Breastfeeding Tips & Breast Pump Guide | Lactation Connection

The working pumping mama has more to consider than the mother who is able to put her baby to breast for each feeding.  After all, have milk will travel is a great lifestyle.  But for those who must or choose to work outside the home, managing their breast milk expression and storage is something that must be considered.  Here are some helpful tips and accessories to make this journey a little easier. 1.  Obtain an effective breast pump .  The first consideration is an effective breast pump.  Don't settle for a manual, single breast pump or a used breast pump.  These types of pumps can actually sabotage your results before you start.  Double pumping increases prolactin levels and since working mothers do not get as much non-nutritive suckling to assist milk supply, this feature is a must.  What about a used pump.  Non-hospital grade pumps meaning professional pumps that are under $800 are meant to last a certain number of pumping hours ...

I would love to tell you that breastfeeding is always easy, but unfortunately that is not always the case.  When you look up the word tenacious (te·na·cious) in the dictionary, I picture the nursing mother who has been tried by the challenges that sometimes come with breastfeeding. Today, I am addressing a challenge that literally tries a mom by fire, yeast infections.  Yeast on nipples often exhibits itself as a burning sensation and sharp shooting pains in the breast even in-between feedings.   If you have pain only during the feeding, you need to address the latch.  Yeast naturally occurs in our bodies, but the overgrowth of yeast often as a result of oral or IV antibiotics can be a real challenge.  The good news is that it is fairly easy to diagnose and curing the overgrowth is manageable, especially if you know how to avoid a recurring incidence. Lets start with the diagnosis.  As I said, the mother with yeast will normally have burning sensat...

Finding the right breast pump flange size is your first concern when starting to pump, but as you continue to pump exclusively or for working and breastfeeding, investing in a more comfortable flange can help not only your body, but your baby's milk supply.  Pumpin' Pal Super Shields offer a multitude of benefits including: Eliminating constriction of milk ducts that can be cause by traditional flanges  Promoting better milk flow Helping prevent plugged milk ducts and mastitis Reducing nipple irritation Saving mom from back aches caused by leading forward While Pumpin' Pal Super Shields are effective in most cases, you will want to know if and how they fit with your breast pump before you invest in these breast flanges.  Pumpin' Pal M-XL work best with breast pump brands that have two piece breast shields such as Medela, Lansinoh and Hygeia . Pumpin' Pal Small and X-Small include an adapter to work with two piece breast shields. Again, ...

It is recommended that breastfed infants are fed exclusive of a bottle for at least 6-8 weeks while learning to breastfeed.  Bottle feeding greatly changes the way the infant sucks and their expectations for immediate gratification while feeding.  Feeding from a bottle provides immediate gratification because bottle drips even when sucking does not occur.  This causes the infant to thrust their tongue to the end of the nipple or to arch their tongue to collapse the nipple on the roof of their mouth to control the flow.There are several methods of supplementing a newborn with breast milk during the early days.  For short term feeding solution, we recommend finger feeding with a syringe .  This method is tried and true and can be learned by both parents and baby in a matter of minutes. Instructions: Wash your hands. Sit with your feet on a stool or anywhere you can raise your knees. Place the baby in your lap facing you so they are in a reclined with their...

If your Hygeia Breast Pump is not suctioning the way it used to, the culprit is usually one of two parts, the duckbill valve or the bacteriostatic filter. The number one cause of low suction is a torn or worn out valve. The tip of the Hygeia duckbill valve must be able to close completely.  If it remains open, the amount of pressure your pump can provide is decreased.  As a rule, if you are pumping three times per day or more, replace duckbill valves  every six to eight weeks  at minimum.  If you are like most moms and you have multiple valves that you interchange and you notice a decrease in suction and want to determine which part needs to be discarded, switch to single pumping.  To do this, you will remove the tubing from one side and cover the opening with the port cover attached to the bacteriostatic filter.  Place the remaining breatshield still attached to the pump on one breast and test the suction.  If the nipple is being drawn in nor...

Once your newborn is at least 6 days old, there are some guidelines to help you be sure of your milk supply.  Note that insufficient milk supply is rare.  What is more common are practices that can hinder your milk supply or baby's feeding which I will detail at the end of this post. To assess good milk transfer, answer the following: Is the baby  wetting 6-8 diapers in 24 hours ? (Disposable diapers are so absorbent, that it might be hard to tell.  If you are unsure, take a clean diaper in one hand and the removed diaper in the other and you should be able to tell by the slight weight difference.) Yes  |  No Is the baby having  3-4 bowel movements in 24 hours  that are mustard yellow with curds in them? (These shold be silver dollar size or larger, not just a stain.) Yes  |  No Do the  breasts feel full before feeding  and  softer after feeding ?  Yes  |  No Do you  hear swallowi...

Recently, we have been researching the effectiveness of small breast flanges for moms who are trying aftermarket brands in 15mm.  Most manufacturer's do not offer flanges that small.  This mom in particular was having difficulty because even a 15mm was too large.  A smaller flange can often be too large if too much of the areola is being pulled in and the milk sinuses are not being compressed properly at the breast shield. This problem can ofte be solved with a silicone insert or silicone breast shield.  So where a 15mm plastic flange may be too large, a 15-19 mm silicone breast shield such as the x-small and small super shields by Pumpin' Pal will work very well.  The reason is the material.  Silicone helps hold the breast tissue in place whereas the hard plastic flange will allo the tissue to be draw in too far. If you have tried a silicone shield, and still need to the areola to be held in place more efficiently, rolling the silicone so that it suc...