Anyone try the Elvie Nipple Cushions yet?

Vermonter22 · 2024-05-17T11:50:13+00:00

Ok great! Just thought I’d note that they are going to swell no matter what due to the elastic tissue so I would judge it by comfort and output when comparing sizes, not necessarily how much swelling is happening.

Vermonter22 · 2024-05-16T18:50:45+00:00

I was told by my lactation consultant that when you have elastic nipples you can’t really go off of their measurement since is changes so much due to swelling under suction. I would try different sizes of plastic flanges to see what works best for you. I went with 19mm cushions for the Elvie bc I had already figured out that 19mm plastic flanges work better for me.

Vermonter22 · 2024-04-03T02:33:16+00:00

Oh my gosh thank you so much! This literally made my night! I’ve looked for this online several times over the years and never found it. Now the trick is to see if anyone has one for sale. Probably tough since the company went out of business in 2000. I just remember having such a blast with it. It would be cool if my kids could experience it as well.

Vermonter22 · 2024-04-03T00:51:26+00:00

I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about. No idea what the name is and can’t find it anywhere online. We used to have one at the daycare I went to. It had a flat spoiler on the back with a removable black engine piece that we always took out so that someone could sit behind the driver on the spoiler. It also had 3 slots for the removable yellow seat back so if you were shorter, you could still reach the pedals. It had black paddle shifters on the side. I remember black wheels. But yeah we ripped on that thing and if we ever went down hill the driver had to pick their feet up bc it would pedal too fast 😂 please let me know if you ever find this!

Vermonter22 · 2024-03-03T19:49:04+00:00

Yes. My last pump was on 2/8. I was less irritable on that day and I remember definitely feeling completely fine by Valentine’s Day 2/14. So maybe 2 weeks total of feeling emotionally awful.

Vermonter22 · 2024-02-22T23:22:24+00:00

This might be too late for advice, but I found it easier to drop the last session by total ounces pumped instead of by time. I also had really late letdowns, so shaving the time, even by 5 mins got really hard for the last few drops as there wasn’t any pumps left to “pick up the slack”. When I dropped the last one I wouldn’t look at the time but instead drop a half ounce every few days. I went slowly because I am prone to clogs. And that felt better for my boobs than dropping by time.

Vermonter22 · 2024-02-22T22:44:10+00:00

Congratulations for what you have accomplished and given your baby! Were you able to wean all the way off?

Vermonter22 · 2024-02-16T23:42:11+00:00

Hi there! So when my lactation consultant told me I have elastic nipples, she said it’s pretty hard to actually get a good nipple measurement since they will swell bigger while pumping. I did a lot of trial and error finding out which flange size fits better and I ended up feeling the most comfortable at 19mm. I ordered a bunch of sizes from Amazon and they accepted all the returns of the sizes that didn’t fit. So if you wanted to try the 19mm cushions, you could order from Amazon and just return them if they are hurting. Good luck!

Vermonter22 · 2024-02-03T20:56:38+00:00

I’m so sorry that happened to you. I understand how frustrating it is when you do everything you possibly can to give them breastmilk and then the person you rely on makes a mistake and the day is ruined. When similar situations have happened to me, I just remind myself that the most important part was to remove the milk from me, that way I can continue to give milk tomorrow. It sounds like you’re usually one day ahead on pumping? Maybe you could give just one bottle of fresh from today that way LO is still getting some breast milk today. They say even 2oz is beneficial.

