Question about Breastfeeding?

Question

I had my daughter a week ago, and have always wanted to breastfeed. However, she was born 12 weeks early, so all I can do is pump for her. Well I thought I was doing okay, and then I talked to a nurse and she wanted me to pump every 3 hours. I wasn't doing that before, maybe 3 times a day. And I would get a bit of milk when I did it. Now I'm trying to pump every 3-4 hours(I'm not always somewhere where I can pump right at 3 hours) and it seems like I'm not getting anything. Is that okay? Will I get more? How soon until I am able to fill up a bottle or something, and they are small bottles I'm trying to fill!! Not big ones!!

Anyway - - If I just keep going every 3 hours, or close, will I start to get more?? Thanks!

Answer 1

When did you start pumping every three hours? It usually took me a few days to get my milk supply up, if I was getting low, and started nursing more often. Do you have to pump exactly every three hours? I would think Even every four hours would be good enough. I used to just feed my son on one breast and pump on the other and switch off. This definitely brought my milk supply up.  

What is your reason for not being able to nurse besides your baby being12 weeks early? Can you have a lactation consultant help you latch on?  

Answer 2

You should be pumping every 2-3 hours as you'll be able to nurse your baby in a few weeks, likely, and that is how often she will need to nurse.  Don't worry, you haven't messed it up, you have time to fix it.  It's also not unlikely for you to get very little in the first week.  I had to pump a lot while my son was in the hospital too and didn't start getting more until he was a week old.  It may take you a week more to get to that point.  Just keep pumping, you will get more.  I'd suggest pumping even more often now to make up for the times when you can't get to it for 3+ hours.  As often as is reasonably possible for you.  Do your best.  It may take a week, but your production will increase if you keep it up like this.  I bet you'll fill 3-4 oz in a sitting (20-30 minutes) in less than a week.  Remember to sit in a dark and relaxing area.  Think about your baby and focus on your breathing.  Imagine milk coming from your b*****s (sound cheesy, but it helps).  Being relaxed is key.  You should be able to be doing this in the NICU.  THey often have nice rooms (Chidlren's Hospital?) and they should give you access to an industrial strength pump.  Consider renting one for a month even so you can have it at home.  These are amazing ($60/month for a $3k pump!) and might make all the difference too.  Don't use a skimpy pump.

Good luck, it will come around soon.  Just keep it up and next time you're in the NICU, ask the nurses if they would please page a lactation consultant so you can talk about your pumping technique, etc.  And absolutely make certain once your baby is ready to nurse that you get with a lactation consultant at least twice a day (this should be free through the hospital - or at least the insurance company will pay for it).  It's very important to get a handle on it before you go home as your baby will not yet understand the feeling of hunger and it's not completely easy (for you or the baby) to handle the first couple days on your own.  They'll help a TON.

Answer 3

yes, your supply is based on demand. so if you start pumping every 3-4 hours, your body makes a chemical- and so on, and in turn your body will tell itself that you have a baby that needs to feed every 3 to 4 hours. you will start to make more milk. at first you might even only get a few splashes-literally, not even half an ounce, but within the next few days mabye 3 or 4 sometimes 5, you'll notice that you'll start getting more in your bottles. you should, within 1 week, see the difference. it will take a while to fill a bottle, but that's ok, you'll make more as your baby gets older. sometimes you'll only get 1 oz--that's ok. save it or freeze it. then you'll move up to 2 then 3..you should look up freezing and warming/thawing breastmilk. you have to handle it a certain way. you will also produce more milk if you are using a double pump. you should double pump at least 15 min at a time, never no less than 10 min per side--whether pumping or nursing...pump for that amount of time EVEN IF NOTHING IS COMING OUT. because eventually, in a few days, something will start coming out. drink lots of water, keep hydrated. also watch what you eat, no spicy foods, no gassy foods, cabbage, broccoli, beans, because it could give your baby very uncomfortable gas. limit your caffeine to 1 can per day or decaffeinated, because it can keep your baby up, plus inhibit your milk production. relax, and look at a picture of your baby...you'll be fine.

Answer 4

I was in a similar situation only my son was in ICU for only a week. I ended up "exclusively pumping" for him and I'm going to give you advice as a "retired EPer"

Pumping every three hours is the minimum of how often you should be pumping, and you should pump for at *least* 15 minutes (20 is better).  Ideally you should be pumping 10-12 times a day because your b*****s require that stimulation to make your milk come in and get your supply up. Poor pumping advice at the start is something that undermines the breastfeeding efforts of moms with children in NICU.

Did you get a pump from the hospital? You also need to make sure that you are using a hospital grade pump, or at least a good one (like a Medela Pump in Style or Ameda Purely Yours). If you are using a Playtex or Evenflo one you need to get yourself a different pump.

