breast feeding and pump ? (please help me)?

Question

I just had my baby monday morning and I guess my milk just came in today. My breast were engorged since yesterday. The left one is easier for him to drink from and he even drained it some but the right one is still huge, hurts, and he is not able to take it as easy bc of the size I am guessing. I have a Gerber manual pump that I had bought and when I try to use it I just pump & pump and nothing comes out what so ever. I do not know what to do at this point. I am breast feeding him all day but in the morning I give him an enfamil bottle well my husband does bc I am so tired and soar at that point. I want to pump so he can feed him that but its just not working. Any help please?

Answer 1

You have got to get a decent pump, and QUICK. Many lactation consultants rent them, or if you are on medicaid, some will even loan them, and they are wonderful, comfortable hospital-grade pumps. Ameda and Medela are the royalty of the pump world; they're the best. Start with your local hospital and ask for the lactation consultant; she will steer you right. Also, your local chapter of LaLeche League can be really helpful. Once you get the pump, you will use it to soften the engorged breast, pumping just enough to make it more comfortable to get the baby on, then let the baby do the rest. You can also pump whatever is left after baby is done nursing, and start collecting breastmilk in the fridge for Daddy to give the baby. It sounds like you have enough to feed the neighborhood, you just need to find a comfortable way to pump it!
One thing you have to realize is that if you are upset or distraught, you wont get milk let-down. I'm not kidding, I know this from experience. Your breasts can be ready to burst, but if you aren't able to relax while you are pumping, the milk wont flow. And it's the same thing with nursing; you have to get comfortable and relax so that the baby get's good milk transfer, or they just push themselves off the breast crying and frustrated.
The other thing is the baby's latch. If your baby isn't coming on to the breast with a wide open mouth, with your nipple touching the roof of his mouth, then he wont get enough of the breast into his mouth to get good milk transfer, and he will make you sore really quickly.
Whether you pump or you nurse, you have to do it every two to three hours for these first couple of weeks inorder to build up an adequate milk supply. And this is the absolutely toughest, most frustrating time, because you are absolutely exhausted, I know. But you are doing so well, you should be really proud of yourself. I remember two solid weeks of feeling like all I was doing was nursing. I kept crying and saying "I'm a cow!" (I had the post partum blues, besides). But then all of the sudden the baby went to a schedue that seemed more manageable, I started feeling better, and it all came together. You will get through this, just hang in there. Congratulations Mom; I wish you all the best.

Answer 2

Sometimes babies prefer one breast over another. Pumping does help however you may need a better pump. The Medela electric pump is great but pricey ($200+) but you can also rent pumps (check with your doctor/hospital). Meanwhile, a few things that may help is to take a warm shower or apply warm compresses to your engorged breast prior to pumping. While pumping think about your baby to help stimulate the release of milk. At this point, supplementing with formula is not a good idea. I suggest waiting until the breast feeding is established. Keep trying and don't give up! You will get it! I recall with my first baby, I struggled and felt like giving up because I was so sore and tired but I kept at it and it's all worth it in the end! Good luck!

Answer 3

Hello Noor, First things first you need to be comfortable....Have your husband watch baby so you can take a hot shower.............It worked wonders for me....You can express some milk in there and that may relieve you some.....Let baby try and nurse from both breast every 2 hours or so...I know it is time consuming but right now your focus should be bonding with baby! I would not pump right now......Your baby is better than any pump expensive or cheap. Medela is a great pump. That is what I have. And the person that said try your Wic office is right they have them also there are a lot of Hospitals that will allow you to rent them for as low as a few bucks a day. I too am new to breastfeeding and I wish I had Yahoo Answers 3 1/2 months ago. Call you mom baby unit @ the hospital and tell them you need a lactation consultant.......You may also contact WIC(even if you don't receive it)or www.lalecheleague.org..............CONGRATS on your new baby!!!! love you baby and get to know your baby in the next months to come..........This is a new beginning to the best chapter in your life.........Email me any time and i will answer or help you find the answer................!

Answer 4

A few suggestions:
1. Find a lactation consultant. You are engorged and they will let you know how to relieve it. Also, your baby may be having latching difficulties.

2. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give your pump a 3. Breastpumps are like cars--you get what you pay for. I know this is not what you want to hear, but if you will be pumping every day, an electric pump would be much easier (and faster).

3. What kind of Enfamil are you giving the baby? Since you are primarily breastfeeding, you should be giving low-iron. To much of anything is not good for anyone, especially a baby.

