Problems with Letdown While Trying to Pump

It may be possible that you don't have much to pump after feeding your LO. Your supply might have started to regulate and produce just the right amount of milk that your babe needs and not such an overflow like it use to. Hang in there though and keep pumping and putting LO the breast as much as possible to keep supply up. One trick that I did when pumping was to close my eyes and visualize a flowing river of milk, sounds strange but for some reason it seemed to work- good luck

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dont stress, drink plenty of water, and if you can, get some sort of recording of your baby crying (especially when hungry) and/or fussing or nursing.
good luck! dont give up, pumping is sometimes hard, but its possible, and worth it!

Drink Water
Close eyes, imagine baby nursing
Have a photo of baby nearby

I have a 7wk old daughter and I am having the same problem. I didn't have any issues like this with my son who is now 5 1/2 years old...I am pumping on one side while I am feeding her on the other to store up some breast milk since I will be going back to work next week. I am praying and believing that I will be able to letdown while I am at work and be able to get more milk that way for her. I have had lots of advice from people on here...like having a picture or a blanket that reminds you or smells like your baby to help, or to close your eyes and think of your baby while pumping. some have even suggested getting up at night and pumping if your baby sleeps more at night or goes longer between feedings. I still only get approx. 2 oz when I pump on the side that she isn't feeding on. I feel your frustration...but I think that getting frustrated is probably part of the reason that we aren't able to letdown.

Try to do something to make sure you are relaxed like read or watch TV. I know when I was pumping, that really helped. It was the times when I was really in a hurry or really concentrating on how much milk I was getting that I ended up pumping much less. Hope that helps!

Give it more time. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes or so to get the milk going when I pump.

Relaxing is important like everyone else noted but it might also be a timing factor. If you're pumping right after a feed there likely isn't a whole lot so you need to pump a few times at that time to tell your body to produce more. For me that's been hard so I've had success getting up once in the middle of the night because I get the most milk. It might take one or two nights to get your body used to producing at that time. Also, try taking Fenugreek. i've had success with it to increase supply.

just an idea, you have to be relaxed for letdown to happen.
Are you stressed during this time that you are having to pump and not feeding your baby.
This happened to me once......

I had a hard time pumping too..... what owrked for me was closing my eyes and imagining my baby nursing. I would just try to shut out everything and picture him nursing insgtead of he pump going. THat worked for me every time.

I would always pump while feeding on the other side I found it the easiest and my little guy got plenty of milk on just one side, in fact he refused to nurse on my right side so I continued to pump during each feeding for 6 months and that was my storage or extra milk.

When I was working and pumping a few ways to make my letdown happen,
I had to relax deep breaths,
have a warm drink like coffee, tea or water with lemon,
I would dim the lights,
I would have an outfit that smelt like my baby on my shoulder so I could smell him,
I would always have a picture of him that I could look at, I would take my mind off the fact I was pumping,
I created a pumping bra by cutting two holes in the front of my bra and would wear that so I could be hands free and work on the computer or read something so that my arms did not get tired from sitting holding the cups in that strange position while trying to relax.

I would definitely try having something near you that they have worn, or maybe even a baby blanket that they have snuggled with (but is not too dirty!). This should help. If your baby is sleeping well during the night, I would try getting up in the night and pumping while watching a little TV or reading a book. Hope this helps!

Have you ever tried to hand express? That is what I would have to do. I would start out by massaging my breast and start getting the milk to come. Then after it started I would put the pump on and pump from there. Also, be patient it can take longer to pump without your baby on the other side. Your body has to get used to it.

GOOD LUCK!

If not feeding him while you pump (which would NOT work with my crazy kicking tugging 7 month old), maybe try pumping with him near you. Like sitting on the floor or in a high chair? That way you have his scent and the feel of him so your body can react.
Good luck!

If you are using the shields that originally came with the pump try the Soft Shields or a larger size. Also pumping is very "zen" -- do NOT look at the bottles or think aboyut pumping while you pump-- try to turn your brain off while you're pumping, or at least think about meaningless non-stressful things. I could always get more in 2 5minutes sessions than 1 10 minute session, so I suggest pumping often, not long