Pumping 101

Get your mind out of the gutter, this is not about that! It is about pumping breast milk. You would think that if you spend almost $300 on a Medela Advanced Pump (the best out there), the milk should come out easily and comfortably when you use it.

Boy was I surprised. The first time I used it (I have the one pictured here) was when Isabel was 4 weeks old. I used it for 15 minutes and almost passed out in pain. No one ever told me that pumping actually can be quite uncomfortable and painful. I was also tense. I kept checking to see how much milk was coming out and was holding the shield and bottle the whole time (not a very comfortable feeling).

Anyways, after 15 min, my nipples doubled in size and were in pain and I only got less than 2oz out. Yeeks. I almost gave up after the first time. Long story short I didn't give up and I found out, like anything else with the baby, pumping takes patience, practice, and a lot of learning

I tried bigger shields - didn't work (I found out later the regular shields worked just fine)
I tried looking at Isabel's pictures while pumping to encourage let down - didn't work
I called Medela customer service for help - didn't help too much

What worked at the end was perseverance and practice. I just kept trying different things. I found out
- putting a heat pad or taking a shower before hand helps
- watching tv or thinking about something else help as it made me relax and not think too much about how much milk I am producing
- pump no more than 15 minutes and stop earlier if nothing is coming out for awhile
- buying the hand free pumping bra help (even though it was $30 for stretch cotton with two holes cut out of it, it's worth the money to not have to hold the shield the whole time)

Even though pumping is never as comfortable as when Isabel feeds on me, it is pretty comfortable now and helps greatly in relieving engorgement when Isabel is still asleep. I still have to get up at 4 or 5am every night to pump because I have so much milk and Isabel usually sleeps until 8 or 9 am now. It's worth it though as it gives me the freedom to go out while someone else can still feed Isabel with the bottled breast milk. Feeding her the bottle was challenging at first as well, but that's another story...

- Lei