new mom struggling with pumping

Congrats on your boys!

Something that really helped me was making sure I pumped first thing in the morning and if I was really struggling with production, in the middle of the night. I ALWAYS got more then, usually 2-3 times as much. I also would do something while pumping to keep my mind off it. It would make the time go faster and I tried to not pay attention to how much I was getting, I often had a double let down if I kept at it for the 20 minutes they recommend.

Good luck and try to relax... (easier said than done)

,Collin let it be natural to you.
Just imaqine yourself as a river flowinq the nutrients to your bbys. and nipple stimulation really helps.

have the same problem they told me to pump every three hours but when i do im lucky to get 1oz every time so then i tried pumping 5 times a day and still get the same amount i tried reglan but it has not helped it only made me have anxiety and a little depression. im still not sure what to do!

Shelby- I know some people mentioned some natural supplements above and also warm showers may hlep. Also water is helpful. Regardless of breastfeeding, if you are feeling anxiety and depression you should talk to a doctor or someone you can get support from in person. Of course we are always happy to see you around here and starting a blog can be very helpful.

Please take care and keep us updated.
Ellen.

Shelby - Pumping more frequently is supposed to help increase your milk supply, but it doesn't always work if other factors are working against you. To be honest, if you've tried Reglan, and some of the other suggestions that were made here and you are still having problems (esp. if they are depressing you) then maybe it's time to go the formula route. We all know that breast milk is best, but if it's making for a stressed out unhappy mama, it might not be worth it.

Wishing you lots of luck!
Jackie

Collin,

I delivered my baby girl via c-section at 29 weeks. I tried everything, just like you, to keep up my milk supply. I would get as little as 5 cc's per pumping session sometimes... and by the end of the third week I had to make the decision to give it up completely.

The pumping was cutting into my visitation time with my girl, and was causing so much stress on my body that I had to make the executive decision to stop. The nurses assured me that the first three weeks that she DID get breast milk were very important and helpful, and that she would be just fine on formula!

I know there is a lot of guilt involved when thinking of stopping, but just remember it is SO important that you stay healthy, both physically and mentally, for those beautiful babies of yours.

Lots of luck!

Jessica Gorman
 http://thumba-lea.blogspot.com/

Oh my goodness! I am so sorry that you are frustrated and hurt! I will tell you that with my 33 weeker, I was not ever able to breastfeed. I don't want you to be discouraged by reading that though. I pumped for 5 months. And my supply dwindled down to nearly nothing. With that said, at least it was something. There were days that I was only able to get a few ounces and I did everything right too. Don't be so hard on yourself. It is very difficult to breastfeed the unnatural way by pumping. But keep it up. Those babies need every drop of liquid gold they can get!

Hugs and Love,
Aimee

How long are you pumping and what pump are you using. I have found that that makes a BIG difference. The Hospital grade pump Medela works wonders and is wonderful. Just remember that your milk is the best thing that you can do for your babies...I know it can be discouraging, but try to keep it up as best you can. I have been pumping for over 9 months and I tell you it is no fun at all...but I know that it is what is best for my little fighter so I am sticking it out!

For my first pump of the day I usually pump close to an hour and I get about 16oz..the other pumps during the day are not as much...and I pump anywhere for 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on how much I can tolerate...but I do make sure I empty out everything I can for the first pump of the day. I no longer have the hopsital pump, which did wonders,which is why my pumping is so much harder now...I have a different hospital grade pump, but it is not as good as the Medela. With the Medela I would get 50-60 ounces a day of BM...which is why the type of pump you are using is sooooooooooooooo very important.

hI I AM NEW HERE AS WELL I HAD MY BABY AT 29 WEEKS. we are at week 3 in the nicu and i have the same problem the milk was good at the start and has now dropped to barely enough for his tube feeds. i feel your pain

Nash's mommy, Try to keep your head up. Stress can also affect your supply. See if you can meet with the lactation consultant in the hospital. If you let his nurse know, she should be able to set you up.
Good luck.
Ellen

Ellen gave some great advice. Talk to the LC and see if there is anything you can do to up your milk supply. Pumping more frequently and making sure you are fully drained each time can help. Drinking more water can help. And taking a supplement like Fenugreek can boost your supply. Looking at a picture of Nash or smelling a blanket of his while you are pumping can help too.

But also, if breastfeeding is unsuccessful, don't beat yourself up about it. You do your best and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I had so many people make me feel *horrible* for finally giving up that I want to make sure you know it's ok if it doesn't work out. Breastmilk is best, we all know that. But a mommy who's stressed out about it, isn't good for things either.

Hoping it all works out!
Jackie

Just wanted to give you some hugs. My little guy was born last week at 33 weeks and I've just started the pumping fairly recently (like 4 days ago). Keep dong your best and I agree with the advice that the other ladies gave. I mean I certainly don't have a lot of experience with this yet, but I get frustrated sometimes too. I think one of the best things we can do is to take good care of ourselves and try our very best to keep the stress level down....yeah, which is a lot easier said than done. I've found when I skimp on drinking water,my production goes down a bit so I'm trying to be better about that. Try to relax, listen to good calming music, find some guided mediatation podcasts (they really help me). (((hugs))) You're a good mama!

Congrats on the birth of your sons! I hope all is well. I have a bit of a different story. I never produced enough milk for any of my children. I tried everything! Nothing seemed to work. I never felt my milk let down, etc. Until one day I was walking into the hospital to see my son and I felt something "weird". It finally dawned on me that my milk had come in! I felt so happy to pump because I felt like I was doing "something" to help in an otherwise helpless situation. One thing that helped me was to use a hospital grade pump. You can rent one from the hospital. I was able to produce enough milk to feed him solely breast milk until he was about 4 months old although he would not take it from me. I had to pump and put it in a bottle. I felt extreme guilt and anguish when I stopped pumping (by that time I was not even producing enough for one feeding). No one made me feel this way. It was just me. I finally realized that 5 months was better than nothing, and having a stressed out mom did not help any one.

