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These are some of the tips I wish I knew when I started pumping to make the process a little easier and smoother for me. I am currently trying to increase my milk supply and it honesty would have been so much easier for me if I was more consistent with pumping right from the beginning. Consistency is very important in the beginning because you want to establish a good milk supply from the get go. Now, I am not saying that if you don't do this from the beginning that your screwed. You can still increase your milk supply down the road but following these tips will make your life so much easier so you don't have to work as hard later on.
1. Pump every 2-3 hours even through the night. The more you pump, the more your body will think that it is not making enough milk. Your breast milk is a supply and demand network, the more you demand by emptying your breast, the more your body will think it needs to make.
2. Pump after you nurse. Now don't expect to get much milk pumping after a nursing section because after all, your baby did just feed. While you might not think this pump is important because of the low output, it gets the most hind milk out ( the fattiest milk) that will help keep your baby fuller longer. I will make another post and link it back here explaining the difference between fore milk and hind milk.
3. Try to develop a pumping routine. If you pump at the same time everyday, your body will begin to know that it has to pump milk at that certain time of day. Isn't your body amazing!!
4. Power Pump at least twice a day. What I mean by power pumping is following this routine twice a day, I do this in the morning for my first pump and then at night for my last pump of the day. What power pumping does is trick your body into thinking that your baby is cluster feeding because they are in a growth spurt. In response, your body will create more milk to try to keep up with the demand of that "growth spurt". The process takes an hour, so to power pump you need to:
Pump for 20 minutes.
Rest for 10 minutes.
Pump for 10 minutes
Rest for 10 minutes
Pump for a final 10 minutes
5. My final tip for you pumping mamas is to make sure you maintain your pump regularly. the quality of your pump can make a world of difference. Not maintain it properly can cause poor suction which will then cause you to have low yields. Also, make sure you are replacing your pump parts at the appropriate times. I myself realized that I wasn't getting as good a yield as I usually did. When I checked the duck bills (or membrane) for my spectra, I realized that it would not close properly anymore. This was in my third month of pumping with it and once I got new duck bills, I immediately noticed a difference in suction level and output.
