I never thought I’d be a breast pumping mom, but here we are! I am full time breast pumping and have realized a lot of mamas struggle with pumping and have reached out to me for advice. I’m such a newbie at all of this but I hope I can help those who want to either build up their supply or start exclusively breast pumping.

Getting Started

I personally have a Spectra pump but I rented a Medela from the hospital while waiting for it to arrive. I love them both in their own ways, but I feel my Spectra has more controls and settings. Nonetheless, they all do the same job and have most of the same parts. Spectra consists of the flanges (what you put your girls in), a three part membrane with cases, a filter, the connecting tubes, and the machine. I personally have a plug in one, but it does come in a battery version. There are different settings for speed, vacuum, and also a let down mode option. While pumping, I usually keep it at 50-54 speed and at L03 or L04. I massage my breasts during if I feel lumps, but the massage setting is great as well. This blog post explains it all very well!

​I recommend finding a pumping schedule for you and trying to pump for at least 20 minutes every time. In the beginning your baby will eat a lot closer together in time, so you want to always try and stay ahead. So say your baby is taking a nap, pump during that time and keep a bottle out and store anything you have left over. It’s a lot easier in the beginning when they are only eating a few ounces, so your oversupply can go into freezer storage. Milk is good at room temperature for about four or five hours so this gives your babe a perfect timeline for when they wake up to eat next. Now at almost two months old she eats four ounces every four to five hours. So every four hours I’m pumping and have a bottle ready and anything over the four ounces goes in another bottle or milk storage bag. I filmed a typical day in my life with my pumping routine. It works great for us, but will soon change as I go back to work ha ha!

Equipment

With your breast pump, it comes pretty standard, but make sure you get the correct nipple size for your comfort and for the best breast pumping experience. You can get help from a Lactation Consultant while in the hospital to determine what size you are. If you find yourself not getting a good suction, which can result to not getting a lot of milk out, it could be the size isn’t right. Also, check and make sure all of your parts are intact, I know the white filter can sometimes be off and it all makes a huge difference!

So I’ve already touched on the electric machines, but let’s be real we don’t always get 20-30 minutes to be strapped to a machine ha ha! My Medela hand pump is a life saver. If she let’s me, I will lay her down to nap and hand pump both sides for about 15 minutes each. I am able to get 2 ounces on each side during that time which is a full bottle for her. I find myself using my handpump throughout the day more than my electric pump because I can pump while doing other tasks in the home. I strive to pump with my Spectra three times a day, once early morning, one during her bigger afternoon nap, and again in the evening when my husband gets home. All of the time in between I use my handy dandy hand pump!

​Other equipment you should look into is a Haakaa pump. These are great if you have a let down and usually leak throughout the day. Most moms will breastfeed one side and attach the haakaa pump to the other to catch all of that let down. For us pumping moms, this would be convenient if you find yourself hand pumping, you can attach this to the other side and then combine all of it together so nothing goes to waste. A Haakaa pump is basically a silicone pump that suctions on to your breast and catches any let down.You can search them on Amazon, or here.

Another great thing to consider is your nursing pads. I am wearing my washable Medela nursing pads all day, but after pumping I try and put my Medela soft shell shields on to protect my nipples. These are amazing and allow for airflow. The pumps pull out your nipples, so afterwards we are normally just squishing them again when we put our bras back on, which can be painful. These soft shell shields keep them out and let them slowly go back to their normal shape, and also has a sponge that catches any leakage. I will warn you though if you have a good let down, do not bend over because it will spill out of your shirt! I’ve learned this a few times ha ha. Other equipment you should consider investing in is nipple cream, gel packs, a pumping bra to hold your bottles in place, and good nursing pads. I linked all of the brands I use!

Build Your Supply

Now, when I was fresh out of the hospital and trying to get my milk in, I was pumping every two hours for about 30 minutes. This helped build up my supply and tell my body to produce milk quickly. I slowly started to space it out over the month to two and a half hours, three hours, and now I go four to six hours. You don’t get much sleep the first few weeks so be prepared! It seems like a lot, but the more often you pump, the more your body will signal to produce milk to keep up. So, if you find yourself still barely producing, keep at the every two hours for a longer period of time before spacing it out more.

Also, you can power pump! Power pumping is pumping for 20 minutes (if your milk stops flowing before the 20 minute mark stop then), rest for 10 minutes. Then, pump for 10 minutes, rest for 10 minutes, and pump for 10 minutes. Attempt this once a day, but you can do it three times a day for three days to really boost your supply. Also, listen to your body. Your breasts will become engorged and harden when they are full. You want to take care of yourself and prevent things like clogged milk ducts that can turn into mastitis.
While the routine I wrote above is a great way to build your supply, here are other things mamas swear by! Note, I am not a health professional and these are just ideas I or other mamas have tried out. Talk to your provider about taking certain things, as things like Fenugreek have been reported to boosting some mom’s supply while completely delpleting others.
-lactation cookies
-Fenugreek
-oatmeal, garlic, carrots, nuts, ginger
-drinking lots of water
-Mother’s milk tea
-upspring milk flow

Finding Your Routine

I think this is the most challenging part for moms wanting to breastfeed, when do you find the time? First, see how often your baby eats. I’ll use mine for example and she eats every 4-5 hours. She typically wakes up at 4 am so I will feed her, change her and then lay her back down. I pump for 30 minutes in the morning and make a bottle out of it, saving any extra in the fridge or freezer. I rinse off my pump parts and put the second bottle in a bowl to be washed. I go back to bed, and at 8 am I pump again for 15-20 and feed her that first bottle I had left out. This time afterwards washing all the parts and the bottles.

​If you can get really good you can pump right before your baby wakes up, but most of the time she ends up laying on me because she doesn’t like to lay down by herself very long ha ha. I only wash my pump parts every other time I use them, because I’m using it again within a 5 hour time span and I figured if milk can sit out, my rinsed pump parts can too. I also read recently that moms will put the entire piece in a ziploc bag without rinsing off any milk and it can stay good for a full day; but I haven’t tried that method. Find what works for you and don’t feel too overwhelmed with having to figure out a schedule. It will be hard at first, but now I feel like it’s second nature and pumping and washing is just a part of our day!

I hope this helps those of y’all who have come to me for advice. It’s been a lot of trial and error for us, and hasn’t been an easy road. It is very draining mentally and physically, but I am just so happy to still provide for her even if breastfeeding isn’t working out for us! I am still striving to breast feed more and will just replace a pumping time with feeding her, and then pump the opposite side she doesn’t eat off of. If you have any additional questions feel free to reach out to me in the comments or on my social media, I’d be happy to help!