exclusively pumping

well Emily was 4 weeks early and has some breathing issues, she is on an apnea monitor (whole nother story) anyway, she never had a problem bfing and actually took to it like quite the champ. One day after many days of much frustration of her not latching and crying to the point of setting off her monitor going on we decided we would have to pump exclusively. The ped. also encouraged us to do so, seeing as her weight is so behind it would be good to assure she is getting her 2oz every 2-3 hours. So I'm pumping now, every 2-3 hours and getting exactly 2 oz! So I am making exactly enough to feed her but I would like to be able to pump more, I wish my supply was better. It would be nice if there was already a bottle ready for my little one. Also I would feel more confident knowing that I had more than she needed ready for her, and not "just enough" anyone else out there pumping exclusively? running into problems? what can I do to increase my supply?

Maybe you should try pumping more often. More of a demand, maybe you will get more milk? It normal to just get that much at first.

I had to pump for my 3rd child because she was a 30 weeker and in the NICU for a couple months. I had trouble pumping the amount she needed so they recommended that I pump more often than she ate to encourage milk production. So I would pump once in between her feedings and it helped. You will start making more milk.

Yep, pump as often as you can and drink a lot of water. You can also try starting the supplement fenugreek. It will increase your supply. When my supply gets low, I take 2 capsules, 3 times a day and it increases quite a bit.

I have been pumping for the last 6 weeks that my daughter has been in the NICU. My supply has been extremely high but when I actually started tio put her to the breast, my supply tapered. So I started pumping more often and it went back up a little. Just pump more often, drink A TON of water, and eat well.

Quoting Shes here!:“ well Emily was 4 weeks early and has some breathing issues, she is on an apnea monitor (whole nother ... [snip!] ... and not "just enough" anyone else out there pumping exclusively? running into problems? what can I do to increase my supply?”

I havent read the rest of the replies to this post so I'm not sure if someone else has already mentioned this or not, but I too have had to pump exclusively for my son. I have a hospital grade pump I've rented and to be honest, the best thing you can do to try and increase the supply if you are already pumping every couple to 3 hours is to extend the amount of time on the pump. If you were doing it for only 15 minutes before try doing it for 20 minutes or longer if you can. I was really sore for a bit, but when my suppy started to dwindle I went back to pumping religiously every 2 or 3 hours and doing it for longer periods of time, and just a sugar my milk came back really well.
Best of luck!

the lactation consultant suggested I power pump..10mins on one breast..then 10mins on the other breast for a total of a half hour...every two hours...it actually helped...

I did this for 3 months and my son gained wonderfully. He was a premie by 5 weeks and weighed 5lbs 10ounces. I would pump as much as possible and try to build up your supply. Mine was low in the beginning also but I just pumped sometime every 1-2 hours. Also, do you have a double electric pump? That makes all the difference in the world. Good luck Mama its the best for your baby and you are doing a great job!!

I am pumping exclusively because my son is still in the NICU and they said he will come home faster on the bottle because I can monitor better how much he's taking at feedings. I get HUGE amounts of milk every 3 hours (7 oz or so), but they gave me a lot of tips here. When you pump are you pumping til you empty yourself or just for a certain amount of time? Try pumping more often and limiting the sessions to just 12-15 minutes. Are you getting up at night to pump as well?? Try doing that if you're not. I agree with the double electric pump too...they told me because I'd be pumping so much (even when he comes home he'll be too small to empty me so I'll still be pumping ever 2-3 hours) that I needed a hospital grade electric pump. I got mine for free (insurance picked it up but I'm on state assistance) because he's a preemie) so look into options to obtain a free one if you don't have one.

I have been pumping exclusively for over 7 months in total. (my son was under 2lbs and has alot of health problems, G tube fed etc).

My supply has gone up and down over time, i used to have to do it every 2 hours around the clock for the first 2 months or so and then successfully dropped to every 4 hours. I find whenever my supply starts to dip again i just pump more regularily again and it comes back up.

Ive tried all different pumps; the hospital one, a mini electric, manual and hand expressing. I regularilymassage them and use hot cloths just before pumping to bring up my supply too and i think thats helped me avoid major mastitis and other problems. Taking fenurgreek, drinking lots of water, small regular meals andpumping near baby as often as possible may help too.

Try mixing yeast with cream and bananas - my LC told me about it and it seemed to help me get more hindmilk! I basically tried everything and anything (except medication) to keep it going. Luckily whenever it was dropping i found something that worked! Perseverence and patience are key lol!

what's fenugreek?

Quoting sunygrl7:“ what's fenugreek?”

Fenugreek is a natural herb that supposedly can help increase your milk supply.

Fenugreek 3 pills three times a day, you can buy it at GNC
or a presciption of Reglan its for GI problems in children and infants, but it does help your supply come in.
Also, Supply and Demand theroy...the more you demand it, the more youll get. so pump as often as you can.

I exclusivley pumped too.

I worried about my milk supply too, 2-3 oz of milk just doesn't look like much. but your body will make enough for your baby and your milk supply will gradually increase with you babies appitite. I pumped every 3 hours or sometimes more if i felt "full" don't wait until your engorged though, sometimes i was even lucky enough to get ahead a little so i could freeze some and have quick movie with the hubby. good luck!