Smart Electric Breast Pump

Your questions

• 1. Should I use an electric breast pump or a manual one?

  • Take a close look at your lifestyle, your finances and what your pumping needs will be. The right pump will not be the same for every mum. Talk to friends and family who have pumped before – they are often your best source for tips about what works and what doesn’t when pumping. Manual pumps are best for mums who won’t need to pump all that often. Manual pumps are often cheaper but do not offer the same range of functionalities as electric pumps and require you to use both hands whilst pumping. 

    You’ll want to choose a breast pump that works best for your needs. If you pump regularly, exclusively or will be away from your baby for several hours a day, then an electric breast pump will better suit your needs. The best electric breast pump you can choose is a smart electric pump with many different functionalities. Consider the make and model of the breast pump, too. Some are heavier or bulkier to carry around than others. Many electric pumps require an electric outlet while others require batteries. By choosing an electric breast pump like the Lola&Lykke Smart Electric Breast Pump, you can enjoy functionalities such as wireless use, which will allow you to move around more freely and to pump whenever you need to. 

    The Lola&Lykke pump operates in two phases: one to stimulate the let-down of your milk, and then the second for efficient expressing of the milk. This electric pump is surprisingly light with a multitude of functions, so you may also want to take this into account. 

    Another main consideration is compatibility between different pump bottles and the ability to easily store your breast milk. The Lola&Lykke breast pump is compatible with many standard baby bottles and storing expressed breastmilk is easy with the handy adapter, which allows you to pump directly into the milk storage bag and to feed your baby directly from it. 

• 2. How should I prepare for breastfeeding?

  • Learning any new skill can be challenging at first, but stick with it, and the rewards will be worth the effort. Seek out the support of a lactation professional, friends, and family members or even an online community. 

    While it’s ideal to initiate breastfeeding right away, if your baby doesn’t have a strong feeding reflex or is having a difficult time latching, you can still get your milk supply off to a good start. Seek lactation support and begin expressing as soon as possible (ideally within two hours of giving birth.) Advocate for yourself and your baby and make your wishes to breastfeeding known to your healthcare provider, ideally before giving birth. Aim to express as often as your baby would feed – at least eight to ten times every 24 hours, including at least once during the night. 

    When a baby breastfeeds, they start with short, rapid sucks to stimulate your milk let-down reflex. Once your milk flows, they draw it out with slower, deeper sucks. Some pumps, like the Lola&Lykke Smart Electric Breast Pump are designed to make the switch automatically and have adjustable settings to let you adjust suction and speed for your comfort.

• 3. How often should I pump when I breastfeed?

  • The general rule of thumb is that mom should pump at the same times that her baby would normally feed. This will give her body the signals to keep making breastmilk based on the baby's needs. If you're trying to build up a stash of breast milk, try adding a pumping session after your first feeding session of the morning. You may not express much at first, but your body will quickly respond, and you'll be able to start storing milk. It's important to be consistent, though, because if you start pumping a few times a day to boost your milk supply and then stop, you may end of with plugged ducts.

• 4. When is the best time to pump?

  • If baby has just fed and is full and happy, but your breasts don’t feel empty, adding a pumping session can increase your milk production over time. Over the first 6-12 weeks, your body is working to regulate your milk supply so you have just the right amount baby needs. If there’s milk left in the breast after a feed, your body thinks it’s made too much and will start to produce a little less. If you want to have extra milk or increase your supply, expressing milk after breastfeeding will signal to your body that this milk is needed, and it will continue to make more

    Remember that more milk is not always better. Regulating your supply to the amount baby needs is a good thing because it means relief from the discomfort of engorgement or from waking up with milk-soaked pajamas for your entire breastfeeding journey. Oversupply can also lead to challenges like plugged ducts. So start slowly and adjust your pumping routine to tell your body how much milk you want to make.

    If you’ve tried pumping right after breastfeeding but were not able to express, try waiting about 30 minutes after a feed. This gives your body time to replenish before pumping, but also gives you time to replenish again before your next breastfeeding session. Try to plan for at least an hour between the end of your pumping session and baby’s next feed.

    Many moms find that their milk supply is much stronger in the morning and have more luck adding pumping sessions early in the day.

• 5. How can I increase my breast milk supply?

  • You don’t need a freezer stock of breastmilk to feed your baby but we understand increasing milk supply is on the mind of a lot of breastfeeding mums.

    Try to breastfeed your baby when she or he is hungry. For signs of hunger, you should be watching your baby, not the clock. Sometimes called responsive or on-demand feeding, this means breastfeeding whenever baby shows signs of being hungry. This helps your body figure out how much milk your baby needs to produce, especially early on.

    Cuddling skin-to-skin has so many great benefits for baby, and it can help increase breastmilk supply, too. Skin-to skin contact helps you release prolactin and stimulates oxytocin, two important hormones in making breastmilk. Undress your baby down to the diaper and hold him or her against your bare chest. A blanket can keep everyone warm and cozy.

