I can't pump enough milk, even when breasts are full

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to pump more to prepare for the transition to daycare. Even when my breasts are full, I can't get much more than 1 ounce per breast. And other times I'm pumping for 20 minutes and still get nothing, but can hand express an ounce rather than using the pump.

Does pumping just not work for some people? Do my breasts need to get used to it? I switched to a smaller flange size, which helped a bit.

Am using the Spectra -do I need to use another company's parts? Am I totally missing something about how to pump? Aahhhh

[Anonymous]

Go to the breastfeeding center or get an LC. You most likely aren't using the pump correctly.

[Anonymous]

Yeah this sounds like a pump issue. Are you using the right flanges? Also try massaging while you’re pumping

[Anonymous]

I‘m one of those people who didn’t respond well to the pump. Best output was when I pumped one side with dc nursing on the other but that obviously isn’t possible at work. But I was very fortunate to be able to go breastfeed my child once a day. Breasts getting used to it does help.

Agree with seeing an LC to troubleshoot. I tried the pumpables liquid silicone flanges with my spectra and that helped with one of my breasts. Also found that when I was not responding to Spectra I got more with the medela hand pump and hand expressing at times but that is tiring.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Definitely go to the breastfeeding center. It sounds like you have a bad pump and maybe your flanges are the wrong size.

This is weird but you can pump more if you’re looking at your baby and smelling their worn clothes. We are mammals!

[Anonymous]

Definitely try a lactation consultant but I will say some of us just suck at pumping. My baby eats his 3oz in 5-10 minutes when it takes me a hour long power pumping session for me to get it out with the pump. I am struggling to keep up with my baby at daycare and very frustratingly have noticed that I do better when I’m well hydrated and not stressed… and of course not producing enough milk for my baby is a big stressor. 🙄

[Anonymous]

The thin little white membrane probably has a tiny tear in it and that is enough to compromise suction.

I'd replace those first to trouble shoot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thin little white membrane probably has a tiny tear in it and that is enough to compromise suction.

I'd replace those first to trouble shoot.

Haha reminds me of those times in my severely sleep deprived state I forgot to put the valve on and was scratching my head about why I was getting nothing instead of my measly 1ml/min.

[Anonymous]

How far postpartum are you? That’s an important factor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How far postpartum are you? That’s an important factor

8 months

[Anonymous]

I could never get a drop when I pumped, despite having a good supply and good nursers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I could never get a drop when I pumped, despite having a good supply and good nursers.

So did you just stop? I could try formula for daycare and nurse in the morning/ evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely try a lactation consultant but I will say some of us just suck at pumping. My baby eats his 3oz in 5-10 minutes when it takes me a hour long power pumping session for me to get it out with the pump. I am struggling to keep up with my baby at daycare and very frustratingly have noticed that I do better when I’m well hydrated and not stressed… and of course not producing enough milk for my baby is a big stressor. 🙄

Seeing your baby is 8 months. Mine is the same, been in daycare for 2 months. Here's what I do (I didn't want to introduce formula for a multitude of reasons, but mostly because of the formula shortage):

1. Go hard on solids -- baby went for EBFing to four jars of puree a day in like two weeks. He's a huge fan so that was an easy transition. At 8 months, he's transitioning easily to table foods.

2. Power pump at least two times a day, sometimes three. I'm basically attached to the breast pump, either pump or resting, most of my work day.

3. Mini-pump session (~5-10 minutes) right before I leave the house for daycare dropoff. Sometimes this is nothing, sometimes it's surprisingly fruitful, so I keep at it to grab the 0.5-1oz when I can.

4. Nurse right outside daycare before dropping him off.

5. When necessary, wake up in the middle of the night to do another pumping session.

6. Feed the baby when he wakes in the middle of the night instead of encouraging sleeping through the night so he doesn't lose out on opportunities to eat.

YMMV if you want to any of these inconvenient things -- I'm fully aware that I'm not being wholly rational about it, but I only have a few more months to go so I'm going to stick with it for now. Breast pump goes out the window in favor of cow's milk as soon as the baby turns 1, though. I had trouble pumping for my older kid as well, but she was only in daycare for a couple months before her first birthday because of the pandemic and I'd been able to build up a freezer stash for her so it was way less stressful. I still stopped pumping and switched over to cow's milk at daycare on her first birthday, but kept the morning, nap (on weekends), and evening nursing sessions for a few more months. I plan to do the same here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely try a lactation consultant but I will say some of us just suck at pumping. My baby eats his 3oz in 5-10 minutes when it takes me a hour long power pumping session for me to get it out with the pump. I am struggling to keep up with my baby at daycare and very frustratingly have noticed that I do better when I’m well hydrated and not stressed… and of course not producing enough milk for my baby is a big stressor. 🙄

Seeing your baby is 8 months. Mine is the same, been in daycare for 2 months. Here's what I do (I didn't want to introduce formula for a multitude of reasons, but mostly because of the formula shortage):

1. Go hard on solids -- baby went for EBFing to four jars of puree a day in like two weeks. He's a huge fan so that was an easy transition. At 8 months, he's transitioning easily to table foods.

2. Power pump at least two times a day, sometimes three. I'm basically attached to the breast pump, either pump or resting, most of my work day.

3. Mini-pump session (~5-10 minutes) right before I leave the house for daycare dropoff. Sometimes this is nothing, sometimes it's surprisingly fruitful, so I keep at it to grab the 0.5-1oz when I can.

4. Nurse right outside daycare before dropping him off.

5. When necessary, wake up in the middle of the night to do another pumping session.

6. Feed the baby when he wakes in the middle of the night instead of encouraging sleeping through the night so he doesn't lose out on opportunities to eat.

YMMV if you want to any of these inconvenient things -- I'm fully aware that I'm not being wholly rational about it, but I only have a few more months to go so I'm going to stick with it for now. Breast pump goes out the window in favor of cow's milk as soon as the baby turns 1, though. I had trouble pumping for my older kid as well, but she was only in daycare for a couple months before her first birthday because of the pandemic and I'd been able to build up a freezer stash for her so it was way less stressful. I still stopped pumping and switched over to cow's milk at daycare on her first birthday, but kept the morning, nap (on weekends), and evening nursing sessions for a few more months. I plan to do the same here.

Oh, one more super important thing I have to do to support pumping enough: HYDRATE. Like a gallon of water/gatorade a day minimum. It's hard to remember but it really does help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could never get a drop when I pumped, despite having a good supply and good nursers.

So did you just stop? I could try formula for daycare and nurse in the morning/ evening.

NP. As someone who went to great lengths to try to pump enough milk even though it required a ton of time, pumping overnight, etc., I recommend you skip that and yes, use formula. Combo feeding is the absolute best and is highly underrated.