Hellobee Boards

I start with the speed at the highest level and the suction at 0. I gradually turn up the suction until I feel it working (about 1/2 way). (I have found that I need to do it gradually to get my nips to "catch" - if I quickly turn up the suction it's not always a good fit.) As soon as I feel my letdown, I turn the speed down to about 1/2 way. When my milk starts to wane, I gradually increase the suction until my milk flow stops.

So...
beginning of pump: speed at 100%, suction starts at 0% increasing gradually to about 50-60%
after letdown: speed at 50%, suction increases to about 80-90%, sometimes 100%

Most of the time I have the suction and speed at ~75% and just leave it like that. I usually pump while LO is eating on the other side (and don't pump very often), and it's too hard to mess with the dials with all that going on. I used to adjust the speed but never really noticed a difference in output.

I always feel like I'm not doing it right...but I had struggles with hospital Ameda and Medela pumps right after she was born, so I think it's just how I respond. I have it at 100% speed, 30-50% suction then crank to 20% speed, 100% suction after let down. If it has been a long time with no let down, I fiddle with the controls and might alternate 50% speed, 50-70% suction with 100% speed, 30-50% suction.