Breastfeeding:Exclusively Pumping

What do I need to pump exclusively?

Comments: Breastfeeding - Exclusively-Pumping

Comments 76 to 99 of about 135.
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ellae - 947 days ago.
Brandy- I agree, if you use an electric pump turn down the vacuum, if you have a manual pump try using a little Lanolin or Cocoa butter on your nipples, almost to lube them up . Once I started doing that prior to using my manual pump my nipples looked and felt much better and were less sore.

NatashaMc - 948 days ago.
Brandyq - I think if you turned down the vacuum on your pump it would help with the sore purple nipples. I did this and it helped but I do still get this sometimes. Try massaging, pushing towards your nipple to help with the blocked duct, also hot towels work well. Hope this helps!

brandyq - 948 days ago.
I just found this forum I have been posting on the breastfeeding forum. I pump (sometimes bf before pumping) and I have been going for almost 6 weeks now. I have started having problems over the past couple weeks. My nipples are so tender now and turning purple when I pump. I also think I have a clogged duct...I have a huge knot in one breast and it started producing less milk...it hurts so bad...any ideas?

ellae - 959 days ago.
Lilli- Not a huge at first, probably an extra ounce per breast per pumping. I took it for about a week. It says to take 2 to 4 of them 3 or 4 times a day. I took 1 of them 4 times a day and it worked for me. Since then I have never really had an issue. As soon as your sweat and urine smell of maple syrup youll know its kicking in!

Jamiee - 960 days ago.
ellae - How much increase in supply did you see? I started taking it but I dont think I am taking enough because I dont smell like maple syrup and I havent noticed a change.

Jamiee - 960 days ago.
My son is 9 1/2 months and I pretty much exclusively pump. I usually nurse in the morning before work but he only does it because of routine now, he doesnt seem to need it. And thats the only chance I have! So I pump every 3 hours throughout the day and wake up once in the middle of the night to do it. He drinks about 15oz BM throughout the day and I pump about 2-3oz every 3 hours. So I keep up with him, just barely. Pumping is so exhausted especially nearing the home stretch of one year but its so worth it to never have used formula!

ellae - 961 days ago.
Natasha- ive tryed fenugreek, it says that once your sweat smells of maple syrup that its working!!! I noticed an immediate increase in my supply ( probably 3 months ago) not sure if it really worked or if me believeing it did helped me relax. Since then I never really had an issue with my supply, I can pump between 34 to 44 oz a day. I exclusively breast fed until my son was 3 months old, and since returning to work I am exclusively pumping and bottle feeding expressed milk only. If i could recommend one thing to a new breastfeeding mother who is debating on exclusively pumping, is to breast feed as along as possiable before choosing to switch and to make sure your supply is established successfully before the switch!

NatashaMc - 961 days ago.
Thanks! I pump every three to four hours (at first pumped every two hours), I have skipped a pump here and there when I've been out. I don't pump at night anymore, maybe I should do that for a few nights again. When I skipped a pump it didn't seem to effect my supply, maybe it just caught up with me! I've been thinking of trying fenugreek and blessed thistle, has anyone tried them?

babyofdeployment08 - 962 days ago.
NatashaMC~ how often are you pumping? I pumped every 3 hours and would get about 12ozs at a time. The more often you pump the more milk you will make. Congrats on still pumping! i got to 3 months and decided to go longer. I went until 7 months. It was getting so tiring so I had to stop. Good luck!

NatashaMc - 962 days ago.
Hi! This is great I've been really needing to chat with moms who exclusively pump. I've been pumping from the start, my LO is three and a half months. We struggled to latch on and finally after seeing tons of lc's decided to pump exclusively. It was so hard at first , got only a half ounce off each breast at first, I actually took domperidone to increase my supply. Anyway it was horrible at first and said I would only go three months but here I am still pumping. I get 30 oz a day which is kind of frustrating because my LO wants more than that so I started to add formula last week :( oh well. Sorry this is really long but I did want to know how much other's are producing? Heather - u produced 11oz per pump! I'm so jealous. Alright that's it for now!

Heather12 - 968 days ago.
Aliyah will be 1 on July 1st. I have already started weaning off the pump and supplement with whole milk. This has been the hardest thing ever to do. With four kids and a full time job I don't know how I did it. I would have waited till she was 1 but I have been traveling alot for work and just decided to go ahead and start now. Good luck to all the mommies who are pumping. If you ever need any advice I will be happy to help. This forum has been so helpful to me over the past year and don't think that I would have made it if it weren't for the great advice that I got from here.

