Pumping can be very helpful to boost and maintain milk supply when babies can’t remove milk effectively. To help make this more efficient, give this a try:
1. Watch Maya Bolman’s breast massage video:
2. Massage one breast for about 15-30 seconds. Your breasts are glands, not muscles. The
massage technique is different! Squeeze and knead like clay or Play-Do. Use your palm
and fingers on the breasts. Massage top and bottom left and right, repeat. Massage and
finger-tapping help fat get into earlier milk. Hand expresses until you get some drops.
3. If putting baby to breast:
a. Latch baby now. Repeat massage/hand expression before latching on the 2nd side.
b. After initial letdown, you can use compression while the baby is sucking to deliver
your milk if the baby’s suck isn’t strong enough yet: Jack Newman: Using
compression to help move milk while baby nurses:
4. If pumping and feeding your amazing milk:
a. Repeat massage/hand expression on other breast, 15-30 Seconds.
b. Center nipples in flanges and pump at the highest comfortable setting.
c. When the streams of milk stop or slow (4-6 min.), set flanges aside. Massage again
for 15-30 seconds.
d. Reapply flanges and pump for another 5-8 minutes.
e. When the milk slows again, hand-express each breast into flanges/ bottles for 3-5
minutes.
f. Done! The total pumping time is 15-20 min.
You will be amazed to see MORE letdowns during the 2nd half of pumping! The more milk you remove, the more milk you’ll MAKE!
