Hi! Just starting to pump at 3 months PP to prep to go back to work and only getting 2 oz each time. How long did it take you to adjust to pumps instead of baby to see your supply go up per pump?
Any tips?
Took me a few weeks (maybe 2-4, and it was different per breast) to get my pumping sessions to be as productive as nursing was.
I found drinking a lot more water, taking my prenatal vitamins, and getting as much good sleep as I could helped me out. The water especially though – pumping takes a lot of time and energy, so I kept putting off water (just another thing to do…) but that was making it unnecessarily hard on myself. So definitely drink water!
Also, I found that pumps gave me mastitis from time to time in those first weeks, which would temporarily hurt my supply. So using a small warming electric breast massager helped a lot.
Flange sizes–each of your breasts may need different flange sizes, and it is also common for one breast to be less productive than the other even then. But experimenting with flange sizes can dramatically help supply once you get the right fit.
Pump regularity: with pumping, I had to do it at least every 2-3 hours, for about 30-40 minutes (pumping both sides at same time) to keep up enough milk supply for my baby. That’s a LOT of work. So I combo fed by pumping during work, then breastfeeding when at home. And later, pumping was still too much, so I ditched it altogether; my daughter gets formula during the day and breastfed at night. She’s doing great!
Last tip: placement of the pump. For one of my breasts I noticed the pumps did remarkably better on one side of I positioned it to put slightly more pressure in a certain spot above the nip. So consider experimenting with pressure and placement as well–it could help the pumps be more effective.
Good luck, mama! And of course, of all this pumping drives you crazy like it did me and millions of other moms (including myself), remember to take care of yourself! It is STILL WONDERFUL to supplement or completely switch over to formula; either way, your baby will still be great! It is most important that you be a happy, healthy, present mom.
You got this mama.