I pump exclusively for my 3 month old. Not by choice but because I have to for medical reasons. We never had a chance to breastfeed. My supply is really good now and I have a freezer full of milk. I'm making 32 oz a day which is at least 4 1/2 more oz than my baby is drinking.I'm actually running out of room in the freezer!
I thought I should share a few things that have helped me:
-If you really want to increase your milk supply rent a hospital grade breast
pump. I have the medela classic. I'm renting it from Kings Pharmacy on Bedford.
Its $75/ month and its worth it. I don't know if they have any pumps available
now but you can call the medela hotline at 1-800-835-5968 to find all of the
places that rent pumps near you.
I also have a medela pump in style and the harmony hand pump and they are no
comparison to the hospital grade pump. I use the pump in style and harmony in my
car or when I'm out as a backup.
-Devote a few days, at least two but I'd say four is better. (If you work, take
off Thursday and Friday off and have Thur-Sun.) Pump for 15 minutes every 1 1/2
to 2 hours all day for 2 - 4 days (unless your breastfeeding and want to do
that). This means if you start pumping at 9am and finish at 9:15, you start
pumping again at 10:30 or 11. Get as many pumps in as possible and be shure to
get at least one in in the middle of the night between 1 - 5 because that is
when your milk producing hormones are the highest. When I was doing this I got
up to 11 pumps a day!
-When pumping, massage your breasts. Start at the base and push towards the
nipple. If there are any hard knots, work those out. You might not need to do
this, feel it out.
-Keep a log of every time you pump to keep track of everything. I note the time
started, amount of time, volume of milk for each breast and at the end of the
day I add up the milk volume.
-Cut slits in a sports bra to hold the pump shields. This way, you can be hands free! It makes a big difference in comfort.
-Have a clock visible from your "pumping station" so you never have to guess the time.
-Use lots of lanolin if your breasts are sore. It helps with lubricating the
pump shields too. (Blisters can happen.)
-Do lots of kangaroo care, holding your baby to your chest skin to skin. This
stimulates your milk production. And if skin to skin isn't possible, hold your
baby close.
-Drink LOTS of water. I was drinking at least 90 oz and sometimes 150 oz. (Now I
don't drink quite as much.)
-Drink lots of nursing tea. I was drinking at least two cups a day.
-Cut out ALL caffeine. (I eat some chocolate but that's it.)
-Get lots of sleep and rest. For me, it was hard to do this because I was going
to the NICU everyday but I know that this helps.
-Eat healthy foods. Lots of Fruits and Veggies.
-Oatmeal is good.
-Drink one Guinness at night if you drink alcohol! It totally helps.
The most important thing is to pump ALLOT and regularly with a hospital grade pump for a few days to jump start your supply. Its allot of work but should help. Stick with it and it will get easier! After my production went up I went down to 8 times a day which is still every 2 -3 hours. Recently I went down to 7 times a day and I just went to 6 because my production is so good! So far, my production hasn't decreased much.
If you have any other tips, please share.
Good Luck!
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