Answer 5

If your breasts are engorged, try expressing some milk by hand instead of the pump. This can be done by cupping both hands around the top of the breast. Then slowly and forcefully sliding your hands toward the areola. For some, just pressing on the areola will also get milk out, but can cause more pain. For engorged breasts, you really don't need to express to much milk to get baby to latch on. Good luck, and don't give up!!! Almost every woman has problems of some sort, but if this is what you really want to do, you can persevere with determination!

Answer 6

#1 Manual pumps are a joke.

#2 Its been exactly one year since we dealt with the same thing. It is normal for you not to produce much milk and not respond to the pumps this early. You should be getting a small amount of milk that is like liquid gold to your child. No matter how little you produce this early - its important to give that to your baby because it supports his immune system. What we did is give our child the pumped milk first then gave her the enfamil so that we knew that she got all of the good stuff first.

#3 My wife took a couple weeks to produce real milk. In my opinion its just as good to feed him what you produce and supplement with enfamil. Our child hasnt been sick once except the runny noise from her teeth coming in.

#4 We had a friend in the family that sold breast pumps for a living to hospitals (what a gig huh!). He gave us an Avent which worked great. The thing is they are crazy expensive. But honestly - do you really want to spend the next 6 months with that stupid manual thing? Your husband will understand you BLOWING all your cash on something that will save your sanity.

Answer 7

Using a manual pump is often not effective. One of the high-end single or dual electric pumps more closely mimics baby's sucking pattern and can probably help you get a better let-down than the manual one can. Better yet, a hospital-grade pump (you can rent them from the hospital you gave birth in). If you're on WIC, they will pay or help pay for it.

Pumping is never as efficient or effective as nursing, though, so don't worry if you seem not to pump very much; it's not indicative of what baby gets when nursing directly.

The tips you got here for relieving engorgement are good ones. Try nursing your baby on that side after you've managed to express a little so that your areola is softer and he can latch on better.

Once you are able to pump, you can replace that formula feed in the morning with a bottle of expressed milk :)

Good luck!

Answer 8

Instead of feeding him next time he cries when you have the "let down" try pumping. The milk is not coming when you pump because it is not a natural response. I had this problem myself. Some of my friends though, that worked after their babies were born, said that the sound of the electric pump made them have the let down response. Also I want to say, there is nothing wrong with your hubby giving the baby a bottle in the morning. We did this. My husband (for bonding time and convenience) gave our younger 2 bottles every morning while I took the older kids to school and we never had any kind of nipple confusion. Also, the bottle was formula. I never was able to pump. So I really had it good. My kids would take bottle or breast, breast milk or formula. Just get through the next month girl, then leave that baby with your husband and go shopping with your friends! Honestly, I highly recommend not solely breastfeeding your baby...you can never leave which after 6-8 months gets really hard on you!


Oh yeah, I know I am going to get TOTALLY slammed on this response by fanatical breastfeeders! Which, by the way, I am not. If it works for you, do it (I did 3) but if it doesn't, your baby will be fine on a bottle!

Answer 9

Some pumps are better than others, you could try another brand - or a double electric pump like the medela one.

Try hand massaging your breast (in the shower/bath can stimulate the milk more) - put your hands so they completely circle your breast and then pull the breast towards the nipple (like your trying to squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom of the tube). do this over and over again for 5 mins (maybe husband can help).

while expressing, try squeezeing the breast - or pushing from different sides (just make sure the suction isn't broken when you are doing it).

You could also try expressing from one side while your baby sucks from the other.

I did those 3 things to get the milk out, when it didn't seem to want to come. Feel free to contact me if you want more advice!

Answer 10

Don't worry about not being able to pump a lot. Many women can't pump a lot at one time (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html). . But it could also be the pump. Manual pumps are fine, but I would only use a pump by Avent, Medela, or Ameda. Your local hospital should have a good pump you can rent. I would do that to help w/ engorgement. Here's a link w/ more info on helping that: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/engorgement.html


Giving formula this early will affect your milk supply (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/milkproduction.html). Also, bottles this early can cause "nipple confusion" (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/concerns/pacifier.html#confusion). I knows you're doing it b/c of the pain, so try and get to the root cause of it...

You may be sore from pumping too long w/ a bad pump OR you may be sore b/c baby is not latched/positioned well/something else to do w/ breastfeeding not going right (http://www.howtodothings.com/family-and-relationships/a2393-how-to-relieve-nipple-pain-in-breastfeeding.html). .
I recommend seeing a lactation consultant (usually at your local hospital) or contacting the La Leche League (www.lalecheleague.org)- they offer free breastfeeding support/info/advice.

Hang in there!