Pumping Breastmilk 101: Get More Milk With Less Hassle!

When it comes to expressing breastmilk, we all want to make the most of our pumping sessions, right? After all, time with your beautiful bubba is precious. There are always a million other things to get done, and so far, I’ve not come across a single mum that said they love spending time pumping! So, the quicker and more easily you can get that milk out, the better, yeah? Let’s chat practical tips to boost your pumping game!

Before you start!

I want you to know that the amount of milk you get when you express doesn’t necessarily show how much milk you’re making. Often a well latched baby can empty your breasts much more effectively than a pump. A lot of the time, this is because the pump doesn’t trigger your letdown reflex as easily as your baby does. The letdown is a hormonal process that starts in response to your baby sucking on the nipple (some mums find even when their baby cries). We’re primed to respond to our babies in this way so that we can easily give them the milk they need. Lots of mums find that the let down just doesn’t happen as easily with the pump (it’s definitely not as cute and cuddly as your baby!).

So don’t panic if you don’t get much out. First, look at your baby. Are they showing all the signs that they’re getting enough? If you don’t know the signs, you can read about them here. If they’re showing the signs, that’s great! All you need to do is read on and learn about the ways you can get expressing working better for you. If you can’t get much milk out and your baby isn’t showing signs that they’re getting enough milk, it’s really important to work with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) to figure out why that is and help you get things back on track. You can book a home visit or online consultation with me here.

Encourage your letdown

Helping your letdown along can be a game-changer that will get your milk flowing. Here’s how to make it happen:

• Relax! Stress, anxiety, and pain can all stop your letdown from working as well. Relax your body, drop your shoulders, and relax your upper body and arms. 
• Listen to calming music. 
• Have a warm bath or shower before expressing.  
• Place a heat pack on your breast for a few minutes (not too hot!)  
• Try distracting yourself. Worrying about the let-down can delay it more. 
• You might find popping a cover over the collection bottle helps to distract you from worrying about how much milk is coming out. 
• Gently roll your nipple between your fingers. 
• Gently massage your breasts. 
• Stroke your breast towards the nipple with the flat of your hand or edge of a finger. 
• Hand express a little to get the milk flow going before putting the pump to your breast.
• It can help to express while you’re close to your baby (if that’s possible. They really do get the hormones going!).  
• When you are away from your baby, look at a photo or video of your baby or smell a piece of their clothing (this gets your hormones going too!) 

Check your pump flange size

Finding the right flange size is important! It can make a big difference to your comfort when expressing and can also help you get more milk out. Most pumps come with 24mm flanges as standard, but I’ve never met a mum that actually has nipples that are 24mm or bigger! Most mums need smaller sizes. So, let’s get a perfect fit:

• Measure across your nipples at the base with a ruler or use Milky Business’ handy measuring tool print out.
• Measure your nipples in between breastfeeds or pumping sessions, not directly after as the nipples often swell with use and you can end up with the wrong size.
• There’s no need to add any extra space to the measurement of your nipples.
• Make sure you measure both nipples. They’re sisters, not twins! You might need two different sizes.
• Your nipple should move easily in the tube part of the flange and not be getting squished against the sides.
• The areola (the coloured breast tissue surrounding the nipple) should not be getting pulled into the flange.
• It should not be pinchy or painful!

If you’re still not sure if you’ve got the right size, book in with an IBCLC to help you.

Figure out your pumping routine

The let-down reflex is a conditioned reflex, which means you can train your body to let down in response to certain situations or routines. If you’ll be expressing regularly, getting into a pumping routine where you do the same sequence of events in lead up to expressing can help your body learn to respond quicker and easier.

What about timing? There’s not really a right or wrong answer here. It depends a lot on the reason you’re expressing. If you’re expressing to build your milk supply, you might need to express pretty frequently to tell your breasts to make more milk (see an IBCLC to get support with this!). If you’re only expressing occasionally for a one off night out, you probably won’t need to express as often.  Lots of mums find that expressing in between breastfeeds can be helpful because there’s been time for your breasts to refill a bit and there will still be time for more milk to build back up before your baby needs to feed again. Remember, your breasts are never empty. As soon as milk is coming out, more is being made, so you don’t have to worry that your baby will miss out if they decide they want to breastfeed sooner than you expected.

Hands-On Pumping

Hands on pumping is a combination of hand expressing and pump expressing. Lots of mums find they can feel the full areas of the breast and can get the milk out from those areas more effectively with their hands, so using a combination of both hand and pump can be really helpful in getting more milk out in total. There’s a great video on hands on expressing here.

If you haven’t done any hand expressing before, it can take a bit of practice to get the hang of, but it’s a really important and handy skill to have just in case your pump batteries run out or your pump breaks. This video explains how to do it.

I hope these tips empower you on your pumping journey. Practicing these pumping tips, you can maximize your pumping efficiency and help you make the most of your pumping sessions so you can get on with more exciting things! Remember, pumping is a beautiful act of love and dedication to your little one’s well-being. So, give yourself a pat on the back, mumma. This is hard work, and your efforts are making a significant difference in your baby’s life. I applaud you for that. Keep up the amazing work and may your pumping sessions be filled with more milk! You’re doing an incredible job, and your liquid gold is truly priceless. Cheers to your pumping journey and the boundless love you provide for your little bundle of joy!

Share this with another mumma to help them out on their breastfeeding journey!