How to Pump Milk

You want to give your baby the best nutrition you can, and that is definitely the breast milk your body makes naturally. If you have to go back to work but you want to continue breastfeeding, or if you want to pump to have extra frozen milk on hand, the process is fairly simple once you get the hang of it. At first, sticking your breast into a plastic funnel and turning on the electricity will feel strange, but after a while you'll be able to pump without thinking too much about it. Just think of all those cows out there giving out their milk to humans and then think of your little baby and you'll feel connected to all nursing animals everywhere. Here are some steps to making breast pumping easy.

Instructions

1

Plug the pump in near a nice comfortable chair to make your pumping time easier.

2

It's best to pump first thing in the morning or when your breasts are engorged. Start by massaging the breast to loosen the fluid and get things softer in there.

3

Place your nipple in the center of the plastic funnel on the pump. It should be attached to a baby bottle. Hold the pump by the bottle. Hold the funnel against your breast gently, so it's resting against your skin. You don't have to push hard, but make sure the plastic is laying against your skin without air getting through. Hold it there.

4

Set the pump to the lowest setting--very important. You want the suction to start off very low so you don't hurt your nipple with too strong a pull at first. You can adjust to a higher setting after your nipple gets used to the lowest setting first.

5

Turn on the pump. It'll make a funny, undulating sound as it sucks and releases, like a nursing baby would. Your nipple will stretch out a little bit. This is where you have to relax, think about your baby nursing or your baby's face. This helps some women to let their milk down. You can also massage the top and sides of the breast with your other hand to help the milk come down. It may take a few minutes of no milk coming out before your milk finally releases. If nothing is happening after a few minutes, you can turn the suction dial up an increment higher, and give yourself a full few minutes at the higher suction before turning it any higher. You can also turn the pump off and reposition your breast in the pump.

6

Once the milk starts coming out, just sit back and relax. You may only get half an ounce, you may get several ounces. You'll know when your breast starts to feel empty and your milk is coming out in a less strong stream that it's time to switch to the other breast. Always turn off the pump before removing your breast.