Many mothers find looking at their baby — or at pictures of their baby if they are separated — while expressing helpful. Gently massaging your breasts before and during your pumping session, as well as applying warm compresses or taking a warm shower before expressing can also trigger a let-down.
Other ways to boost your oxytocin might include listening to music, watching a comedy on TV, reading a book, or browsing social media on your phone.
If you are able to cuddle your baby while expressing, you may see an increase in your normal milk output! It is even possible to express while carrying your baby in a sling or baby carrier.
It can feel disheartening if you are watching your collection bottles and feel that they are not filling up quickly enough. Covering the bottles with socks, or distracting yourself so that you are not watching, can be helpful. If you are struggling to get a let-down, it is ok to put your pump away and come back to it minutes later and try again. If it is a persistent problem at certain times of day, try to remember that the stimulation you are giving your breast still has a valuable purpose.
In order to keep pumping comfortable and avoid nipple damage, you may want to consider using lubrication, such as lanolin or olive oil, inside the pump flange to reduce friction. The flange needs to make a comfortable seal around the breast. Pumps have different suction and cycles settings. You may want to start with a low suction and high number of cycles to stimulate your let-down.
Once your milk starts flowing, you can decrease the number of cycles and increase suction. In order to avoid getting sore, it is a good idea not to use the same suction setting for long periods of time. Switching between low and high suction also helps to trigger more let-downs. Once you are done pumping, you can massage both breasts and hand express to make sure your breasts are completely drained.
As breastmilk is highly digestible, breastfed babies tend to feed little and often. When babies nurse directly at the breast, milk intake varies from feeding to feeding, so the amount of breastmilk taken per bottle may also vary throughout the day. On average, babies need ml of breastmilk per day between one and six months of age. You may want to pump slightly more than this to make sure you have enough milk when your baby goes through a grow spurt.
Babies drink from a bottle and nurse from the breast in a completely different way. When drinking from a bottle, babies cannot control the flow of milk, which can be uncomfortable for them and can lead to overfeeding. In order to minimise this problem, you may want to feed your baby your expressed milk in a way that is as close as possible to nursing.
This is often referred to as paced bottle feeding. Rather than feeding your baby bottles of expressed milk according to a strict schedule, you may want to feed on demand, as you would if they were nursing at the breast, being aware of early hunger cues. Holding your baby upright and keeping the bottle in a horizontal position allows the baby to suck actively, as he would at the breast, and to control the flow of milk, taking a break whenever he needs to. Offering the bottle teat gently, letting the baby draw it into their mouth, and feeding to satiation also allow the baby to be more in control of his feed.
Shaking breastmilk is also not necessary. If away from home, you could use a cool bag with ice packs. Our page Storing Your Milk has comprehensive details on safe periods for storing expressed milk for healthy babies. If your baby is unwell or premature, then follow hospital guidelines.
Your baby will benefit more from fresh than frozen breastmilk because its living properties will help him fight off possible infections, however all human milk is beneficial for you baby. You may well see that your expressed milk is not always the same colour, and that it separates into layers when it has been stored for a while. Neither of these is a cause for concern, and a gentle swirl of the container before you feed your milk to your baby should make the layers mix again.
If you find that you are producing more milk than your baby needs, you might like to consider donating your milk by registering as a donor for your local breastmilk bank. You could try to reduce the length of your pumping sessions by a few minutes over a few weeks, or you could try slowly increasing the intervals between sessions. By taking on the work of exclusive pumping, though, you gave your baby a wonderful gift.
Casemore, S. Gray Lion Publishing, Moms who pump exclusively spend a lot of time attached to a breast pump. So think about buying or renting a high-quality pump that is designed for long-term, daily use. A double pump will serve you well and save you time and energy since it can collect milk from both breasts at the same time.
Whichever pump you choose, be sure it's comfortable and the pump shields fit you well to prevent pain and damage to your breast tissue. If you maximize your time and comfort, you're more likely to pump regularly to maintain a healthy milk supply. Frequent pumping stimulates the production of breast milk. While your child is a newborn, try to pump every two to three hours.
As your child grows, you can usually pump less often. However, if you're struggling with low milk supply, pumping more often can increase milk production. A galactagogue is something that helps a breastfeeding mother make more breast milk.
There are breastfeeding superfoods , herbs , and teas that you can add to your daily diet to support and promote lactation. When it comes to the prevention of pregnancy, exclusive pumping is not the same as exclusive breastfeeding. The lactational amenorrhea method LAM of birth control may work during the first six months of exclusive breastfeeding, but it is not considered effective with pumping. Therefore, if you do not wish to become pregnant again right away, you and your partner should use another form of contraception.
Be sure to let your doctor know that you are exclusively pumping, though. Since some forms of birth control contain estrogen, they can cause a decrease in your milk supply. Exclusive pumping can be time-consuming and demanding. Fatigue and stress are known to decrease the supply of breast milk. So it's important to take care of yourself. Try to eat well , drink plenty of fluids , rest when you can, and relax while pumping. Don't be afraid to ask for help from your partner, family, and friends.
Their support can make all the difference when it comes to how long you pump exclusively. Get it free when you sign up for our newsletter. Pumping milk without ever feeding at the breast in the Moms2Moms Study. Breastfeed Med. Jardine FM. Breastfeeding without nursing: "If only I'd known more about exclusively pumping before giving birth".
J Hum Lact. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Breastfeeding your baby. Updated March Pediatr Clin North Am. Office on Women's Health.
Your guide to breastfeeding. Ballard O, Morrow AL. Human milk composition: nutrients and bioactive factors. Methods of milk expression for lactating women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. The struggle is real! The educational health content on What To Expect is reviewed by our medical review board and team of experts to be up-to-date and in line with the latest evidence-based medical information and accepted health guidelines, including the medically reviewed What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff.
This educational content is not medical or diagnostic advice. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy. Registry Builder New. Exclusive Pumping Guide. Medically Reviewed by Marvin Resmovits, M. Medical Review Policy All What to Expect content that addresses health or safety is medically reviewed by a team of vetted health professionals.
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