I am an expert breast pumper and pumped for my daughter for over a year and know the best products out there (if you have any questions about what works best, please contact to me to chat about it)
Home ›› Breast Pumping FAQ's
You may feel like the only thing you do is pump and feed – pump and feed, breast pumping more milk, but believe me, it gets so much easier. Initially, when you are trying to get your milk supply at an adequate level, you will be pumping for a far greater time. However, just after a week or two, you will have a schedule that fits right into your life.
Of course, once the baby is born you need to pump every two to three hours. That means that if you pump at 8:00 am, and it takes you 20 minutes to pump, you need to pump again at 10:00 am, not 10:20 am. Yet, if you miss your scheduled time, do not panic, just try to stay on schedule until you get a good supply of milk.
The other factor of your breast pump session includes what length of time you should be pumping. You need to pump until your breast is empty. Try to avoid putting a time limit on this. It is understandable if the baby is crying or someone comes to the door. However, if you have no pressures at the time, then attempt to pump until empty. This should not take longer than 30 minutes, if you have a double pump (which is essential if you plan to pump exclusively). In addition, your session should only take between 10-15 minutes. Some good techniques to use to get your breast milk out in an adequate amount of time is to:
- massage your breasts prior to pumping to get a good let-down;
- use a photo or think of your little one;
- relax and watch television or read a book (don’t think about your milk – don’t even look down at it);
- massage or gently squeeze your breasts WHILE you are pumping – you may feel like a cow at this point, but it tends to expel more of the milk out in greater quantities;
- move your breasts in various positions while pumping this will pull more milk out of the many milk ducts.
These techniques should assist you with the length of your pumping sessions. Just make sure not to pressure yourself regarding the amount of milk you are producing. This will only cause your milk to decrease.
