If you are a working mother, you’ll understand the pressure to pump out enough breast milk for your baby.
Since my baby is only 2 months old, I time my pumping sessions at 3-hour intervals – but I could only get 1-2 oz per session! Angeleyes sympathized with me when she saw me pumping because I am, ahem, heavy on top.
As it’s been 4 years since I last expressed breast milk (and I can’t remember if we ever went to 4 hour intervals for breastfed babies…), I did a bit of research and found Medela’s guide on finding the right sized breastshield.
I also read up on AVENT’s tips and advice for expressing milk.
I used Medela’s checklist below and adjusted my pump:
1. Center the nipple in the breastshield tunnel.
2. Turn on the pump and check the following points:
* Is her nipple moving freely in the tunnel? YES
* Is minimal or no areolar tissue being pulled into the tunnel of the breastshield? YES
* Does she see a gentle, rhythmical motion in the breast with each cycle of the pump? YES
* Does she feel the breast emptying all over? NO – This was what I’ve been doing wrong! No wonder I always get low input.
Now, I know that the milk IS in there – we need to get the method right in order to express it
* Is her nipple pain-free? YES
After having a hot drink and getting the breast pump ready, I set up my baby’s photo on the laptop. Smiling at her photo, I started to relax and pump. I could even daydream 
After about 20 minutes, I was happy to see 3 oz! I managed to get that each session and I even stayed up till 11 pm for a last pump (keeping the poor brother waiting and waiting for Mummy to finish).
Voila, here’s my back-up stash:
It’s not much but it’s a start and I hope to build it up slowly since I had ZERO from the day she was born. Now that she prefers EBM to formula milk, looks like Mummy can’t be lazy anymore :p
Now, expressing milk isn’t such a chore anymore…
LADIES: If you are NOT getting any (or little) milk from your pump, do ask for help from the hospital nurses, lactation consultants or any breastfeeding mothers.
Remember, ask and you shall receive.
UPDATE:
I pump every 3 hours during the day i.e. 11 am and 2 pm. Other times I breastfeed i.e. 7.00-8.00 am, 5 pm, 8 pm, 11 pm, 3 am.
Breastfeed fully on weekends, if possible. A bit tough when the boy’s at home!
However, her schedule isn’t so perfect. She gets hungry earlier when:
a) she has some activity i.e. a bath, bugged by people or kept awake too long;
b) she has just poo-ed
Like what you read?
Subscribe in a reader or by Email
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Good job! the position of the medela valve also helps it seems. the white membrane needs to be fixed AWAY from the breast shield.
good technique hor. see her photo, got milk out edi!!! she has beautiful eyes la!
Hi Kittycat
I have to supplement as I dun seem to be pumping enuff like you. I should be pumping 4 oz per session but still am getting 3 oz only and becos of this she still drinks every 2 hours instead of 3. I was told that I should drink more water to keep up with the supply – is that true?
Btw she is sooooooooo adorable
I wished I have done the same research as you when i was expressing last time. My output was very erratic; sometimes 6oz per pump, sometimes a measly 1oz! At that time I thought it was due to my food intake, so piled up on papaya fish soup and ice-creams… still erratic though, so maybe due to my pumping method (nipples hurt like hell).
Giddy Tigress – That’s useful for Medela Mums to know. I use AVENT
Wen - Ya, the photo really helps! Mum needs mascara etc but this little girl will not need it LOL
Pinky - I am still supplementing too about 1-2 oz when I can’t pick her up in time or when I leave her with my Mum when I go out. I will continue supplementing to ease off the pressure though I will give her as much breastmilk as possible
Here’s what I learned about maintaining a good supply:
FLUIDS. Drink as much water/soups/juices as you can because you need liquid to produce liquid (milk), right? I’ve been drinking soya, milk, yoghurt and eating oatmeal too.
REST. Most important of all!
