Pumping Help with Avent

[momtoparker]

Hi.
I need to start pumping my milk as i am going to be away from baby soon. I have tried to pump but nothing is happening andi have tried for a few nights now for approx 5 min each time. No let down is happening either. I am not sure what i am doing wrong or if its the pump. I have a Avent Isis IQ electric pump and i have realized that i am not getting alot of suction. I am getting more suction with a manual pump (although no milk is coming out with that either). Baby is getting enough to eat and is satisfied and gaining weight so i def know my milk is fine.
Maybe someone here knows that pump and knows maybe it has a history of losing suction or if someone here has any tips or tricks.
thanks

 

[TigerLady]

I don't know that pump in particular, but I do know that the right suction and vacuum seal is KEY. Is it new? Are all the parts new? Can you hear whistling anywhere (as if there is a leak so it can't seal well)?

I started to loose suction on one of my pumps (I have a double pump) and ended up slowly replacing EVERY part until I found the culprit. Mine turned out to be the little narrow rubber funnel thing that goes on the bottom of the shield and drips the milk into the bottle. Of course it was the LAST thing I thought to replace!

 

[Marleysgirl]

Why not try hand-expressing a little first, so that the flow is established, before switching over to the Avent pump?

And I recommend at least a minute's massage of the boob before starting to express, as that stimulates the flow.

 

[Maffie]

I have this pump and a manualk avent, I have also tried a tommee tippee. I love the avent IQ pump as it doesn't feel like incredible suction. Its very gently on the boobs and ive found mine works very well. I get roughtly 4oz per boob in 10 minutes. The petal design of the insert stops the pressure you feel with other pumps.

Id say make sure you are leaning slightly forwards and achieving a good seal. Also dont forget to pump faster at first to start the let down.

Can you hand express any milk? I found if I feel stressed I cant pump sso id say get relaxed maybe try some warm flannels on your boobs before starting to express, also try expressing in the bath to see if you can get the letdown started.

 

[Lucy Lu]

Hi Momtoparker, I sometimes struggle after the initial letdown, with later letdowns being really slow. Not sure if this is the same with an electric pump, but one thing I've found works quite well with my Avent manual pump is to do a combination of short quick pumps but also a bit of a pump, remove, pump, remove action and so on. Not sure if this will work for you if it's suction that is an issue, but it helped to encourage my letdown. Sometimes after the initial letdown runs out, I sometimes have to pump for as long as 10 mins to get anymore out!

To encourage let down, I also keep alternating pumping on each breast, as the letdown is simultaneous from both, so sometimes I can get the alternative breast started by pumping the opposite side!

Tip the Baby Cafe gave me on the manual pump is to take off the plastic cover that goes over your breast and just pump without it. They said this could help with suction. It didn't work for me and I found it a bit painful, but might be worth a go.

Finally (and then I will stop going on!) - it took me a good fortnight to get the hang of expressing - I just didn't feel like I was getting anything much out at all initially, so sure it will happen for you soon.

 

[Lucy Lu]

Forgot to add as well, when do you pump? HV told me initially to pump off the breast that baby had just eaten from but I was getting nothing at all from there (as LO had obviously emptied it pretty much). Once our LO got into more of a pattern with feeding, I knew when I was safe to pump from the opposite side, i.e. to give it enough time to refill before he wanted feeding again.

 

[momtoparker]

When is the best time to pump? Is it right after a feeding? I am just afraid that if this doesnt work i am going to have to switch to formula come january as i am going back to school. Thanks for all your replys.

 

[TigerLady]

I think it is different for everyone. Try a few different times throughout the day and see what works best for you. Lots find that early morning hours are best (like 1 am to 6 am sort of early!)

 

[Maffie]

I usually get 8-9oz from both boobs if I pump between 3-6 as the day gets later this drops and both can produce about 5-6 oz by the evening