bloody pump, its really getting to me.

[booyhoo]

ive posted about this a few weeks ago but still no better,

quick recap; avent manual, worked twice not working any more. ive checked its all assembled right and i swapped the silicone thingy with the replacement one but still no difference. its just not working. it doesnt have the same sucking power it had the 1st two times. and now im getting really frustrated cause i have to be somewhere on tuesday evening for a few hours and ive tried hand expressing and all i got was 20ml. but there is milk there. should i just buy a different pump and bin the avent? i need to be able to express.

I used a cheap manual one from boots. This worked well, it did take a while though. bear in mind ds is now 10 so bf was a long time ago. Is the seal OK?

when you say seal, do you mean against my breast the rubbery thing seems quite loose to me, i wondered if it had been from sterilising it.

you can use it without the silicone thing, i think. give it a try, pumps are blooming frustrating things.

Do you need to shove it on your boob even more firmly? Took me ages to realise I had to push it on and hold it really hard on my boob until a really good vacuum built up.

I find I can express OK but at the start I have to really use a lot of force to push it on to poor old boob!

ok, i'll try both those tips and see where it gets me. thank you all.

Have you tried changing the little white valve as well? That can also make a difference.

You've done really well to get 20 ml hand expressing

I found manual pumps were rubbish. Went for a medela swing. Did the job.

Have you got the little white valve thing the right way up? I was pumping away with no suction last night til I realised it's upside down
Just bought a medela swing and going to try it out this evening for the first time... never thought I would get this excited about a breast pump

i had to make sire the silicone seal was pushed well into the funnel or it wouldn't seal properly.

maybe if you're worrying about it you might not be able to express as effectively either?

good luck, i absolutely hated expressing but did find the manual avent more effective than the electric version.

I found I had to persevere with hand expressing to really get the hang of it (my second pump was useless so I didn't want to buy any more). It might be worth trying a few more times in case it works and you can be pump-freee?

ok, i tried the valve the other way and nothing and then i replaced it with a new one, still nothing. pressed the silicone thing in really well, nada. and took the silicone thing out and nope. so then i went to gordons chemist and bought a medela mini electric and have expressed 90ml so im happy. thank you all for advice, i guess i just got a dodgy pump. apparently it happens. thanks again all.

brilliant! that medela is good, but it's a noisy little beggar isn't it?

yeah, ive had to turn the telly up really loud!!!

lol

Oh I was going to suggest the valve being upside down as well, I've just got an Avent one and occasionally it 'pops' round the other way and instantly loses all suction - maddening when it happens in the middle of a let down and you have to stop and unscrew the whole thing! Good that you've got a pump that works for you now though!