Heather12 - 985 days ago.
If your are nursing at all it could be thrush.

amber-d - 985 days ago.
I am getting shooting pains in my breast and my nipples feel much more tender. i don't knwo why. I am not doing anything different. Any suggestions or anyone know if the shooting pains are a bad sign or normal?

babyofdeployment08 - 1000 days ago.
Way to go Heather12! What a champ!

Heather12 - 1000 days ago.
6 more weeks of pumping and I'm done! YAY!!! I can't wait! I won't know what to do with myself.

ellae - 1004 days ago.
Amber- Totally normal! My left produces more than my right. When nursing my son prefered my left over right, so since exclusively pumping my left is producing more. Did your Lo prefer that side?

amber-d - 1005 days ago.
Do any of you know if it's normal for one breast to produce twice as much breast milk than trhe other? My left breast only makes half as much as the right and wonder if it means anything?

amber-d - 1007 days ago.
OMG! Am I supposed to be pumping for 20-30 minutes like it says above? I pump 15 minutes every 3-4 hours and seem to be making enough for my 2 week old each day. I already feel like I am a slave to my pump but want the best i can give to my baby. He got sick when he was two days old and had to supplement with formula until he got better and my milk camein. He's been getting breastmilk ever since but i couldn't breastfeed, so i pump. Should I pump more/longer? I am making about 20-30 ounces a day.

campimama - 1010 days ago.
stormyluv- I know they make wipes to clean your pump in between pumpings, and then you can sterilize when you get home. Do the best you can pumping when you can. Try not to stress out, that will hurt your supply more. Drink lots of water, get as much rest as you can. Even if you can only spare 10 minutes to pump, that's better than not pumping at all. Good luck!

stormyluv - 1010 days ago.
I am going back to work soon, and I'm just struggling to get my head around how it's going to be feasible. I need to work FT to afford to support myself and my LO. I'm allowed breaks to breastfeed/express but they are unpaid. If I'm working 8 hours a day, 30 min lunchbreak, and I need to express at least every 3 hours I'm away from home, and it takes me 1 hour to walk to/from work, and the opening hours at work are only 7.45 - 5.15 weekdays. It usually takes me 15-20 minutes to empty each breast, and there isn't a sterilizer on site so at some point I guess I will have to boil some water to keep the pump clean. Are there enough hours in the week to actually go back? My brain is going into meltdown! Help!

Heather12 - 1026 days ago.
Oh no....what am I going to do!!! My milk supply has dropped majorly. I wasn't keeping my schedule like I should have been doing and now I'm only pumping like 3 to 4 ozs. I was pumping 11 oz. I'm goign to pump as much as I can and even get up at night to pump and hopefully that will do the trick. Any other suggestions. I will be so sad if I have to give her formula after all this time and hard work.

Heather12 - 1036 days ago.
So how come you started supplementing with formula at 11 months? I only pump 4 times a day and I'm thinking about only pumping every 6 hours and see what happens. Aliyah isn't drinking as much as she used to about 6 bottles a day and she drinks 7 oz ususally. Does October sleep thru the night yet? Aliyah is still getting up at least 1 time a night for a bottle. I am going to celebrate the day I don't have to pump anymore. I don't know what I'm going to do yet but I will do something!

starby - 1037 days ago.
vent away! I so feel your pain! I'm down to pumping only twice a day and supplementing with formula...my little one is almost a year...I made it to 11 months exclusively pumping and would stop all together but she HATES formula so I have to pump a little to mix it...Its definately nice to be down to 2 times a day, thats for sure, much better than 6 or 7 times I was doing!! Good luck, you are doing awesome by going this long :)

Heather12 - 1037 days ago.
Oh my Gosh I am so tired of pumping! Aliyah is 9 months old now and I have been pumping since she was 6 weeks old. A couple of weeks ago I even was thinking about stopping and going to formula. But I didn't. I have made it this far I'm not going to stop now. Its really gotten harder to do with Aliyah crawling all over the place and putting everything in her mouth. My other 3 girls help me keep an eye on her. Anyway I just needed to vent!

babymomma143 - 1044 days ago.
You can contact the hospital in your area and see if they have pumps for rent. My daughter is in the NICU and has been since birth (a little over 2 months) and I rented a pump from the hospital. It is a little expensive, about $70/month) but it is totally worth it. The one I am using is Medela Symphony. Ahmeda is also a good pump. They are both hospital quality and very good.