Help with pumping
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=34719
Printed Date: 26 August 2025 at 10:18pm
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Topic: Help with pumping
Posted By: Treen
Subject: Help with pumping
Date Posted: 15 July 2010 at 12:20pm
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Hello ladies!
My son has reflux and breast feeding to date has been an absolute nightmare. He pulls off, stiffens up, screams, tugs painfully at my nipples etc and I can rarely get him feeding for more than 5 minutes each side. 
Because of this, I've started giving him expressed milk for two of his feeds each day which he gulps down quite desperately. I figure it's because he's upright when I give him his bottle so he refluxes less. Only problem is now I'm constantly pumping. I'm typing with one hand currently! I have the Medela Swing but it just takes forever. I do half hour sessions about 6 times a day. I'm worried about my milk supply as my breasts don't look big, never feel full, never leak etc. The Medela manual says to use the pump at your maximum comfort level however when I google pumping, it says to use to pump at its lowest and slowest level as increasing the level can reduce your milk supply. The idea being that baby's suckling isn't that strong and the pump needs to imitate baby as much as possible. I've tried using the pump on its lowest level for 2 days now and not only does my milk supply appear to be remain the same, it's now taking me even longer to get enough for the 2 bottles I need. So do I set the pump at my maximum comfort level or keep trying it at its lowest level? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 15 July 2010 at 1:19pm
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When I used the one at the hospital I had it at about 3/4 it was a M Swing too. Didn't have any problems but dd got sick at 5 weeks and wasn't feeding properly because she wasn't feeling well so I was rather engorged and had to maintain my supply for 2 days.
No problems with having it near max iykwim. Also as your supply settles your breasts do feel less full etc. My breasts at the moment look like they did pre pregnancy and feel completely empty but dd is putting on fab weight (1.4kg in 6 weeks) so clearly there isn't an issue. I would use it at the comfortable level, not the lowest imo. Especially as that pump is designed to mimic a baby with the let down phase whereas other pumps don't have that as far as I know. Could be wrong but that's just my opinion. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: kakapo
Date Posted: 15 July 2010 at 2:17pm
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Huh, I hadn't heard that advice before - interesting. I pumped for 12 weeks, and for the first 3-4 weeks had really sore nipples and could only tolerate the pump on the lowest settings. Once they finally healed I ended up using the maximum settings for the whole pumping session, which produced the same amount of/more milk in a quicker amount of time. I got a script for Domperidone to keep up my milk supply - it definitely helped me, but I've heard it doesn't help everyone. Oh, and I had a double electric pump ... if you plan to pump a lot I'd definitely recommend getting one as they're a huge time saver. Just wondering too ... have you tried holding bubs in a more upright position while BFing, to help with the reflux? I remember the lactation consultant telling me about women who BFed with their baby sitting on their hip, or with bubs bottom right down in their lap and legs dangling lower (hard to explain, hope you get what i mean?). |
Posted By: mollycat
Date Posted: 15 July 2010 at 4:01pm
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I had the EXACT same problem and struggled and struggled for months with low milk supply due to Ryan not being able to feed properly due to reflux. I also ended up getting Domperidone (way too late looking back on it) and it made a HUGE difference for me. I went from getting a paltry 80mls in one sitting to upwards of 200mls which is what I needed to provide Ryan's daycare when I went back to work.
I would also suggest getting a double pump if you plan to pump for awhile as is a huge time saver. If you do want to trial domperidone make sure you go into the doctor with a print out from the ministry of health outlining its usage in helping increase milk supply. Maybe it was just my doctor who was hopeless but she'd never heard of domperidone being used for that purpose and was going to give me maxalon (which has some scary side effects and is no longer suggested to be used to increase supply). she also had no idea what dosage to give me and put me on too low of a dosage to begin with. I got stomach cramps for about 2 days when I first started but they went away after that. ------------- http://tickers.cafemom.com"> 
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Posted By: MamaT
Date Posted: 15 July 2010 at 4:09pm
Also try having bubs sitting straddling your leg and facing you so he can fitting sitting up (does that make sense?). Other thing that I found when DS reflux was at its worst was to nurse while walking around, the movement seemed to calm him and for about 3 weeks that was the only way he would nurse. Hard work, but at least he was getting decent feeds from me. -------------  
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kakapo wrote:Posted By: Shelt
Date Posted: 15 July 2010 at 8:40pm
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I pumped for the whole 6.5 months I bf G as she was prem (feeding tube for 2 weeks) and then had bad reflux so would pull off, back arch etc when feeding till I got her losec sorted. I always had my pump turned up to maxium - I used to start on low and then slowly turn it up. The lactation consultant at the hospital said it was supposed to mimic a baby;s sucking action. I also had trouble with my supply and used blessed thistle and a combination of herbs to try and increase the supply. I went to a herbal/health food shop and they helped me get what I needed.
Its hard working pumping - I used to pump 5 times a day every single day pretty much so I know what you are going through. I had a double pump which made things slightly easier though, although I blew it up coz I pumped so much! You can hire the stronger double pumps like what they have in hospitals from some pharmacys, you just have to buy the kit of plastic bits to use with them. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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