Breastfeeding ?

Since the hospital I have been nursing the baby (1 week) and then supplementing with formula which she norammly will nurse for only about 10-15 min on each side then drink about 1 ounce of formula.  I have been trying to pump but nothing seems to some out..yet when I squeeze alot of milk comes out.  I have the Medula pump in style..any thoughts??

I usually lurk, but wanted to tell you that I had the same issue. I have solely nursed my son for just over a year. He turned one on April first. Every time I tried to pump I barely got a thing. I never supplemented and my little guy  was 24 pounds at his last check up. My doctor told me that some women do not respond to the pump. My doctor had me start manually and then pump. It helped a little.

Good Luck,
Emily

 Does your hospital rent out the big, industrial mechanical breast-pump... if so, I recommend renting one and using that. Store-bought pumps of any kind never worked well for me at all. But the ones they have at the hospital worked like gangbusters! Good luck and kudos to you for breastfeeding!!! :)

-V

Sometimes pumping works best on the lower setting.  Maybe try turning it down lower?  Can you figure out a way to pump one side while nursing on the other?  It's a little awkward but can help you let down a lot more.  I never became a great pumper, personally, but I know I didn't do everything that can be done to train oneself to produce more for the pump.

My let down was very slow at first, and I could not get much milk when I pumped. I have a Pump in Style too, I do not have a problem now though. I recommend getting the hands free attachments or the handsfree pumping bra. I find that if I just let them hang and pump, I get a lot more milk (I got 7oz on just one side by doing that).

Let them Hang and PUMP!!! Where were you two weeks ago..LOL..Lianne, I'm trying that now. I've been only able to get about 1.5 ounces from one and 4 ounces from the other side. Not sure why my milk supply is uneven on each side, but I'm going to try that hang and pump deal. I sure need to up my supply because I've been supplementing as well. I hate giving her formula as I think that's the source of her bouts with Gas/digestive issues. Thanks for the tip.

~~Gina

 Is there a reason you are supplementing? Why are you pumping? I can't really tell you anything until I know these two things. Many women do not get milk while pumping, that is why how much you pump is not an indicator of how much milk you have. 

Also, just b/c baby will eat the formula you offer her does not mean she is hungry, babies this age have an automatic suck reflex and will suck down a bottle even when they are satisfied. 

Lianne..that is so funny that you wrote the hang and pump thing because just this morning I sort of stopped holding them and they hung and they were both spraying (only a bit but more than usual..)
Tripmom..the hopsital had started me supplementing..never real got a reason, so I just continued to do it. But I find that when I nurse, which is about every 2 hours or so, she only nurses about 15 minutes on each side and them cries and cries and sucks the air, so I give her the formula. I was told to pump in th morning and I eventually need to go back to work so I thought I should pump now...any info would be great. I was unable to nurse my 1st since she had no suck reflex at 1st then ended up with severe reflux...

 15 mins at each breast is actually a normal time frame, if she seems like she wants more when you are done try a pacifier or put her back to the first breast and see what she does (it could be that she really wants more, or she might just want something to suck on). At this age is a not really a great idea to supplement b/c if she needs more she should be given the chance to tell your body to make more milk (which won't happen if she is not nursing more, but being satisfied by supplementing). Hosptials suck for telling moms to supplement, and it is usually the doom of most nursing relationships, since nursing is a supply and demand relationship which can be screwend up by not giving your little one the chance to tell your body to make more milk to satisfy her needs. 

Check out http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html it explains why supplementing is a bad idea. 

As for the pumping, the only thing I can suggest is to keep trying. The thing that worked for me was to keep a little bit of the lotion or bath soap I used on baby in my bag, I would sit back and relax and take a wiff of that, a few deep breaths while thinking about baby and my milk would start to flow. Sometimes you need that extra push to get your body to react to the pump. 

Another thing you might look into is the size of the breast shields for your pump.  A good lactation consultant can watch you pump and let you know if you have the right size (Medela makes several different sizes and even hard vs soft plastic).  I know changing the size really helped me.  I went from barely pumping an ounce to looking like Bessie the cow!  I got to where I could pump 5oz from each side AFTER feeding the baby, lol.  Good luck!