FOOD. High on protein, low on carbs. Good for Mummy too LOL
A GOOD PUMP. And technique, of course.
REGULAR PUMPING. Since my baby is still small, she feeds on 3 hour intervals. I pump every 3 hours during the day i.e. 11 am and 2 pm. Other times I breastfeed i.e. 7.00-8.00 am, 5 pm, 8 pm, 11 pm, 3 am. Breastfeed fully on weekends.
All the best!
Ooooooooooo those lovely eyes!!!! I’m sure with her lovely photo there the milk will be gushing out!!!
Good job witht the pump… hope you’ll get more and more the coming days!
So, do you still want to try my pump??
BoeyJoey – Ouch! You might wanna re-check that pump. Breastfeeding or expressing milk should NOT hurt. If it does, something’s not right. You poor thing. I can’t take pain so I am very, very careful with my pumping…
Angeleyes - They’re so pretty, aren’t they? LOL Milk enough onlylah, not gushing out but I’m happy to see I’m getting 3oz these days
Yes, still want to try your pump!
Sorry, a bit delayed response. I think she looks just like you! What’s your mom’s opinion?
KGC – Wah, I’m so flattered LOL As I don’t have such BIG eyes, nobody thinks she looks like me!
Because our colouring appears similar, naturally everyone says she looks like me but I think she’s still changing. Today, I noticed that her eyelashes aren’t as curly or as long anymore.
In any case, she’s very pretty and very sweet. Very, very different from when her brother was a baby. Baby girls are more fun! Time for No. 2, dear?
Here’s wishing you more and more ounces per pump
Another thing I do, when all else fails, I’ll express with my hand – and most times, it’ll generate another letdown, and I’ll quickly switch back to my pump to maximise the output 
I found that I get more milk and simulation from Avent than Medela pump. After that, I stick with Avent. Drink more water and eat more fish.
One way to cut down pumping time is to pump one breast while you feed your girl on the other breast! (Takes a little practise though, but definitely do-able) This method not only saves time, it also helps you to ‘collect’ more milk as you wouldn’t have let-down problem since your baby is sucking the other breast. I used this method when breastfeeding my girl for 23 months.
way to go…
BB has such big eyes … so pretty.
am so glad to read this…never thought abt the pumping technique. i’m facing exactly the same problem…so little milk, the most that i could get is 1 & 1/2 oz…so sad
anyway, thks for the motivation after reading yr post.
yr bb girl has such beautiful eyes leh
As for me, I noticed that when the breast is engorged, I can pump productively and quickly on one side of the breast, about 6-8 oz from one breast. Then later when I started pumping the other breast, I find that only small volumes of milk came out every time I pressed the pump’s lever even though the beast felt engorged. But I don’t care, I just went on pumping until the 2nd letdown feeling appeared again. This time was big gush of milk squirting out until I finally feel the breast emptied. So for me, the position of the pump may be correct, but it’s all a matter of whether the letdown happens at that moment or not that determines how big the gush of milk that comes out.
What is the formula milk that you are giving to her as supplementary?
Julie – I really wouldn’t recommend supplementing with formula because I had a tough time (haven’t blogged about it yet) getting the RIGHT brand.
My husband was away a lot and I don’t have a maid thus I had a TOUGH time juggling 2 kids. So, I breastfed her as much as I can and only turned to formula (1-2 oz) when I was going to collapse from fatigue.
A new paed recommended Enfalac HA, which turned out horrible. She had diarrhea and it really stressed me out because I didn’t have time or energy to pump enough EBM.
Thankfully, I could give her about 80% breastmilk (by bringing her late to the babysitter and early home so she breastfed direct more) to ensure her stools were OK.
Then, I tried Lactogen, which her brother drank before 1 year old. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for her either.
Finally, she’s OK with Similac at 4 months old.
Formula feeding is really, really complicated because of allergies and you cannot simply switch brands. Breast milk is really the best, ok? Hope this helps.