Problems of pumping milk out.

pipii

New Member
Hi all! Do u guys encounter this situation? Ive been feeding EBM for 2 months. Sometimes(very seldom) got replaced with FM when I not able to breastfeed/give EBM. All along my supply was ok can pump up to 100ml-150ml/200ml per pump. Recently I was thinking about increasing milk supply cos my baby drinks more and heard that latching more can increase milk supply so I start to latch more than pump. However,out of sudden,the next day on I started realise that when i wanna pump, there's no milk coming out! Normally milk will spurts out but now no longer anymore! It's either no milk or it's leaking very very slow drop by drop.I thought was some blocked ducts. I tried using warm towel compress, massage and hot shower. Don't seems to help neither and I don't feel pain/engorgement/lumps.Instead,my breast is always soft only slightly firmer if i don latch on for 6-7hrs. But when I latch my baby, there's more milk coming out and when i use my hand to squeeze at the aureola, the milk spurts out but pump again, same thing happen! What actually went wrong?
 


Hi! Do you want to check your pump. It could also be due to the pump not functioning properly. I had the same prob and realized that its because the pump I had was old and things were ok once I changed it. Is yours an old pump?
 
nope. It was kinda new. I was thinking whether is it because i always nv dry the funnel then connect to the pump makes the pump spoil. ): But im not sure yet.
 
A breast Will respond differently when you suddenly change from latching to pumping. Because a latched breast is very adaptive and supply to demand, whereas the pump breast is mechanical and respond to strict schedule. So no worries about soft breast even after long interval, it Will adapt unlike pump breasts that Will engorged easily. Trust the body to provide.
 
Have you tried hand expressing? I used to be able to express with the electric breast pump but a month later I had to use the manual one because somehow the electric one couldn't extract much.

Soon enough (maybe a month later), I had nothing to express so I had to do with direct latching. And it's been 3 years and I am still breastfeeding but unable to express.
 
uh? Y lidat? Hmmm I use hand can but very tiring and slow. I'. afraid cos my baby always dont latch well and he keep moving. Drink abit then he fall aslp. Always nv drink enough to slp thru out the night. I use electric now(prob was found,the membrane tear) could express but not much also ):
 
dun worry mummy, e amt u pump doesn't equip to e amt ur bb direct latch, as bb r natural suckle as compare to breast pump, hence ur breast will reacts more when ur bb latch den when u pump. no worries if ur bb ia growing up fine
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hi there, i agree with xinfu. For myself my boy does not latch on so I had no choice but to express. But for my friends, they do both and they said that they express out very little but when they latch baby fully , baby seems satisfied and weight growth is good... so not to worry.
 
it's the pump.. either the funnel is spoilt, got hole or suction problem. sometimes hand express is faster than pump.
body do not stop milk production suddenly.. believe in yourself.
when i started work after my boy turned 1yr, i bought a 2nd hand electric pump.. i could only do 50mls. in the end i hand expressed to empty after pump couldn't extract anymore. i could express 100mls extra.
don't worry too much. relax is impt. suggestion: do not subsitute.. no matter what happens. unless u're totally out of milk even when u latch.
 
my gal alw fall aslp when i wanna latch her on.. she suck a few times n fell aslp.. duno why.. but i intend to get the medela nipple shield to try latching on.. she's too used to drinking EBM from milk bottle.. zzz..
 
I had big nipples n my gal refuses to latch on. Hv to use electric pump to pump out milk. Any advise to let her latch on???
 
Hi mummy,
how to solve the engorgement problem?
I tried to let bb suck but both my nipples got a bit of cut due to pumping.. I also tried keep electronic pumping, but very little leh, less than 40ml. Today is the 4th day since bb born..
How ar?
Very xin ku..
I really hope to continue breastfeeding n I already spent so much on dual pump...
Pls help...
 
Hi Sharon,

Actually for 4th day 40ml is not little. Initial few days this is usually the vol expected although some mothers may have alot. For me I had only 10-20ml for every pump in 1st 3 wks and my baby don't even latch.

I continue to express diligently ( every 2-3 hrly) and by my 2nd month I had a supply of about 180ml for each pump ( not fantastic but at least a marked improvement from 10-20ml previously).. So I hope this can give you some encouragement.

For sore nipples, perhaps you can apply some nipple cream/lanolin before expressing .
 
Hi Choc79,

Thanks for ur encouragement.
I had overcome my engorgement & sore nipples problem now(let bb suck n keep pumping every 2-3hr). Today is the 6th day, still learning to let bb suck & trying by pump every 2-3hr..super tired..
Wow, u r super & such a good mummy.
Frankly speaking, purely pumping w/o direct latch on is much tiring...u are a 伟大的妈妈。
 
Hi Sharon,

Nice to hear that you overcame your engorgement problem. Actually if your baby is latching you may not have to pump at such a short interval. Because, if your baby has just latched and fed.. definitely your supply wont be that much when your express. Nonetheless , latching and expressing is a fantastic way to tell your body to produce more milk..

I had to only express as my baby would not latch and I had some eczema problems . I think we are just trying to do our best for the benefit of our babies ya .
happy.gif
Jia you .
 
Hi! I found tat my milk supply in both side is different. I can easily pump out 90ml fr left side and ini 60 ml in the right. I do not let my bb latch on as my nipple is too big for her. Anyone facing similar pro and how to resolve it.....
 
i duno if it'll help but the lactaction consultant told me can try the football hold instead of the usual cradle hold for longer nipple size.
 
Mummies... Today is my 3rd day.. I have difficulty latching bb. He always sleep.. And sometimes I even had prob putting my nipple into his mouth. Even if I managed to do that, bb din suckle long, def less than 5 min... Any good tips can share or website I shd refer to?
 
