I'm hoping someone has some pumping advice! I have spoken to the Hosp lactation people but everyone is telling me something different!
I'm 4d pp and SO engorged that I can't even move my arms 
everything I read says nurse the baby often, but baby is in NICU and can't quite bf yet.
Any advice on how to manage with the pump?!
Currently I'm doing 15 min every 3h but I am dying near the end. Also doing hot compresses before and trying to do cold after.
honeydew / 7811 posts
@fuzzypeaches: big hugs for having a nicu baby! I was there not so long ago! I pumped like crazy and it led to an oversupply. Can you pump longer to make sure you feel empty? What advice are you getting from the hospital staff?
If your milk came in recently maybe the engorgement will pass?
How old is your baby? I hope you are both okay 
kiwi / 541 posts
When you say dying at the end of each session do you mean you are too sore to continue? Or that you're not getting enough to finish the session? I ask because of you're hurting it could be the wrong size nipple shield.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
Are you thinking you have an oversupply? My suggestions would differ depending on if you're afraid of a oversupply or if you're simply not emptying your breast and that's why you're engorged?
Assuming you're not afraid of a oversupply I would recommend pumping till your empty. Your boobs should feel very soft afterward. I would recommend pumping every 2 hours because that's how often you'll be nursing. Unless you're afraid of a oversupply?
I highly recommend setting up an appointment with a LC especially because of your unique nursing situation? Also, there's been some posts here and there about how you should have access to your baby to nurse even while in NICU. Assuming it is safe for the baby!
Hope baby can go home soon!
pear / 1639 posts
I also agree with PP about pumping longer than 15 min and maybe more than every 3 hours, try 2.5 hrs? I know it seems like a lot, it is, but that's how often many babies feed.
ETA: I hope your little babe comes home soon and you can establish a nursing relationship! I EPd for a year and know how hard hooking up to that thing is. Big hugs
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
I had serious engorgement when E was in the nicu and I was advised to use ice to bring the swelling down. I didn't pump long enough back then-I should've pumped until I was more empty. I couldn't tell the difference then but I can now!
pomelo / 5321 posts
Our NICU recommended pumping every two hours at first. I couldn't go to 3 hours for a while because I would get so engorged.
grapefruit / 4056 posts
Are you double pumping? I would try pumping every 2 hours, and pump until the flow drops to almost nothing (if you are not worried about over supply). 15 minutes sometimes isn't enough. If you are afraid of an oversupply I would keep with every 3 hours, but try going into the shower and letting the water run over your breasts, sometimes that can trigger a letdown and cause emptying without stimulation.
blogger / pomegranate / 3044 posts
I did every 2 hours for the first few months. Good luck mama! Your boobs will figure out what's up soon
grapefruit / 4712 posts
I pumped every three hours while E was in Nicu. I would pump until the production dropped to nearly none (around 20-25 minutes). Your body will regulate soon. Hang in there.
pomelo / 5628 posts
Turn the pump to the lowest setting that produces milk. I'd keep to the 3hr schedule (night too) and maybe a little longer and don't forget nighttime too. You should pump until no milk is coming out.
I had a very long NICU stay and pumped for 11 months. Ask me anything! Big hugs. The beginning is the toughest!
If you don't have a hands free bra, get one asap!
pear / 1696 posts
@fuzzypeaches: I would stop the hot compresses. Continue the cold after pumping. Pump for 15-20 mins every 2-3hrs (2 hours would be better, this includes at night, sorry to say 
) and make sure you are "hands on" with your pumping (massage/compress breasts while pumping). Its okay to take some ibuprofen for the swelling. The thing with engorgement is that its not just the milk that's making your breasts swell, your actual breast tissue is inflamed. It shouldn't last more then 2 days, so just keep your routine going and it should get better soon!
Its difficult to access this while staying in the hospital with your baby but if you have access to cold cabbage leaves they can help with the inflammation too. As soon as the engorgement goes away, stop doing cold compresses.
Here is a video that may be helpful:
http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html
pomegranate / 3401 posts
I had a baby in the NICU and pumped every three hours for about 30 min each time (that's until no milk came out anymore) all day and through the night. It sucked waking up in the middle of the night to do it, but it helped me relieve engorgement and to maintain my supply until DD came home. I did this for two months. Hugs! You can do it!
clementine / 950 posts
Oh my goodness! Thanks everyone! This is why I love this site so much
To clarify - I am using the hospital pump and double pumping. I was previously pumping for longer (20-25 min) every 3-4h to empty the breast but am terrified of oversupply (I had mastitis twice with my first baby!!!) and am already producing way too much for such a little munchkin! Even with that the breast is not empty or softened. So then the LC told me to pump more often but less minutes so that's why I have been trying that, but perhaps I'm undershooting and that's why when 3hrs comes around I already feel like I'm dying.
I'm definitely going to try pumping more often - I think I'm not pumping at night enough and then it's causing a vicious cycle in the am.
clementine / 950 posts
Also thanks for the nicu support. Baby is primarily a "feeder and grower" but everyday feels like eternity so I'm so happy to have people who understand 
I'm thinking the pumping situation will be a longer term thing :s
apricot / 428 posts
i would definitely try shortening it to every two hours...you will have a LOT of milk as the pump is training your breasts rather than your baby. try lower setting, 30min of pumping and i would expect to keep the pump around even once she can bf!
pomegranate / 3192 posts
@fuzzypeaches: I don't have any personal experience but help mamas with this issue all the time... I would keep pumping every 3 hours, but for a bit longer each time, like 20-25 mins instead of 15 mins. You're only 4 days PP, so your supply will regulate itself if you give it time. In the meantime freeze what A doesn't need (get the nurses to do it!) and it will help you build a freezer stash. Good luck and sending you lots of hugs!!
pomelo / 5093 posts
Man, turn that pump down and do it less often! If you're already pumping more than you need then it is time to slow down. I was a little bit lazy with my nicu baby, and I ended up pumping about every 4 or 5 hours, on the lowest setting, for 15 minutes or so each time. The nurses would come by and hassle me about how low it was, and I would show them all the milk I'd produced and tell them to knock it off.
If you're engorged despite all the pumping, you need to do less!
honeydew / 7811 posts
@fuzzypeaches: my LC during my NICU time advised me to never go more than 5-6 hour overnight without pumping. She set a goal for me to pump 8-9 times a day. So I would pump every 1.5-3 hours on average (usually closer to the 1.5-2 mark), and then stop for the night after 7-9 pumps (depending on how tired I was) and take a break. You won't always have to pump so much, I promise! You might even build up a freezer stash! Hang in there, you got great advice above!
apricot / 452 posts
@fuzzypeaches: you've gotten great pumping advice from the other moms on here, but I wanted to add in my NICU-graduate support as well.
My LO didn't latch at all for over a week, but I put him to breast every time he got a tube feed that I was there for so that he would associate my smell and body heat with a full belly. We tried latching a few times each day, and due to his size and my breast size, eventually went with a breast shield to get him to latch and nurse properly once he started really trying. I used the shield for 7 weeks and he did fine BF after that. Some LC will be crazy and tell you that if you use a shield, you'll have to use it forever, and they'll get too much air, and and and to try to get you to do a natural latch. Trial and error will tell you what will work (or not) for you and your baby.
Don't beat yourself up whatever you end up doing. The NICU is enough of a roller coaster without adding self-doubt to the mix. We're here if you need to vent / have questions, etc.
Hugs!
grapefruit / 4712 posts
@fuzzypeaches: thinking about you and your LO today. I forgot to say in my other post we started on shields and then moved off those. E is still nursing at 16 months old. Hope your LO gets out of the hospital soon.
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