I hope you are able to find something that works for you and your family whether it be breast or powder! God bless,

Elizabeth

Hey Collin
    Congrats on your babies! I have a baby girl that I had at 27 weeks and we are now at home after a long haul in the NICU. I wanted to breastfeed as well and I did pump for a while and they put it through her feeding tube until one day when her reflux became really bad they put her on a thick formula and she has been on that since. My milk was too thin for her. I kept pumping just enough to keep my supply there and it wasn't much. I could not get anyone to really tell me whether or not she would ever have my milk again. This was hard as well because like you I had always heard it was "gold" for them. I just recently stopped pumping and just came to terms with the fact she will be on formula for a long while. I do however have a pretty good supply frozen. When I first began pumping I had trouble with my left side giving me milk. I used a heating pad and hot shower as well as a little massage. I used a hospital grade medela pump that I rented. Stress can most definitely make it hard to have a supply and NICU moms like us are definitely under stress. I know it is hard to think that you cannot give your babies your milk; I had a lot of guilt as well but it was stressing me out and you don't want to put yourself through that either. I don't know what kind of pump you are using but if possible a hospital grade medela pump is a good one to use. Have they had any of your milk since you have pumped? If so the first bit of milk that you have is very very good and filled with antibodies so keep that in mind if you at least gave them a bit at the beginning that was a good thing. I hope this helps and please don't hesitate to ask questions. I don't really give much advice at this point because I'm so new at everything but this was definitely something I can relate to in a way. Take care of yourself too You are in my thoughts

I understand. I only used to get 1.5 oz, and it was a good day if I got 2 or 3. It did get better after a while, but remember that your body wasn't ready for them, so it is going to take longer for your body to register that you have had the babies. When you have a vaginal birth, your body produces oxytocin, which is the chemical that tells your body to create breast milk. If you have early birth and a c-section, your body doesn't get the benefit of that chemical. My daughter was born at 27 weeks weighing 1 lb 10 oz, and it was very stressful to try to pump while taking care of everyone else. My advice is, remember that you are doing what you can, and that is what matters. Don't beat yourself up if you feel you can't keep continuing with pumping. It was a great experience to have my daugher latch on, but because of my own physical issues, she wasn't able to get any milk. I would have loved to be able to continue. It is worth it if you can keep going, and I wish you all the luck in the world with it!

You are not alone! I have been pumping for six weeks, four days now. I have had mastitis three times already and yeast in the breast! I have cracked nipples that were to the point of bleeding. I took three sets of antibiotics and an anti-fungal cream, drank water, applied heat, pumped often, etc. I was in so much pain I was in tears daily. I pumped through it..even lactation told me they would understand if I stopped. I am still continuing though. I received some helpful advice today from a woman who had twins born around 29 weeks. She said the first six weeks are the hardest.
Living in the nicu is one of the hardest things a parent can go through. It's not easy and it seems like you are wanting to help your little boys so badly. If you can hold out till they get home, I hear it gets so much easier once you have them at home and can work on it there. I will be praying for you!

Hello rrhod00g,

It sounds like you have had a tough time with pumping, but you have kept it up, good for you! I hope that it's true that the first 6 weeks are the hardest, so that your experience gets much better. Please share any other tips you learn in the coming weeks.

Hello HoweKa,
Thanks for sharing your experiences as well. My son was born at 27 weeks, weighing 1 pound 11 ounces. I pumped for 3 weeks, and if I got 1 or 2 ounces per day, that was a good day. After 3 weeks, I still had almost no supply, and I was exhausted, so I stopped. I wish good luck to all NICU mommas who pump, please share your success stories!

Leigh

Hi Collin,

My name is Dayna I am a mother of a 4 year old healthy 40 lb boy now. He was born at 27 weeks and weighed 1lb 12 oz. I went through the same thing you, are not alone! I also had a c-secion and because my boy was in the NICU for 3 months and he was too little to breast feed at first I had to pump as well. I was in the hospital for the first 3 weeks, but once I was discharged to go home I was pumping, pumping, pumping. I would pump as much milk as ai could and bring it in a cooler in containers to the hospital 3 times a day. You probably are, but make sure your pumping through the night as well ( I know this is the last thing you want to hear right now... more pumping... lol)
after 2 months of pumping and starting to dry out I started taking Reglan ( it worked for me for a little while longer) so if it works keep on going!! I completely believe its because of the breast milk that my son is healthy today. When you do start to try and breast feed, get yourself a nipple sheild. My son was breast feeding when he was only 2 lbs. His mouth was so small the nurse suggested a breast sheild and it worked! Ofcourse you will probably only be breast feeding maybe once a day when theyre still in the hospital because its alot of work for them. My nurse had me coming once a day with a breast shield to breast feed, and then we did as much as we possibly could with my pumped breast milk, and then my son had reflux disease so we mixed a little rice ceral in with the breast milk ( which also helps add calories) for every 1-2 ounces of milk you add 1 tbls of rice ceral. If you do start to supplement with formula... I used enfamil A+ (with extra added calories) and LOVED it. By the way it's totally normal to be sick and tired of it! I found my self crying when it was time to pump. Everyone told me to try and relax, and thats my best advice for you too. I know its so hard, but when your stressed the milk doesn't come in as well. Sorry for going on and on and on...I went through MANY things with my son, so if you have any questions ever feel free to ask me. I've been blessed with a miracle and want to do anything to help other families going through this. Hope this helped a little bit.

Good Luck and God Bless!

Dayna