Pumping Questions

Hi! My daughter is about 2 1/2 months old. I have a medela swing pump and get more out of my right breast than I do my left (even when I'm leaking from left one, it still won't produce that much milk when I pump it). I usually pump for about 15 minutes at a time and get anywhere from 1 oz - 4 oz (I only ever get 4 oz from my right side).

I don't know what to tell you about the lump you have though, sorry.

Hi, you are doing just fine... I myself had very low results when pumping at work full time. 1-2 ounces each side each time - when I would pump when i was still at home nursing round the clock, I had better results that it surprised me, about 4 ounces at a time each side... definitely depends on each person and their personal situation - I spoke to a lactation consultant and she did confirm that this is normal and to keep nursing often, drink plenty of water and get lots of rest. When I thought I had a plugged duct, I would sit in the tub and immerse my breasts in the warm water. I used my own hospital grade pump like you and then I used the hospital's actual pump since I had the access and I still had the same results.

Congrats on your new addition!

I would think that a plugged duct would be painful, but i don't know for sure. When i was pumping for my duaghter i usually produced more from my right breast than from my left. I'm not sure if that is just a difference between my two breasts or if it was influenced by the fact that my daughter perferred to nurse on my right side, as much as i encouraged her to use the left.

As for amount, geez it's been so long, i'm not surei remember but it seemed like i could do anywhere from 4 oz to 8 oz in a fifteen min session it sort of changed as they grew. It was less but more often when they were newborns and more but less frequently as they grew older.

Does your hospital or your own drs office have someone you can call and discuss this with???? I'm in Erie and can put you in contact with someone wonderful if you are interested.

Hi J.,

Congrats on your new baby! It sounds like you are doing great! I would worry about having different pump output on each side. That happens to many women. My sister said with her babies that she would pump 1 ounce on one side and 5 on the other. It is pretty normal. Her babies also preferred the slow side when they were infants (because the fast side gagged them) and as they grew they started to prefer the fast side because they were too impatient for the slow side. Continue to feed your baby equally on each side and don't worry about how much you are getting on each side. If you continue to have the lump, you do probably want to have that checked by your OB. It doesn't sound like a plugged duct because it isn't painful and it has been there for a while, but any persistent lump should be checked by your Dr.

I am jealous about how much you can pump! 15-20 ounces per session is AMAZING!! I never pumped more than 2-3 ounces per session. Everyone is different - some women pump only a little (like me) and others pump a lot (like you). How much you pump isn't generally an indication of how much your baby is getting as the baby is much more efficient at getting the milk out than your pump.

Here is a link to a pumping tips article that I wrote which you may find useful. Many of the tips are for increasing supply - which it doesn't sound like you need, but you may find some of the other information useful - http://www.pumpingtips.com.

J.
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It doesn't sound like a plugged duct to me... pain is usually the first symptom of something going wrong. My left breast always made more than my right, no matter how hard I tried to control supply and demand on either side.

I pumped full time when I went back to work. I pumped every 3 hours for about 20 minutes... 10 minutes on each side. I would make between 6-8 ounces per session, which was more than enough for my son. I had more milk than I needed because I kept my supply up, but it was helpful because I was always storing milk for later or emergency situations. I could relax a lot more if I was running late from work, or had to step out quick, there was always milk for daddy or gramma to use in the freezer.

My only suggestion is if you don't have too, keep pumping to a minimum because it really doesn't keep your supply going as well as if you're nursing directly. Its a fantastic second choice, rather than no breastfeeding at all, but it is second... Nursing is always the most efficient way.

Good luck!

The amount you pump varies from person to person.
I pumped at work 3 times a day for about 18 month.
On good days I produced about 16 oz total frome these three, on bad I barely made it to 10-11.
I gave it in bottles to daycaare for the next day and each bottle would be between 3.5 up to 5 oz.

He often did not even finish them and was happy and content.