Being in the industry, I must point out that the manufacturer suggests against buying a used Pump In Style, as the pumping apparatus and motor is not sealed from contamination from the previous owner. You need to replace not just the breast shields (cones) and tubing, but the diaphragm and caps to ensure no cross contamination, in which case you might as well buy a new one.
Now, speaking as an individual, I might borrow a friend’s, but I would never buy a used one off E-Bay.
Everybody’s already given great advice. I just wanted to add encouragement–keep going! It can take awhile to get used to the pump, which isn’t exactly like baby.
I eventually got a Medela Pump In Style, which was wonderful. I was lucky enough that I could feed a small nation from what leaked from the other breast while Paidhi Girl was nursing, but still, it takes awhile to get used to pumping, and if you’re patient, and don’t worry as long as kiddo is pooping and peeing, you’ll be all right. Pump now whenever kiddo is nursing, and freeze whatever you get, even if it’s only an ounce. An ounce at a time will build up, and my bets are you’ll start producing more eventually.
When I was nursing, you could get an herbal tea called “Mother’s Milk” with fenugreek and blessed thistle, and it was highly recommended by other moms. I don’t know if they still make it or not. But in any event, practice is what’s called for, with the pump. Just keep trying.
Good job, and keep it up!
I contend, and I will continue to say this, that if the diaphragm etc can become contaminated (and grow “gross” stuff in there - that’s the argument I usually hear) and if it cannot be cleaned, then no one should use it - not the original owner, not a second owner, nobody. If cross-contamination is possible, then god knows what’s growing inside there, like mold, that might be sending spores and gunk into the milk. I mean, seriously.
Ginger, you must have some reason you don’t want to give the brand name of the pump, but I can’t imagine what it is. Some pumps are absolute CRAP, and nobody should use them. Some cause nipple trauma. You really, really want a pump that does a pull-release-pull-release cycle thing, not a constant suction, nor the kind you have to push a button to release the suction.
You might try hand-expressing. Some women can express milk by hand as quickly as they could remove it with a pump. I still have about 16 oz of milk in my freezer (from over a year ago - never used any of it) that I expressed entirely by hand when I got too engorged for the Voracious Maw to handle. Since I had pumped full-time for one of my twins for 21 months, I didn’t want to pump anymore…ever. So I just went with hand-expression for babo #4.
As for things to increase your supply…I highly recommend oatmeal. If I eat oatmeal 2 days in a row, even now with my 15 month old kidlet, I get engorged and sore. For some women, it’s just really really effective.
I wanted to comment on the ‘5 hour nursing session’ thing. Now, there’s no way to go back in time, and I don’t know what lab tests were performed on your milk, but I can think of a lot of possibilities for what happened, to help reassure you that what you were told may have been in error:
the milk you provided might have been ‘foremilk’, the very thin, watery, easily-removed milk that builds up in the breast between feedings. It is low in protein, low in fat, high in sugar - but good for a thirsty baby. A baby will not thrive on foremilk. However, as the baby empties the breast, and let-down occurs, the breast will produce the fattier, richer, creamy-white (or yellow, etc) hindmilk. This is why it is recommended to leave the baby on one side until the breast is soft and the baby ‘falls off’, and then switch him to the other side if he’s still hungry. Mothers who switch a slow-feeding baby after 10 minutes may inadvertently be feeding foremilk from both breasts, and baby does not get the hindmilk.
When a baby goes through growth spurts, particularly around 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks, there can be ‘nursing sessions from hell’ - what I called marathon nursing, but is more accurately called ‘cluster feeding’, where babies can indeed nurse for hours nonstop. I remember more than one 3 hour session with my firstborn, when she was 2 or 3 weeks old. It was hell. But it did not mean my milk was not nutritious, nor that I could not produce enough. It only meant that she was growing, and was telling my body ‘Make more! Make more!’
