I have an awful crack on both sides of my right nipple that causes in believable pain when nursing that side. My midwife ok'd pumping that side and feeding off the other for a day or so to give it a break to heal but I wanted to know how often/how long should I be doing that? I don't want to cause over supply, but I don't want to become engorged either. She recommended not more than 5 min with a manual pump but tonight I quit after about 2-3 minutes and 1.5oz. Should I stick with her advice of 5 min or just quit after a certain amount? And how often?
Post by wildflower810 on Feb 17, 2015 20:30:03 GMT -5
I was in your exact same situation when my baby was a few days old. I pumped for 5 days, about 3-4 times a day and stopped at 1.5-2 oz and that wasn't enough. I lost my supply on that side, my breast shrunk, and now I can only feed Munchkin on my left side. I went through a period of anger at myself to creating my situation and it is still difficult to see myself so lopsided. I don't know how things might have been different if it was only a day or two (I was waiting to nurse on the right side again until M had his first chiro adjustment, not that it took that long for me to heal).
So, I would say pump more. Others might disagree, but I'm speaking from what I wish I had done. Put the milk in the freezer and if you never use it, donate it. You might wind up more engorged for a bit longer, but when you go back to nursing from both sides your supply should even out. I don't have a recommendation for how long or how many oz because that is so different from woman to woman (how long it takes you to letdown, for example), but I would pump until you feel significantly emptier.
I was in your exact same situation when my baby was a few days old. I pumped for 5 days, about 3-4 times a day and stopped at 1.5-2 oz and that wasn't enough. I lost my supply on that side, my breast shrunk, and now I can only feed Munchkin on my left side. I went through a period of anger at myself to creating my situation and it is still difficult to see myself so lopsided. I don't know how things might have been different if it was only a day or two (I was waiting to nurse on the right side again until M had his first chiro adjustment, not that it took that long for me to heal).
So, I would say pump more. Others might disagree, but I'm speaking from what I wish I had done. Put the milk in the freezer and if you never use it, donate it. You might wind up more engorged for a bit longer, but when you go back to nursing from both sides your supply should even out. I don't have a recommendation for how long or how many oz because that is so different from woman to woman (how long it takes you to letdown, for example), but I would pump until you feel significantly emptier.
My thought here is that you were pumping enough volume-wise, particularly if LO was only a few days old, but that your frequency wasn't enough, that the 3-4x a day when LO should be doing about 12 feeds was insufficient- unless I'm misunderstanding and you were nursing that side some too? I'd be interested to hear what @amyg says though.
I pumped one side for a day to heal a blister (which caused a clogged duct) when DD was only about a week old. I pumped with every nursing session, until I felt empty and then fed DD what I pumped. It usually took me a little more than 5 minutes.
I would caution you about pumping too few times or for not long enough. Even with my schedule I feel that my supply in my pumped side suffered. Whether that was a result of the clogged duct or not getting the same attention/emptying from DD I can't really say, but that side has always produced a bit less for me.
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