Breastfeeding but can’t pump!

[TheSpoonyOtter]

Help please! My newborn is 4 weeks old today and is exclusively breast fed. I have tried to pump milk inbetween feeds to start building up a supply (and also keen to see how much i produce) but i’m only getting 1oz after 20 mins pumping! Will it get easier? baby is putting on weight and lots of wet and dirty nappies. I just think i don’t do well with pumps. I’m using a hospital grade double electric pump. Tried the manual ones and found them painful. Really can’t bear the thought of not being able to bottle feed him if i need to.

Have you tried to do it in the early hours of the morning? I used to find that I'd produce literally triple the amount around 3/4am. It was pretty mindblowing.

Also, have you double checked the flanges are the correct size? Sometimes you have to move it just millimeters to get the best flow.

Try a haakaa after baby has fed or if you have a strong let down ( I did and had a reflux baby) so took the edge off the flow that way and managed to collect quite a bit over the day. I really enjoyed using one of those. You just suction it on and let it dangle and don't have to do anything. I also used a Medala Swing and a Medala Harmony. I had the swing next to the bed for night time excess and I used to pump when boobs went hard during the day but baby didn't want a feed or didn't have much. But I found that I pumped loads but actually didn't use the milk. Agree with other poster about sizes. I have big nips and areola so had to buy a bigger size for it to feel comfortable. I also found that one side seemed easier to pump than the other. I ended up throwing loads away as my baby didn't really like a bottle. It doesn't last long frozen and I found that once breast feeding was established it was easier just to take baby everywhere with me and I didn't really want to leave them. I know that isn't always an option or the case though. I think that once you do the initial three months of breast feeding it just becomes the easy option. Plus I'm lazy and the thought of having to sterilise bottles etc sounded like an unnecessary hassle. Good luck on your breast feeding journey! Try not to worry too much about it though and put extra stress on yourself everyone is different and there's lots of trialling to see what works best for you.

What actual pump? And what size and shape flange?

99% of women measure smaller than the standard flange supplied with a pump, most measure between 13mm and 19mm.

if you have abundant supply then you can get away with poor sizing and bad pumps but if you don’t and you want to pump then you really need a fitting.
Pumps are like shoes you have to try them. Find a local lactation consultant with a kit and book a fitting.

Theres this idea people can’t pump. It’s a bit of a myth, they can’t pump with bad pumps and big flanges but get them fitted and they go from 30mls in 20 mins to 90mls in 10. It’s really amazing to see.

Do you have to though? I breastfed both mine and never used a pump (and they were both about 10lbs at birth so had appetites) and I don’t know anyone else who did.

Be really careful about creating an oversupply! Mastitis is no joke (ask me how I know 😂).

I wouldn’t pump at all at this stage - it’s stressful, and it’s time away from your baby/relaxing/looking after yourself. Baby is best at establishing supply in line with their needs (unless issues such as tongue tie) - a pump is usually second best if necessary.

Seriously though, oversupply was very bad news in my case - lactational abscess requiring surgery bad!! This is very unusual but I would never try to induce oversupply through pumping unless I had a very very good reason.

I had the same issue OP. I popped a Haakaa type pump on the spare boob to catch the letdown and just built that up. Far more convenient than trying to pump and saves it from going to waste.

I pumped exclusively for dc4 because he couldn't breastfeed. Lots of women can breastfeed fine but can't pump.

I found if you put baby on one breast and pump on the other that helps loads.

Being able to see the baby and smell them helps too.

It sounds like you are not really making enough to have extra to pump. It sounds like you are doing well with breast feeding though. Is there a reason you are needing to leave your baby frequently for long periods? Honestly, I wouldn't bother struggling to pump unless you are going to HAVE to leave someone else to feed loads and desperately want your child mainly on breast milk. If the expressing is just to have an emergency supply, I would just get your child used to the odd bottle of formula, and keep actually breast feeding most of the time.