Pumping if I'm EBF?

Question

Okay I'm EBF but lately I've been pumping  since baby has thrush and he gave me thrush on my boobs and it's just so painful to BF baby ATM.. the dr gave me prescription to put on my breast so I find it easier to pump and Bottle feed meanwhile I treat my breast and baby until the thrush goes away I do still BF mostly at night and early morning.. Now my question is I'll pump for 4/5 mins and get anywhere from 1-3 oz each breast then after 5 mins milk doesn't come out so I'll stop pumping I know normally ur supposed to pump 15-20 mins but after 5 mins milk stops coming out do I still pump if nothing is coming out ?? Does milk begin to come out again if I keep going ?? I'm confused ? Also if I BF baby and pump after how long do I pump for ? Can anyone help I want to make sure my milk doesn't slow down I just don't know if I'm doing this whole thing right ...

Answer

You need to pump for at least 10-15 minutes to simulate a feed. It’s not just about the milk flowing it’s about stimulating your breasts. 
You’ll almost certainly see a decrease in supply of you only do short pumping sessions.
The pain from thrush should subside in a couple of days and you’ll be able to get back to EBF

Answer

It sounds like you’ve got a great handle on things! Thrush SUCKS! I feel your pain 😣 my son had it. 
As far as pumping goes you want to pump to replace a feeding, not in addition to feeding. When my milk stops flowing when I pump I hand express and squeeze my boob while my pump is pumping and get the last little bit out and then I’m done pumping. Other than that it sounds like you’re doing great! Hope this helps!

Answer

I only pump for as long as it takes for milk to stop. If I haven’t BF for a few hours and I’m full it can take 15 min otherwise I pump for 7-10 min and my supply is fine.

Answer

I exclusively pump and I pump every 3 hours for 20-25 minutes. If you keep pumping after the 5 minutes you should stimulate your breast enough to cause another letdown. I can usually get about 4 letdowns while pumping. So yes more milk should come out the longer you pump. The rule of thumb is pump at least 120mins a day.

Answer

You need to continue pumping for 15-20 minutes. When milk stops coming out, try putting your pump back in let down mode to stimulate a second letdown 😊

Answer

When I pump I switch between stimulation and expression mode. If I’m not getting a letdown I look at pictures and videos of my baby while in stimulation mode to trigger a letdown. It is not a continuous flow exactly, I have to trigger multiple letdowns to get all the milk out. I think if you are pumping to replace a feed it is important to pump at least 15 minutes. If you are pumping to increase supply I would pump 5 minutes after the milk stops flowing.

Answer

You need to go longer than 5min. Just cause there isn’t milk coming out doesn’t mean anything. Supply and demand. The shorter time you express the higher chances of supply decreasing. Now this does not account for baby nursing less time wise as baby is far more effective at pulling milk out than a pump ever will be.

Answer

I would definitely keep pumping. But also I would make sure that you were using the correct flange size. I wasn't for the first 6 months when I was pumping and breastfeeding, But once I got actually sized for my flanges and switched to the correct ones it made a huge difference!

Pumping if I'm EBF?

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey