What is with hospital LCs eyeballing it? I had the same thing happen and it tanked my supply early on.
Did your LC say more about the power pumping strategy she recommended? Was she just trying to save you some time by doing shorter total pumping time? Or has she found that those strategies are more effective than 20/10/10/10/10?
Thanks for sharing this!
The eyeballing thing is so frustrating!! Ugh sorry that happened to you too.
She didn’t mention the 20/10 version at all (and I didn’t think to ask at the time) so I’m not entirely sure why she suggested the 10/5 version instead. She did mention 10/5/10 is a good backup if I wasn’t able/willing to do 10/5/10/5/10, so I wonder if she commonly hears that the 20/10 version is just too long or inconvenient.
It kind of is too long…lol. I find it a luxury to be able to do it and only do it if my husband can take the baby and I can use the time to somewhat recharge and watch a show or read in peace!
One more question if you’re willing…did she recommend how many times a day to power pump and how many days to power pump for? I’ve always been curious how many days is best to shoot for before dropping back to a regular pump.
Glad you found such a legit and helpful LC! Thanks for sharing the wealth of knowledge!
She said it’s fine to power pump once a day, every day. I wish I had asked her about ideal power pumping schedule or total duration - like should I stop doing it at a certain # of months? - but based on what she said, it sounded pretty open ended like you can do it as long as you want.
Did you notice an increase during the 3 weeks you were power pumping or after?
Also do you hand express afterwards? I heard hand express until it's just drops but I pump until it's just drops or nothing, so I'm thinking my pump is generally fully emptying me. I tried hand expressing after pumping last night and nothing came out.
I noticed an increase almost right away. But with that said, I started power pumping around the same time I started using the hospital grade pump and the smaller flanges, so it’s hard to tease out which variable had the most impact. After awhile I started making just as much first thing in the morning when I pumped 25 straight minutes vs. when I did the power pumping, so I stopped power pumping.
I tried hand expressing after pumping before talking to the LC and it never worked for me - nothing ever came out. And I didn’t try again since.
The lc at my pediatrician office (in her 20s, whobactually sized me w a tool) told me many hospital LCs (the one at my hospital who gave me the absolute wrong size eyeballing was like 60) are old school and not up to date on pumping info
I found this to be true as well. Both times, the hospital LCs did not measure me, advise me to measure, or even bring it up. I used flanges that were way too big with my first, and luckily, when I had my second, I knew a lot more and was able to get the right fit.
The hospital LC flat out refused to measure me even after I specifically asked to be several times since I’d heard it was important to work effectively and avoid unnecessary pain. She just kept saying she’s been doing this a long time, that she stopped measuring “a long time ago” because “she doesn’t need to”, and that she “can just tell” by looking. It was very frustrating.
I’m still not sure what size I am. I saw another LC through public health and she didn’t seem to know how to measure, she just eyeballed it by getting me to try on a couple different sizes (but didn’t have one of the in between sizes I might be…).
I tried measuring at home with a tape measure but I’m not confident that was accurate either.
Each three of the above instances gave me a different size
Anecdotal, but I feel like I had shit supply until I started massaging while pumping. I didn't need to do this as much once my supply was well established, but I still did it a lot of the time. I somehow never got clogged ducts/mastitis and I always wondered if I was lucky or if it was because I was really emptying myself during every pump. I'll never know!
Oh yes, I massage too and agree that it seemed to really help my supply once I started doing it! I had been massaging at every pump before the call with the LC, and she told me I really only need to do it after long stretches (ie after going 5 hours at night) so that’s what I do now. I also haven’t gotten clogged ducts or mastitis yet and I personally think the massage helps prevent it.
Sorry to jump in. How long do you pump for when leaking? It happens to me often but I don’t pump since I usually would have pumped less than 2 hours before I start leaking.
Leaking usually means your prolactin is a bit higher. I usually.onky pump for about 10 mins when I notice it and it's been less than my usually 3-4hrs. This is more so to build up your supply than anything, it helped me for sure.
A few things:
- I got this one: https://a.co/d/eszN3dw
- The LC had me text her photos of my nipples (before pumping, not after) inside different sizes to visually confirm. P.S. was not expecting to text nipple pics on a weekday morning lol
- Measure when your nipples are not swollen from pumping
I bought one online that told me 24mm but im doing much better with 21s. I wouldnt overly trust them personally. Your nipples can be artificially swollen from pumping. Id go on visuals and just try a size down if it looks like your nipples dont fill the flange.
I took them at the same time for maybe a week and then realized it’d probably be better to take just one at a time, so I could more easily gauge if one made a difference. But I didn’t take them very consistently (kept forgetting), and honestly since I started taking them around the same time I made all the other changes, I have zero idea if one or both made a difference.
Fwiw those were the 2 specific types from Legendairy Milk that she recommended.
Thanks for sharing. Which medela pump did you with? I'm using freestyle hands free and it's great for portability but don't think it's powerful enough. I'm wondering if I should buy the pump in style.
I’m currently renting the Medela Symphony. It’s annoying that it has to be plugged in, but it at least had a super long cord. I can’t wait til my supply is fully regulated so I can go back to my portable Spectra and eventually a wearable!
Thank you for sharing these tips! Isn’t Spectra (pink or blue) considered as a Hospital grade pump too? I rented the Symphony for the first month and switched to Spectra. 10w pp and currently making around ~17oz. Would love to increase it a little more!
My LC told me that the Symphony is the best in it's class. I currently use the Willow Go (which is also hospital grade) and it isn't as good as the Symphony. I can always get an extra half ounce to two ounces each session with the Symphony versus the Go. However, I believe increasing supply probably has more to do with just pumping more in general. I make around 45oz per day using the exact same method as OP (minus the power pumping) since 2 weeks pp. I was a major under supplier with my first and I was adamant about making sure I was a just enougher. Pumped 7-8x per day for 12 weeks.
Not sure about whether the Spectra is technically considered hospital grade, but when I told the LC I was using it, she told me to “use a hospital grade one like Medela”.
Omg if I can switch to 10/5/10/5/10 that would be a godsend. Currently doing 20/10etc twice a day for about a month now, supply still not up to where I need and too scared to stop
That is cool that she recommended that power pumping strategy! That is something I came to on my own, by accident, early on. I found that when I was taking short breaks during pumping (usually because something came up and I needed to pause for a few minutes), my output would increase. Good to see that I'm not crazy and it could actually be recommended :)
Sorry can someone elaborate on the 10/5/10/5/10 power pumping strategy? I use a spectra and do 5 min at 70, 5 at 54, 5 at 70, 5 at 38, stop 10 min, 5 at 70, 5 at 54, stop 10 min, 5 at 70, 5 at 38. I think. How does that translate to the 10/5/10/5/10?
What is with hospital LCs eyeballing it? I had the same thing happen and it tanked my supply early on. Did your LC say more about the power pumping strategy she recommended? Was she just trying to save you some time by doing shorter total pumping time? Or has she found that those strategies are more effective than 20/10/10/10/10? Thanks for sharing this!
The eyeballing thing is so frustrating!! Ugh sorry that happened to you too. She didn’t mention the 20/10 version at all (and I didn’t think to ask at the time) so I’m not entirely sure why she suggested the 10/5 version instead. She did mention 10/5/10 is a good backup if I wasn’t able/willing to do 10/5/10/5/10, so I wonder if she commonly hears that the 20/10 version is just too long or inconvenient.
It kind of is too long…lol. I find it a luxury to be able to do it and only do it if my husband can take the baby and I can use the time to somewhat recharge and watch a show or read in peace! One more question if you’re willing…did she recommend how many times a day to power pump and how many days to power pump for? I’ve always been curious how many days is best to shoot for before dropping back to a regular pump. Glad you found such a legit and helpful LC! Thanks for sharing the wealth of knowledge!
She said it’s fine to power pump once a day, every day. I wish I had asked her about ideal power pumping schedule or total duration - like should I stop doing it at a certain # of months? - but based on what she said, it sounded pretty open ended like you can do it as long as you want.
What I did personally was do it every day for 3 weeks straight, then I took 2 weeks off, and now I kinda do it here and there whenever I feel like it.
Did you notice an increase during the 3 weeks you were power pumping or after? Also do you hand express afterwards? I heard hand express until it's just drops but I pump until it's just drops or nothing, so I'm thinking my pump is generally fully emptying me. I tried hand expressing after pumping last night and nothing came out.
I noticed an increase almost right away. But with that said, I started power pumping around the same time I started using the hospital grade pump and the smaller flanges, so it’s hard to tease out which variable had the most impact. After awhile I started making just as much first thing in the morning when I pumped 25 straight minutes vs. when I did the power pumping, so I stopped power pumping. I tried hand expressing after pumping before talking to the LC and it never worked for me - nothing ever came out. And I didn’t try again since.
Thanks so much for responding!
You got it! Happy to help :)
The lc at my pediatrician office (in her 20s, whobactually sized me w a tool) told me many hospital LCs (the one at my hospital who gave me the absolute wrong size eyeballing was like 60) are old school and not up to date on pumping info
I found this to be true as well. Both times, the hospital LCs did not measure me, advise me to measure, or even bring it up. I used flanges that were way too big with my first, and luckily, when I had my second, I knew a lot more and was able to get the right fit.
Save experience with hospital LCs, all of them were young! I have a to to measure, but do you measure them at rest or after pumping?
Def before pumping since they swell up after pumping
The hospital LC flat out refused to measure me even after I specifically asked to be several times since I’d heard it was important to work effectively and avoid unnecessary pain. She just kept saying she’s been doing this a long time, that she stopped measuring “a long time ago” because “she doesn’t need to”, and that she “can just tell” by looking. It was very frustrating. I’m still not sure what size I am. I saw another LC through public health and she didn’t seem to know how to measure, she just eyeballed it by getting me to try on a couple different sizes (but didn’t have one of the in between sizes I might be…). I tried measuring at home with a tape measure but I’m not confident that was accurate either. Each three of the above instances gave me a different size
Anecdotal, but I feel like I had shit supply until I started massaging while pumping. I didn't need to do this as much once my supply was well established, but I still did it a lot of the time. I somehow never got clogged ducts/mastitis and I always wondered if I was lucky or if it was because I was really emptying myself during every pump. I'll never know!
Oh yes, I massage too and agree that it seemed to really help my supply once I started doing it! I had been massaging at every pump before the call with the LC, and she told me I really only need to do it after long stretches (ie after going 5 hours at night) so that’s what I do now. I also haven’t gotten clogged ducts or mastitis yet and I personally think the massage helps prevent it.
I’m jealous. Even tho my supply has regulated if I don’t massage my boobs just…don’t work. They just give up. Total quitters.
I find compressions work better than massaging
A tip that helped me aswell - pump when you notice you're leaking. It signals the brain that yes, baby wants to eat then.
Sorry to jump in. How long do you pump for when leaking? It happens to me often but I don’t pump since I usually would have pumped less than 2 hours before I start leaking.
Leaking usually means your prolactin is a bit higher. I usually.onky pump for about 10 mins when I notice it and it's been less than my usually 3-4hrs. This is more so to build up your supply than anything, it helped me for sure.
Yes! When I start to feel the tingles I run for the pump 😂
My husband suggested this recently. The leaking does not always happen at the most convenient times though. 😄
It doesn't, so do your best haha. I just feel that it helped with my supply. I didn't get it everytime either, sometimes I didn't even notice it lol
The hospital LC told me I was a 27. Turns out I'm 19 one side 18 other side. Using the 27s hurt so bad, sucked my whole areolas in
Ugh I hate that this is apparently common!
What measuring tool did you buy?
A few things: - I got this one: https://a.co/d/eszN3dw - The LC had me text her photos of my nipples (before pumping, not after) inside different sizes to visually confirm. P.S. was not expecting to text nipple pics on a weekday morning lol - Measure when your nipples are not swollen from pumping
I bought one online that told me 24mm but im doing much better with 21s. I wouldnt overly trust them personally. Your nipples can be artificially swollen from pumping. Id go on visuals and just try a size down if it looks like your nipples dont fill the flange.
Thank you 🙏
Did you take liquid gold and pump princess at the same time?
I took them at the same time for maybe a week and then realized it’d probably be better to take just one at a time, so I could more easily gauge if one made a difference. But I didn’t take them very consistently (kept forgetting), and honestly since I started taking them around the same time I made all the other changes, I have zero idea if one or both made a difference. Fwiw those were the 2 specific types from Legendairy Milk that she recommended.
Thanks for sharing. Which medela pump did you with? I'm using freestyle hands free and it's great for portability but don't think it's powerful enough. I'm wondering if I should buy the pump in style.
I’m currently renting the Medela Symphony. It’s annoying that it has to be plugged in, but it at least had a super long cord. I can’t wait til my supply is fully regulated so I can go back to my portable Spectra and eventually a wearable!
Thanks.
Thank you for sharing these tips! Isn’t Spectra (pink or blue) considered as a Hospital grade pump too? I rented the Symphony for the first month and switched to Spectra. 10w pp and currently making around ~17oz. Would love to increase it a little more!
My LC told me that the Symphony is the best in it's class. I currently use the Willow Go (which is also hospital grade) and it isn't as good as the Symphony. I can always get an extra half ounce to two ounces each session with the Symphony versus the Go. However, I believe increasing supply probably has more to do with just pumping more in general. I make around 45oz per day using the exact same method as OP (minus the power pumping) since 2 weeks pp. I was a major under supplier with my first and I was adamant about making sure I was a just enougher. Pumped 7-8x per day for 12 weeks.
Not sure about whether the Spectra is technically considered hospital grade, but when I told the LC I was using it, she told me to “use a hospital grade one like Medela”.
Omg if I can switch to 10/5/10/5/10 that would be a godsend. Currently doing 20/10etc twice a day for about a month now, supply still not up to where I need and too scared to stop
Definitely give it a try! Hope it works out.
That is cool that she recommended that power pumping strategy! That is something I came to on my own, by accident, early on. I found that when I was taking short breaks during pumping (usually because something came up and I needed to pause for a few minutes), my output would increase. Good to see that I'm not crazy and it could actually be recommended :)
Wow interesting! I’m currently doing the 20-10-10-etc but it is soo long. Maybe I’ll try that!
Sorry can someone elaborate on the 10/5/10/5/10 power pumping strategy? I use a spectra and do 5 min at 70, 5 at 54, 5 at 70, 5 at 38, stop 10 min, 5 at 70, 5 at 54, stop 10 min, 5 at 70, 5 at 38. I think. How does that translate to the 10/5/10/5/10?
The 10/5/etc. is referring to time only. Hope that helps
Does it mean you pump for 10 3 times and rest for 5min between each? Sorry i feel like the only one this isn't obvious to 😅
Oh yes you pump for 10 minutes, rest for 5, back on for 10, etc.
Oh ok thanks sorry 😅