If you’re worried that you’re not producing enough milk, yes yes, monitor output: after a few days, poop should generally be yellow and ‘seedy’ (like bits of cottage cheese). Green and frothy indicates either too much foremilk (solution: feed on one breast longer) or an infection. Also, your doctor’s office would probably be fine with you bringing him in for a weight check every couple of days. Make sure you always use the same scale though. Babies typically gain between 1/2 and 1 ounce per day if feeding properly.
Sometimes, a baby feeds just fine and seems healthy, but isn’t gaining. This may mean you need to offer the breast more often (rather than waiting for his cues), or even check for an unsuspected infection. But you haven’t indicated a problem with weight gain yet. Good on you, giving this a go. I’m on kid #4, and I’ve always thought it worth every minute.
Not to hijack the thread, but here is why: The pumping apparatus is sealed for normal use situations. However, there is a way to cause what is called an overflow situation. This is where milk travels down the tubes backwards into the motor. The only time cross contamination will occur is if this overflow has happened. You can’t tell when you buy a used one if they overflowed it or not. When you borrow from a friend, you can ask, and if they say no, you’re fine.
:smack: I just called my teacher and she admited she was wrong about this one. It is the hops, but there’s not more in dark beer - she just likes it better herself, so that’s what she recommends! I stand corrected, she stands corrected. Now, please excuse me while I make 60 phone calls to former students. :smack:
Glad I could be of service Whynot 
Now, having checked in with the MIL, I’ve got a few more notes. First, never set your pump on high-- apparently this just makes the apparatus suck faster, not harder-- faster than your tot can suck, and your breasts won’t be able to keep up. Start on low, and work up to medium.
However, you may not be able to get to the hindmilk, ever, using a pump. It works for some women, and for others it doesn’t. C’est la vie.
Last, try Chotii’s tip, and go for hand expressing if you still have difficulty with the pump. It may be easier (probably easier on your nipples too).
I just wanted to point out that this information depends on what pump you buy. Medela pumps (both the Pump in Style varieties and the hospital grade varieties)have both a vacuum (harder versus softer) and a separate speed setting, so you know exactly what you are adjusting. If you want to try to manually create the flutter motion I mentioned in a different post that the new hospital grade pumps do on their own, start with a low vacuum, fast setting, then when you let down (you’ll know when by the tingling sensation and the fact that milk will be coming out on its own, in between the suck cycle), turn the vacuum up as high as you can comfortably and turn down the speed.
Another tip while using an electric pump is to break the vacuum and shift the shields around every so often. The baby doesn’t sit perfectly still the whole time, so neither should the pump. The contact with the breast stimulates the milk ducts underneath, so you will get more milk if you move them around. If your nipples are too large to not have the shields centered, then the shields you are using are too small for you and that is another reason it isn’t going well. Medela sells different sizes, I don’t know if other manufacturers have followed suit.
I bought a postal scale with a 30 lb limit to weigh my daughter. I was a worrier and weighing her every few days helped to reassure me. I also have the cutest picture of her sitting in a big blue mixing bowl about to be weighed.
You are now my personal god. Bloody Isis has been causing me so much grief I have been frustrated and crying all day. I was gonna post about recs for other pumps (which I still might do, I want a an electric), but then I read this. I took out that devil petal insert and now there is much rejoicing (and colostrum expressing).
The baby is coming on Monday and I need to begin pumping pretty much the day I get home (physical limitations mean dad is gonna do some feedings every day). I was told to try the pump and get used to it before then.
You have saved one Isis pump from a severe beating.
Now, how do I get these things to turn off? I gave 2 pumps to each breast to see if I could get it work, and now they continue to drip. Did I break my boobs?
My breasts did not “shut off” at first. Once during the first week, one breast just let down and let go while I was sitting in a chair. All that milk on the floor, wasted! They seemed to get better at shutting off by the first month. Avoid absorbant breast pads because if your breasts leak, the pads seem to help keep them leaking. Let your nipples air dry if at all possible. Breast milk kills bacteria so letting the milk dry on the nipple is not a bad idea.