Hi mummies,

so encouraged by some of your sharings.. my boy is turning 4 weeks this weekend and i am struggling w BFing. Tried pumping but volume is inconsistent. BB is fussy and sleepy to latch. Am currently taking Fenugreek hopefully can boost.. any other suggestions?
 
lemonshivers
can you latch your boy directly? latching is the best way to stimulate milk supply. try to latch him before he gets too hungry. take out his shirt if he is too sleepy. try to cup feed instead of bottlefeed, to prevent nipple confusion, where he prefers bottle instead of breast. can PM me directly if you need more advice. all the best!
 
hi lemonshivers, i heard some moms doesnt seems to increase milk with the help of fenugreek. u can try this www.sacredtea.weebly.com . I've personally tried this and it really works. my milk supply shoots up to 250ml per session but of cos with the consistency of pumping after each feed and latch.


My problem issue:
hi mommies. I've stop pumping since my bb was ard 3 mths and I latch on fulltime til now he's 5th months. Recently I would like to change back to bottle feed instead (as it will be much easier for me to add some brown rice in his milk) of latching but however, i realised after a period of not pumping,my nipples arent use to pumping anymore. Usually i can pump 250ml but now i can only pump 30ml or less but when i latch, my bb is having more and seems to be enuff and growing well. IS there any suggestion on how to start the milk supply coming back by pumping? Reason because im gg a oversea trip and im not bringing my bb along. So i need to pump out and store.
 
echo
my boy does not latch well.. partly my fault, one side is bigger and he cannot cover much of aerola. sigh.. also he had jaundice when born so was too sleepy to latch and we were too anxious to get him to feed.

pipii
thanks.. heard abt it.. will consider giving it a try. tried fernugreek but din seem to work on me. my bb now in 6th week, growth spurt, demanding more but i can only do so little.. really looking for divine intervention already.
 
Hi pipii,
I have the same experience actually. Baby latch, no supply issues but when I pump the output pitiful.
i realised that the only times when I pumped a lot was when I exclusively pumped. when I latch and pump, my body decided that the pump is not a baby and refused to let down.
What you can try is to do nipple stimulation. When a baby lets down milk, they use their tongue to rub the nipple not only suck. massage your breast then roll your nipple between your finger and thumb just before pumping to let down the milk instead of depending on the pump to do it. when the flow stops, switch sides, do the same thing til you have pumped enough milk. if you double pump, wait abt 5 mins then do again until you pump enough.
This worked for me and it's been 11mths now
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BTW, I have been struggling with low milk supply since DD was 6weeks.
 
wao! Thanks for the great info! I've tried relaxing and listen to music, skin-to-skin contact with my bb but still, my milk duct refused the let down. Alright, I will heed your advise on pumping more and do the nipple simulations for now. Hope it helps! :D
 
Hi wee wee, I tried it alrdy. It do helps but somehow nt much then previous. After one time let down, is it able to obtain another letdown again if I still do the rolling again? I tried but it seems quite long to obtain a letdown.

I'm only able to pump out 50 or less. But my bb drinks 180ml nw
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Hi mommies

i oso have big nipples.. now even if i try to latch on my bb gal (gg 3mths old), she doesnt wan as she is too used to milk bottle. hence i alw pump out. but if u really wanna latch on, u can get nipple shield from pigeon or even medela. it's a thin piece of rubber for u to put ard ur nipple, so that bb can suck on it.. it works for me.. but end up my gal will fall aslp n me feed until i oso fall aslp.. so i alw pump out.. but nowadays im just too lazy to pump oso.. kinda stop pumping liao..

btw, ani mommies haf flabby breast after bf-ing?? my mine is like so soft n flabby.. when i wear my old bras, it just look so flabby n the cleavage that i used to haf alr look so different.. haiz..
 
dont stop pumping. Dont be lazy like me. i always latch and stop pumping for 1-2 mths and now my body are use to baby suction and when I pump, the output is horribly less. I know i have more milk in my breast cause baby drinks enuff from my breast but when i pump out only manage to pump out 50ml or less even after letdown. My baby is 5 mths old and is feeding 180ml nw. No matter how i pump i just couldnt get that much anymore. I used to pump 250ml.

Yes, it's flabby and soft and saggy. mine's too. no choice. only can apply toning creams for boobs after u stop bfing. However i read up a articles says that it's only for the time being while u bf. After when u stop bf, u will restore your hormones and fats back to your boobs but of cause wont be that firm and toned like the past anymore.
 
Don't stop pumping and latch on. I am start doing that for day one when bb birth. every 2 hours let bb latch on though no milk for the first 5 days. Drink as much water as you can as i drink about 3 liters Red plum water+Soup everyday. You can try to drink boil black beans soup+ fish soup as much as you can.
For me the milk flow coming after the 5th day and keep increasing every day till the max i can pump out is about 280ml.
Mummy, don't give up ya, the milk flow is coming
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Is there such a thing as the breasts get "immuned" to the pump? My pump accessories are all fairly new. After using the Ameda for 1 month plus, my pump output dropped drastically from about 150ml to about 50ml. But when I use manual pump or hand-express, I can get 250-300ml, but it's very tiring and I need to plan towards going back to work where I need to be able to pump efficiently and quickly. I still feel the strong suction (though I now need to increase suction power compared to a month ago to get the same level of suction), only that milk doesn't really flow out.

I do notice that my breasts have kind of shrunk somewhat compared to the early stage of breastfeeding after my baby is born.

It can't be that we gotta change brands for electric pump every few mths right? I am interested in the new Avent comfort pump but I have do not want to invest unnecessarily, as I did hear some feedback that the suction cannot match the Avent manual pump.
 

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