these message meant to be sent a few weeks back to jennifur, sheryl and susan but was so caught up with work and bb. anyway, hope the below mummies still come in to read this
jennifur,
I think the pumping time will only be shorter once your supply comes in. My breast was only "efficient" when my girl hit 3 months. My pumping was more than 1 hour intially.. Gradually, it went down to 45 mins to get the same amount. Now, it's as fast as 15 mins to achieve that amount and half hour to empty both breast. My collegues told me i should not pump longer than an hour but if i don't, i can't get the amount I needed.. So, i never follow their advice and just keep pumping away..hehe...
sheryl,
If you're persistent enough, yes, it's a good way to increase your supply. I never really try that method out simply because I'm not discipline enough and also scared my girl will cry when she didn't drink enough for me. so, what i do i'll latch her when my breast is full and when i'm not, i'll give FM. The important thing is the intervals of pumping and latching must be quite consistent. If your girl is sleeping and you feel like expressing it out, just express it out. If your girl wakes up 15 mins later and you got no milk, give her FM. Then the next feed, you can latch her again when your breast accumulates enough milk. Slowly let your body adjust but each time when you express or latch, you MUST make sure your breast is totally empty. I only manage to total breastfeed my girl when she's 3 months old. I went back to work when she's 2 months old. I pump 2 times in the office then and each time took me close to 1 hour to achieve 125ml (total from both breast). Gradually, my milk supply increases. Now, she's coming to 5 mths and i'm still breastfeeding her. I can express 180ml in half hour and sometimes 200ml even. By then my breasts are totally soft and empty!
For the night feed, since you don't have enough supply, feed her FM and then find a slot to express your milk. FM can keep her full longer. I did this for the first 3 months too.
Susan,
Last time i use to believe that since i'm a A cup. How many milk ducts can they contains right? But it's not true. As time goes by, my boobs also grow bigger when my supply increases!! So, they will grow to accomodate the milk supply! Sometimes i feel a bit uncomfortable with my new size..
janis,
yes, it's nothing wrong with your milk.
luca,
pumping milk at 3am in the morning is not a way to increase mil. increasing in milk supply is a result of pumping at regular hours. if you sleep through the night and you miss that feed, you're telling your body that you don't need so much milk and hence, you have 1 feed lesser. so, your body will start to adjust the milk production. for mummies that take effort to wake up in the middle of the night to express milk, they're giving their body a signal to produce milk at the exact interval, never miss any timing. so overall, the milk production will increase...