Mothers find breast pumps extract less milk despite engorgement

“Hi moms! My baby is 2 months old, and I’m combination feeding (breastfeeding and formula). I used my Medela Pump in Style Pro for the first time this morning and got 90 mL! I usually never get more than 50 mL in total, so I was really happy! The only thing is that I have to hold the pump with my hands the whole time, which can be annoying, especially when my baby is awake and needs me. I’m thinking about buying a pumping bra to make hands-free pumping easier, but I’m wondering if it’s worth the”

“Before my d&c at two weeks pp, I was just enough. I would get 2-3 oz combined each pump every two hours. Afterwards, I only get 1oz maybe every 3-4hrs. It’s so frustrating. I’ve tried supplements, my fluid intake is up, I’m eating better than I was before my d&c. It’s been two weeks and it sucks. I want to be just enough. I’m pumping as much as I can with being a single mom and a baby that wants to be held often. I direct feed often but it dumps all at once and it causes him to spit up.”

“Ive been using the spectra s1 pump for ~5 weeks. I have an under supply but up to 24 hours ago was producing ~40ml per session, pumping every 2-3 hours. I noticed yesterday afternoon that my left side wasn't producing, or at least there was nothing in the bottle after a pump session. This happened again at the next pump session. There's definitely milk in there - breast is heavy and relatively firm. At the next pump session I tried massaging the breast but same result. Im now doing a 3am”

“Hi all! Okay I have a ridiculous question after having been pumping for nine months. I’ve never used a flange with my pumps. I had great supply initially and lots frozen and at nine months I’m starting to see a solid reduction in output. Now that im finally looking at it, wondering if I should be using a flange? These pumps are smooth and always worked great but i know the lactation consultant did put me on the smaller size end of the flanges initially, then I had the baby and forgot about that”

“Hi friends! This post may be pointless as I know everyone is different but I’m curious if anyone else experiences this. Everything I read says my MOTN pump should be my “money maker” in volume but it’s not. And never really has been. Sure, if my baby happens to sleep 6 hours, then yes, I do get a pretty big volume but otherwise I sometimes get significantly less than I do around 8-9 AM. Now I know other factors do play into this. My baby also will sleep for so long something I’m uncomfortable if”

“I am 9 1/2 months postpartum and I exclusively pump. I have always been an oversupplier but lately I am having some issues. My boobs are getting full and engorged but when I pump I am hardly getting any milk and I keep having to readjust my pumps and move them around so that milk comes out. I get the sensation that I am having a very strong letdown but no milk flows. It has been happening the last couple weeks and it is very frustrating. I am using the same pumps I’ve used the last 9 1/2 months”

“Okay so I (First time mom, 4 months postpartum) Suddenly have engorgement again for the past few days. It goes from 0 to boobs hard as stone out of nowhere. It’s the middle of the night where I’m at and suddenly the left boobs decided that medusa looked them in the eye. My pump will wake the baby up. So I started hand expressing into a cup but that didn’t help fast enough… Some how I ended up nursing from my own boob (but spitting it out in a cup) I want to feel less crazy, has anybody done this”

“I have a spectra and I usually leave it on for the 30 minutes. I know you get less in the evening but I was hoping it would at least equal her feed, but it doesn't. Are there any tips or tricks to make this session more fruitful? I wanted to pump at the same time as she was eating, and I also wanted her evening bottle to be "night" milk with the melatonin instead of day milk. submitted by /u/VoidAndBone [link] [comments]”

“TLDR questions: Why might my pumps suddenly not remove milk as effectively? If my pumps are leaving milk behind is there anything I can do other than hand express (or baby)? Anything to do about lipase? How to know when the milk turns with lipase? Kiddo is 5w and was born at 37 with some latch issues. We’ve managed to (with lactation support) feed directly and through bottles by 1w old. I pump throughout the day around on demand feeding and to try to have 1-2 bottles for overnight, letting someo”

“Edit title: Ounces OR mL*** Where are you in your BF journey? What’s your pump/BF regimen like? How many times per day? How many ounces or mL per session and/or total for the day? What do you do to maximize your supply while returning full time to work? Looking for ideas, understanding, and encouragement. submitted by /u/Due_Huckleberry62 [link] [comments]”

“Son is 13 weeks and started sleeping from 830p to 630a, but could probably sleep longer if I wasn’t hovering over him with engorged boobs waiting for relief. I do a 20 min pump with my spectra at 9p before I go to bed to fully drain my breasts as best as I can, I get a little under 3oz. But sometimes 4. I was doing a relief pump with my Medela Harmony handheld pump at midnight (2oz to .5) and 3am (2oz). Then the last two days I’ve gotten two pumps at 2am and 5am. However, last night I made it to”

“Any one here have experience with the Willow Go? I had a well loved Willow 3.0 (now 360) gifted to me…. I loved it! Unfortunately as the third person to use it by the 9th month of heavy use I was having to double and triple pump for the same output. This well loved pump got lots of use as I was going to school 3 hours away from home and did nursing clinicals several days a week, before transitioning to working three 12 hours away shifts a week. Obviously, the most logical choice would be to buy”

“I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding since my son was born save for the occasional bottle that my husband gives him if I have to go out. I used to do a morning pump when my lo went down for his first morning nap and would easily get 6-7 oz easily. Recently I’ve started getting barely 3-4 oz at the same session. No pump or flange changes or anything. Everything is exactly the same. Please advise! submitted by /u/OvenGloomy3971 [link] [comments]”

“My baby is 11 months old and EBF. I haven’t pumped a whole lot, mainly because I barely get anything. I’ve tried a medela hand pump and a MC M5 (can’t say the brand, they’ll remove my post for whatever reason) and I barely get anything. However I’m going back to work soon and I’d really like to continue breastfeeding for a little bit. Is it worth it to try a proper wall pump? And if so; what’s a good one that’s not super expensive? I know the Spectra is meant to be good but I’m also worried abou”

“My milk only just came in today, had my baby 8/3. Ive pumped every 2 hours and havent even gotten a 8 ounce bag yet today, im like one ounce from a 8 ounce bag. However my boobs \*hurt\* even after pumping. I have figaroo hands free pump and a medela hook up pump. Im not sure if I am not doing it correctly or not. But it was \*\*\*\*\*not\*\*\*\*\* like this with my first son. I have taken ibuprofen and I just started icing them. Can anyone please gove me some tips? I really want to try and make”

“I noticed lately the pump hasn’t been able to extract much at all… I used to pump 60-90 ml after 10 mins in the morning but now even when I’m engorged it sometimes can’t pump out anything or just drops. I use spectra S2 and changed my membranes/parts. I even rented a Medela symphony again just to try and it was the same. I don’t need a big stash but just a little extra once in a while or just to reduce engorgement. Wondering if anyone’s experienced this before? I do feel fairly engorged at times”

“I measured today and I'm sitting at a 34i. I AS IN IGLOO :'((( I got nursing bras while I was pregnant that I grew out of while I was pregnant, and i'm finding that the largest sizes available, aren't working because the band sizes are either too big, and i'm not getting enough support, not to mention that it's uncomfortable, or the cups are so small that every time I bend over my boobs are falling out. Anyone else with a similar size got some cheap deep v sports bra type”