    While the best way to establish a strong supply is to breastfeed on demand from the start, after about 4-6 weeks, you can add pumping sessions to increase your breastmilk supply. Breastmilk production follows the rule of supply and demand: The more milk you release, the more you will produce. So upping the amount you remove from your breasts will tell your body that baby needs more to eat. This teaches your body to make more milk. Adding a pumping session approx. 30 after breastfeeding can help increase breastmilk supply. 

    Massaging your breasts before a pumping session will stimulate the milk ejection reflex. Continue to massage your breasts during pumping to keep the flow going. This also helps to increase your milk’s fat content, which supports baby’s brain and nervous system development. Milk may come out through your nipples but it’s actually produced way further back in the breast tissue, so massage or compression of that tissue may improve pumping results.

    You can also use a breastmilk collector whilst pumping. When you’re breastfeeding, oxytocin helps push the milk down the milk ducts and out of the breast, on both sides. This normally results in a wet nursing pad and wasted milk from the side baby’s not feeding on. A breastmilk collector applies a gentle suction to silently collect milk from one breast while baby latches on to the other. 

    Make sure you take care of yourself and get good nutrition, as this can have appositive effect on breastfeeding. Make sure you’re eating enough food to provide those extra calories and stay hydrated too because dehydration can reduce your breast milk supply. 

• 6. What is the best way to store breast milk?

  • Some pumps, like the Lola&Lykke Smart Breast Pump, let you pump directly into a feeding bottle or a breastmilk storage bag which you can refrigerate or freeze. This is super-convenient and means fewer bottles to wash at the end of the day! Plus, fewer transfers from container to container mean there are fewer chances of spilling that hard-earned milk. 

    Storing your breast milk in single use breastmilk bags is a very convenient way of storing your milk. Milk bags are designed to lay flat for fast freezing and thawing to protect breastmilk vitamins and nutrients. 

• 7. What are the storage guidelines for breastmilk?

  • The recommended maximum times for safely storing your fresh breast milk are as follows: 

    Room temperature (up to 25°C/77°F) – 4 hours after pumping

    Refrigerator (up to 4°C/40°F) - 4 to 5 days

    Cold packs/insulated container - 24 hours (or can move from cold pack to fridge or freezer up to this time)

    Freezer (-18°C/0°F) – 6 to 12 months

     

    The recommended maximum times for safely storing breast milk that has been previously frozen are as follows: 

    Room temperature (up to 25°C/77°F) – 1 to 2 hours 

    Refrigerator (up to 4°C/40°F) – 24 hours

    Freezer (-18°C/0°F) - do not refreeze thawed milk

• 8. How do I use frozen breastmilk?

  • Take care when defrosting breast milk to make sure it’s safe for your baby:

    • Breast milk can be defrosted in the fridge, normally in around 12 hours. Alternatively, hold the bottle or bag of frozen milk under warm running water (a maximum of 37 °C or 99 °F). Don’t leave frozen breast milk to defrost at room temperature.
    • Once fully thawed, previously frozen breast milk may be kept at room temperature for a maximum of two hours or in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
    • Don’t thaw or heat frozen breast milk in a microwave or in boiling water. These can damage its nutritional and protective properties and create hot spots that could scald your baby.
    • Thawed breast milk left at room temperature should be fed to your baby within two hours or thrown away.
    • Never re-freeze breast milk once thawed.

    Whichever method you choose, keep in mind that slower thawing means less fat loss. When you thaw the milk too quickly, it causes it to lose antibodies.

• 9. Why does thawed breastmilk smell and look different than fresh breastmilk?

  • That’s normal. This happens when women produce breastmilk that is high in an enzyme called lipase. While this enzyme helps digest the fat content in breastmilk, it can also affect the smell and taste of both fresh and frozen milk (it usually makes it smell and taste metallic or soapy). Women often don’t realize that their breastmilk is high in lipase until they freeze it because the changes to the milk take a few hours—or even a day—to take effect, so you probably wouldn’t notice the changes with fresh milk. If you’re concerned about your baby not wanting to drink the breastmilk, talk to your doctor to find out about a process to help neutralize the enzyme and lessen the smell.

• 10. How do I know if my breastmilk has gone bad?

  • Generally speaking, you’ll know that your breastmilk has gone bad if it smells rancid or sour. You probably notice that your breastmilk will separate naturally after you pump, with the fat rising to the top. When milk is still good, it mixes back together easily with a gentle swirl of the bottle. If your milk doesn’t do this or has chunks floating in it, you should throw out the milk.

• 11. How do I wean my baby off breastfeeding?

  • Weaning is a natural stage in your baby’s development. It is the gradual process of giving your baby other foods while continuing to breastfeed. Weaning can come with a lot of mixed emotions. You may feel excited at the new independence you and you baby can both enjoy, as well as some sadness as your baby moves to another stage in her life. This is completely normal. It's common to feel sad or mildly depressed after weaning while others experience anxiety and mood swings. Breastfeeding stimulates the creation of hormones like oxytocin which is often referred to as the ´love hormone´. Declines in prolactin, another hormone responsible for milk production, is often associated with feelings of well-being, calmness and relaxation. When you wean and these hormones decline, your emotions and mood can certainly change. When you are weaning, try doing this step-by-step rather than stopping abruptly as this may make the hormonal changes less noticeable.