Here is one of several support boards around for EPers http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppe...

Answer 5

the more you pump, the more your body will make

Answer 6

I know from my 1st baby the more you pump the more milk your body will produce.  My daughter wouldn't latch on or she would always fall asleep on my breast, so I pumped and gave it to her.  At 1st I would feed her a bottle and pump a bottle, but then I got lazy and wouldn't pump every time I gave her a bottle, and my milk slowly decreased.  

Answer 7

pump a lot, breast milk will defiantly be the best for your preemie.  it might take you a little longer for your milk to truly come in, since she was early. i know with both my kids on day 3 i ate a lot of cabbage to get my milk to come in, and it came!!! corn beef and cabbage with loads of veggies, potatoes and carrots. both my grandmothers and my husband grandma told me to do this, for my milk was coming in rather slow. my son was 5 weeks early.  

Answer 8

Establishing and maintaining milk supply when baby is not nursing

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/mainta...

Breastfeeding your Premature Infant - Resources

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/preemie/preem...

The Importance of Skin to Skin Contact

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/01a-skin-...

Benefits of Kangaroo Care

http://www.prematureoptimism.com/linkBlo...

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/12more_bf...

9. Premature babies need to learn to take bottles before they can start breastfeeding.

Not true! Premature babies are less stressed by breastfeeding than by bottle feeding. A baby as small as 1200 grams and even smaller can start at the breast as soon as he is stable, though he may not latch on for several weeks. Still, he is learning and he is being held which is important for his wellbeing and his mother's. Actually, weight or gestational age do not matter as much as the baby's readiness to suck, as determined by his making sucking movements. There is no more reason to give bottles to premature babies than to full term babies. When supplementation is truly required there are ways to supplement without using artificial nipples.

Answer 9

When breastfeeding how much and often a baby drinks is how much milk the breast produces, the average newborn drinks  2-4 ounces every 3-4 hours, so the less you pump your breast the less supply of milk...as long as your breast are still producing milk, if you pump "regularly" you should get the same amount of milk as if you were actually breastfeeding. (2-4 oz every 3-4 hrs.)

(my daughter was a premie too, (2 lb 7oz) it took 2 months before she could come home)

Answer 10

Nurse Baby Early and Often

Your baby should be fed, on cue, at least every two to three hours. Nursing your baby early and often helps to keep your b*****s soft and helps to lessen or even prevent engorgement. Watch your little one for signs of hunger, such as sucking sounds and/or lip movements, rapid eye movement during the light sleep cycle and changes in facial expression. Try to anticipate your baby´s hunger by watching for these signs. Nursing on cue stimulates your b*****s to produce plenty of milk. The more your baby nurses, the more milk you will make.

Breastfeeding Techniques Can Help Balance Production

In many women, it is common for one breast to produce more milk than the other. This happens for anatomical reasons, such as the number of milk ducts. It can also result when mom or baby has a preference for one breast over the other. While this can cause some breast size difference, it is usually not noticeable. If you are bothered by the discrepancy between the two, you can try certain techniques to increase production on the slower producing breast.

Try starting your breastfeeding sessions on the smaller breast first. This will encourage baby to thoroughly empty the breast, thus causing it to produce more milk. Also consider pumping for 5-10 minutes after a feeding, only on the side that produces less milk. Finally, try adding an additional pumping session between feedings, but only on the smaller breast.

Possible Mother´s Symptoms

Mother´s symptoms of thrush include: intense nipple or breast pain that occurs from birth, lasts throughout the feeding, or is not improved with better latch-on and positioning,sudden onset of nipple pain after a period of pain free nursing, cracked nipples,nipples that are itchy and/or burning and that may appear pink or red, shiny, or flaky and/or have a rash and tiny blisters, shooting pains in the breast during or after a feeding if the yeast has invaded the milk ducts, nipple or breast pain with correct use of an automatic electric breastpump, or a vaginal yeast infection.

Mother´s Diet

The mother´s diet during thrush should show a reduction of sugar and no artificial sweeteners. You can have some fruits and natural fruit juices, but they will best be consumed with other non-sweet foods. Herbal teas and water are a good choice of drink. Any refined carbohydrates that you eat (breads etc.) will be best eaten with other foods (vegetables,meats)so that they will not feed the yeast. Eliminate dairy products (produced from cow´s milk) until two weeks after all symptoms are gone. You can eat plain yogurt (not sweetened or with added fruit) with live acidophilus bacteria if you are certain that you or your baby don´t have a dairy sensitivity.

Answer 11

Your milk will continue to make the more you pump. You may be able to nurse her later but as long as you are getting to feed her your breast-milk then you doing good.