparison of a guy looking at a nudie magazine while he... well, ykwim.) But I find it really helps with letdown, sometimes I can have two letdowns when I pump. You can also try changing the membranes on your pump if you have a Medela pump to help with suction.

I used to get at least 6 oz. out of one breast every morning back before my supply regulated, now I'm lucky to get half of that. What I do is nurse DS on the same side all night so that the other side is fuller than usual upon waking, and then pump that one. I try not to do it often, but it might help a little in your case. I hope you find something that works!

[mccelticmom]

Okay, a little crazy idea, but I've done this. My last two, I didn't have much of a supply to pump, so...

I would allow them to nurse from just one side. After about two nursings, one side would be engorged enough to pump...KWIM?

HTH!

[Benji'sMom]

I'm a birth doula and have said I'll start attending births again, starting with one in mid-September.

DS is 11mo old, exclusively breastfed and will NOT take a bottle! I have begun teaching him how to drink a little bit of water from a straw.

In the past, I've only pumped when engorged, feel a blocked duct, or was going to leave DS for an hour with a friend when he was tiny. I haven't pumped in 6 mo and know that I need enough pumped for me to be gone probably 24 - 36 hr. Is it going to take me a month to pump just that much?

I tried pumping today, in the morning with a higher supply and got maybe 1/4 oz. YIKES! As soon as I stopped pumping, DS woke up from his nap and nursed...of course he got a full meal. I doubt nursing and pumping at the same time will work.

Why, Because it's hard to hold the baby while pumping? I don't know what pump you're using, but maybe try a little Medela Single Deluxe pump that is portable like a manual pump but is electric so easier to use? That might help you pump one side while nursing the other side.

How do I raise my milk supply enough to pump enough for one birth a month? I should know this... but I've never needed to until now :

I won't throw tomatoes, but I am jealous that you're so lucky! Anyway, How 'bout pumping AFTER each feeding, which would simulate an increase in demand from your own child, like a growth spurt. Immediately after or soon after. But it actually sounds like you just can't get a letdown with the pump, which is why pumping on one side while DS is on the other might really help. Or try a fennel tincture which is supposed to help specifically with let down (although I've never tried it personally). Jacksmagicbeanstalk.com sells one.