Me again - breastfeeding experts needed

Long story short, for the first time with any of my children, I have a limited milk supply. Didn't come in until 2 days ago, and we've been bottle feeding Everett so he (and I) haven't mastered latching and nursing.

I want to pump and build up my supply - even if nursing doesn't work. I spoke to a lactation consultant who said I need an electric double pump and should pump every 2 hrs and add fenegreek (sp?). I've used the Avent manual pump before and it didn't work well for me.

I feel like I'm working against the clock here. To have a home visit for latching is $125. To rent the Symphony pump is $75/mo + $50 to purchase the tubing...gulp!

Can a supply be established despite not nursing/pumping for so long? Is it worth renting and all the funds, or better to buy a new pump? Is double electric the way to go or is there another alternative? Any other ideas or suggestions?

Feel free to PM if it's easier or not something you want posted publicly.

Thanks in advance!

You absolutely can get your supply up. You could buy a Medlea pump for 279.00 cheaper in the long run. Does your insurance not help with the rental?? And Fenegreek does help!! I got pretty sick with a uterus infection after I had my son...and had to be on some meds that he couldn't have. My  supply went way down. But I was able to get it back up with a electric pump!

I know you said the latching is difficult but for me pumping just wasn't great, I found having the baby on the breast as much as possible is was increased my milk supply, I tried seriously like every 30 minutes to an hour as often as I could!
and the biggest and hardest thing to me is to RELAX and  go to a quiet place!

I did pump for the multiples I rented a double pump- medela and my insurance covered it.

Hope things get better! Take a deep breath it will work with time!

Oh and the other day I was watching breastfeeding  clips online and it refresed alot of tips for me maybe you can try that too!

Hugs
beth

I would first contact insurance and see what they provide. They would have provided me one but I only needed it for 5 days so I rented the hospital one for one week instead. My schedule was every 2 hours from 8am to 8pm on the nose with the Medela double and every 3 hours at 11pm, 2am and 5am. I didn't have Riley though, he was in CCU. So if I were you I would latch him on to the left side only and pump on the right side only. I usually nurse more on the left. Women are very successful feeding on only one breast and it will increase your supply faster. Also check out all the nursing articles on kellymom.com.

Good luck!

Well, to make my own long story short... The rented pump will be superior to anything you can buy. The top-of-the-line Medela is plenty good for most people, but when I needed to re-establish my own milk supply, nothing would have worked like the rented pump. ITA with what other posters have said as far as checking what may be covered. The other thing you can do is call La Leche League - I had multiple phone consults with them, and they don't charge!

If you get really, truly desperate, I can explain how I got DD to nurse after serious nipple confusion for her 1st full week! (Just some of the tricks nurses use on cleft palate babies.)

I would love any tips or advice on latching! DS just sort of roots and licks, but doesn't attempt sucking at all. I can't PM from my BlackBerry, but you can email me at [email protected]

Thank you very much!

I just wanted to say thanks for asking this - I learned a lot that I didn't even know I didn't know!  (rent pumps etc!)

I'm so glad I found you guys and hopefully will have a great base of knowledge (and still 10 million questions) when we're going through this!

I hope things work out for you!

Pam