Did you know that sometimes your breasts need to be trained to use a new breast pump?  Read on to learn how.

A Deeper Look:

The Problem:

Mamas who nurse sometimes struggle to let-down when using a pump.  This is because their body is trained to respond to their baby’s sucking and the pump is just too different for their body to recognize what it is supposed to do in response.  

Similarly, when an EPing mama switches pumps, she may struggle to let-down or effectively remove milk with the new pump.  Essentially, an EPing mama’s body becomes accustomed to giving up milk in response to one type of pump.  So when she uses a pump that has a different “feel” her body may not know what it is supposed to do.  The most obvious sign this is occurring is a decrease in milk output.  This is more likely to happen when switching to a very different pump, such as the Willow, though mamas have experienced this issue when switching between other pumps as well.

The Solution:

You can try to train your body’s let-down reflex to let-down to your new pump.  There is more than one way to train your breasts, and both methods have successfully helped EPing mamas.  Some mamas report that training their breasts on a new pump took between a few days and four weeks (or longer in rarer instances).  This timeframe may be due to the difference in the amount of training per day.  Some mamas may be training during only one session a day, while other mamas may be training during all of their pump sessions.  Note: It may be that some mamas will never be able to use a certain pump; training is not guaranteed to work.

1st Method

You should pump with your old pump on one side and your new pump on the other side, alternating the side on which your new breast pump is used each pump session.  Use of your old pump should signal your body to let-down while simultaneously teaching your body that it should let-down to the feel of your new pump.  This option—the suctioning of two different pumps—can feel a little awkward and can result in a delayed to let-down.

2nd Method

Pump with your new pump first and then pump again with your old pump to ensure full milk removal and keep your milk production levels even.  This option can be very time consuming and it means washing two full sets of pump parts.

Additional suggestions:

If you notice a decrease in milk output overall, don’t forget about power pumping!  Try adding 1-2 power pumps into your day until your supply has returned to its desired level.  For more information on power pumping, click here.

Just a reminder that if you are in pain using any pump, make sure you are using the correct size flange.  For more help with flange sizing, click here.

Note: Some mamas may also find this training necessary when they are switching flange sizes.

The EP&Me Take:

As an EPing mama for approximately 3 months, I felt like I understood the commitment that was needed to EP for a year and believed purchasing the Willow was a good investment in keeping my sanity.  I was finally going to have the freedom to move about my house without cords and be able to bend over the crib to pick up my Little after a nap.  

The day the Willow was delivered, I immediately washed everything, set it up, and began to pump.  It was not pretty.  It took an hour and a half (a lot longer than Willow recommends a pump session be) for me to almost pump the amount I would have if I had used my regular pump for 40 minutes. 

When I tried it again the next day, it still took slightly more than double the time to pump almost the same amount, but what was most concerning was my right breast was well out-performing my left.  My right breast is my “slacker boob” as it’s commonly called—it ALWAYS produced less milk. 

I went on using the Willow pump intermittently over the next few weeks, but nothing changed.  When I consulted online groups created by mamas for Willow users to share tips and tricks, I learned that many mamas had problems transitioning to use the Willow and that some mamas had experienced the same frustration with other pumps.

I tried pumping with the Willow first for 20-30 minutes and then used my Spectra pump.  I then tried pumping with the Willow on one side and the Spectra on the other—this was so awkward feeling, I struggled to encourage a let-down.  Moreover, whichever breast I used the Willow on needed to be pumped with the Spectra immediately after because it was never sufficiently emptied of milk.  It was as if my body wanted to save some of the milk in reserve for when the proper machine came around.  I become more frustrated as the days wore on.  What I wanted was a quick-fix solution, but there wasn’t one, and my training methods, used only once or twice a day, were not enough to quickly create the change I needed.  

Ultimately, I gave up on the Willow.  It was not saving my sanity as I had anticipated.  I did not have the time to dedicate to training my breasts on a new pump.  I was working during the day and overwhelmed with managing my household at night.  Pumping 5 times a day for 40 minutes a session was enough of a struggle without doubling my pumping sessions.

I hope to avoid this issue the next go around by starting to pump with the Willow much earlier.  Despite my issues with training my body to use the Willow, I really found it to be quite comfortable once I was using the proper size inserts, and I loved the flexibility it afforded me around the house.  I think many mamas successfully transition between pumps with no issues, and I hope that you have that success.  Wishing you luck mama!