First, make sure you get your breast pump when you are in your third trimester of pregnancy. You don’t want to be late after giving birth and you’re stressed out in the middle of the night, desperately needing to pump, but you haven’t even taken it out of the box.
Get your pump, sanitize the pieces, plug it in and make sure everything works, and check the fit. By the way, don’t overthink buying your breast pump. A standard Medela or Spectra works well. Hands free pumps are great for work, but work best on smaller breasts.
First, lubricate the pipe and opening. You want your breast skin to glide easily when pumping and without any discomfort from that hard plastic. You also want to get a good suction grip against your skin and it won’t slip easily.
Just as you want your entire nipple and areola to enter baby’s mouth, you want the pump to work the same way for maximum effectiveness in letdown stimulation and milk extraction. The nipple should reach halfway up the tube.
If your nipple doesn’t go into the tube, you need to get bigger. You may need to order a specific size online.
If your nipple goes too far down the tube, you need to go down a size.
Pumping shouldn’t be painful so make sure everything is working correctly, lubricated, and the right fit! This will be something you’ll be glad you checked off ahead of time to avoid additional stress after the baby arrives.
