Moving to exclusively pumping

[smilingcl]

I've been EBF but baby is now 7 weeks and the problems are getting worse not better for my own sanity and breast health I've been bottle feeding for the last week. Baby prefers the bottle now getting frustrated with the flow of the breast so I plan on sticking with the bottle but could do with some advice.

I've always pumped a 30-40ml at each feed from one breast which the baby has never latched on to, that's around 6-7 times a day.

I've been pumping from the other breast for a week for each feed but the amount I can get out is slowly reducing so I've had to top up at the end of the day with formula the past 2 days.

I pump 8 times a day at the moment, trying to keep my breasts empty and therefore producing more milk, I'm at the inlaws so resting and eating loads but supply still seems to be going backwards, any ideas on how to increase it?

I use an Avent electric handheld, I would look at buying a more expensive double hospital type one to reduce pumping time from current 4 hours a day but I don't want to invest if my supply is going to drop off. Could it help with upping supply?

I've looked at the pump thread, is the medala freestyle the king of pumps for speed and ease? I want to spend some time feeding the baby not just emptying the milk for other people to get the pleasure!

Is it possible baby is drinking more? He seems to be sleeping more and for longer at night, 6 hours last night and he has moved from wanting to feed 2 hourly to wanting to feed 3-4 hourly in the day taking 130 - 180ml.

Hi smiling - I'm sorry that bfing directly hasn't worked out for you, do you know why? Have you got any support from a bfing counsellor/IBCLC/Infant Feeding Co-ordinator to help with the EPing?

Tricks for increasing pump yields include:-

Massaging the breast towards the nipple before pumping,

Listening to relaxation tracks while pumping,

Breast compressions during pumping,

Hand expressing after pumping,

Double pumping (pumping both sides at the same time),

Looking at or holding baby or thinking of baby while pumping,

Checking the breast shield (the bit the goes over your nipple) fits well - a poorly fitting shield can not only inhibit the amount of milk you pump but it can also damage your nipples and cause pain - Medela, Ameda and Ardo all do sized breast shields (there may be other brands that do as well but I am not aware of them),

Block pumping - double pumping for 10 mins, then resting (reading a book/watching TV/having a shower/whatever you fancy) for 10 mins, then double pumping for 10 mins, then resting (or whatever), then double pumping for 10 mins (if you have a single you swap sides after pumping for 10 mins). This won't increase the yield at that pumping session but rather like cluster feeding from a baby work to increase yield in the future,

Covering the pumps so you can't see them with a muslin or under your top as it's been noted that looking at the milk coming out can inhibit the amount you pump (probably something to do with increasing stress levels).

A double electric pump is probably your best bet as you can be hands free and it can halve the time you spend pumping. There are some good pumps on the market and you can hire hospital grade double pumps too (check your local bfing group or Surestart children's centre as some hire them out for free or a low fee). The only caution with Medela pumps is that they have an open pump motor so milk has been known to be sucked down the tubes and into the motor where it can't be cleaned and mould grows which could potentially contaminate future milk that's pumped. Ardo and Ameda have closed pump motors (this also means they are safe to buy and sell 2nd hand as you can just buy new breast shields and tubing if you wish).

You can also get special pumping tops/bras for hands free pumping or you can cut small holes in a tight vest top to feed the breast shields through or even just clip your bra back up.

Have you seen this or this on bottle feeding? They have loads of good tips on how to maintain the closeness of bfing while bottlefeeding and how to feed responsively which I am sure you are but it's good to give it to others who might feed the baby . This has details on how to work out how much milk your baby needs a day.

Have you considered a Supplementary Nursing System or Lactaid to encourage baby back to bfing? They work by increasing the amount of milk the baby gets while bfing which can help a baby who prefers a bottle. Sorry if this is something you have already tried just thought it might be worth mentioning.

HTH

I have a freestyle and can pump both boobs in 6 - 8 mins.

Its certainly good in that dept!

This website is full of great information on EPing too.

This website is full of great information on EPing too.

When I wasn't sure that expressing milk was going to work with DD1, I hired a double pump from Medela. I always expressed at around the same times of day so my body got into a routine, expressed from both breasts at the same time and, in the beginning, did three minutes on then two minutes break repeated several times. The on-off nature of it apparently helps. After turning the pump off, I would gently massage milk from around the nipple itself to get the last bits out - helped prevent blocked ducts. A few things to remember:

• make sure that you've using the right sized pump horns: they shouldn't leave you sore
• make sure the horn is placed squarely on each breast, so it empties each part of the breast equally. Unlike a baby, it won't know to shift position to empty the whole breast.
• keep the pump parts in the fridge between sessions to avoid loads of cleaning
• get a hands free pumping bra if things are goiing well, so you can mumsnet with both hands whilst pumping / entertain baby.

Good luck! I hope it works out for you. Just to give you some encouragement, I expressed until DD1 was about 15 months old (and her sister was born when she was 17 months old, so she's been receiving some expressed milk ever since then as well). A lot of people doubt that exclusive expressing can work (my health visitor flat out refused to believe me when I said DD1 was receiving no formula at all) but it certainly worked for us.

Should add, you can return the pump to Medela at any point if it's not working out so a good option if you just want to see how it goes.

Hi Ladies,

I just wanted to come back and say thank you for the advice, I had limited access to the internet so couldn't reply, but taking into account your advice, I've managed to increase my supply to c 150ml at almost every pumping session so have managed to get a feed or two ahead of his demands.

Now I just need to get that double pump to cut down the time I'm spending doing it, particularly at night. Also the wastage of a single pump is annoying as the let down is in both boobs simultaneously so the breast pad gets the good stuff! Actually I could use those cups to collect that and see how much it really is...

Thanks again!

you can hire double pumps on a monthly basis from places like NCT. Sorry I used one in the US so don't know the UK links to places for those things.