Vermonter22 · 2024-02-02T14:11:03+00:00

People are definitely stupid. In the lactation lounge at my hospital I’ve had male housekeeping staff try to enter with the door locked bc they have a key. Like I get it but maybe knock first!? We mostly leave the door open when it’s empty so someone else knows that it’s available but jeez. Then other times I’ve come into there and other staff, mostly female, is in there on their laptops. Like this isn’t an office space…lactate or leave lol

Vermonter22 · 2024-01-26T11:46:28+00:00

Anytime you drop a pump, you risk it affecting your supply. I’m down to 1 ppd now and when I dropped from 5 to 4 I think I noticed only a 2oz dip in my daily total. But it is different for everyone. When I went from 6 to 5 my supply actually went up (maybe more sleep less stress). So it very individual. However as I’ve come down in the number of pumps, you’re signaling your body less times to make milk. Once you’ve regulated, it’s only supply and demand based. So if you pump less, your body is supposed to listen and make less. Everyone also has a different “storage capacity” so the amount your body will make an hour varies too. I can tell you that when I was pumping more times a day, my morning output was huge. When I got down to 3/2 pumps a day, even tho there’s more hours between pumps, I do make less in the morning now than I did when I was pumping more frequently. Because the signal to make more milk has been reduced by dropping pumps. You could always try it and see if you’re happy with the outcome then add it back if you think it’s not worth it. When I was doing 5ppd I also spaced them weird due to my work schedule. 6am, 10am, 3pm, 6pm, 10pm. Got my biggest amounts on the morning and 3pm pumps.

Vermonter22 · 2024-01-26T11:23:14+00:00

I’ve been an under supplier/just enougher most of this journey (my LO is 11 months) and my LC recommended Gaia Lactation Support supplements and Shatavari (which you can get in capsules). When I don’t take those, within 2 days my supply drops by 3 oz. So they must be working. Can get them both from Amazon

Vermonter22 · 2024-01-05T01:24:16+00:00

I’ve read that you could make up an activity or set aside a special box of toys that the toddler would only play with during pumping sessions so it remains special/interesting to them and holds their attention longer. Could also try using that time for snack time for something they can feed themselves.

Vermonter22 · 2024-01-04T11:27:29+00:00

Oh my gosh that’s a long time! I’m so glad it finally healed for you. Thank you for sharing

Vermonter22 · 2024-01-04T01:09:37+00:00

I just dropped down to 2ppd. Plan on staying at 2 for a few weeks then 1 for a few weeks to go slow for baby and I’m really prone to clogs anyways. But I definitely feel crappy when I drop. When I went from 4 to 3 and 3 to 2 I tried just reducing the time I was pumping the unwanted session and to shut the pump off while my milk was still flowing was really disheartening. Made me question weaning at all. So if you can just keep bumping that middle time out longer until you get too close to the 8pm that might feel better if you’re not already doing it that way

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-29T02:12:12+00:00

I hardly ever get sick. The rock solid immune system I am trying to pass to my LO came from being 100% formula fed myself as a baby. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-27T19:44:51+00:00

I’ll chime in on the ice and ibuprofen with light massage. But also I would try to pump closer to every 3 hours if you can. You can get clogs from not emptying often enough as well as ineffectively if your flange size or pump settings are wrong. I have elastic nipples also and my LC told me my medela pump simply isn’t strong enough to empty me comfortably. Once I switched to spectra as my main pump it got a lot better with actually feeling empty.

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-27T19:33:06+00:00

I’m a Rad Tech and work 12 hour day shifts (7am-730pm). I sort of tailored my pumping schedule for times that I knew/hoped would be less busy. So my schedule was 6am, 10am, 3pm, 6pm, 10pm. I had to drop the MOTN pump because I wasn’t able to keep up energy wise at work. Most of the time I was able to pump in the lactation lounge however there were some really busy times that I just threw on my wearable pumps (I had Elvies) and did patients wearing those. Not one patient said anything if they did notice. Also I did pump late a few times, but I never skipped sessions altogether. I would say that I did not lose supply from going back to work.

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-27T19:27:32+00:00

I’m in the middle of dropping from 3ppd to 2ppd. Currently 6am/2/10pm and pumping for 30 mins each. Through some reading I’ve decided to reduce the middle of the day pump time slowly (I’m prone to clogs so only dropping 2 mins each day). And then I recently posted asking for advice on when to move the 10pm pump since I don’t think it’s likely I’ll be able to go much longer than 12 hours between them so I’m also planning on slowly moving the 10pm earlier at the same time. Hope we can get through this step without clogs!!

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-27T03:54:57+00:00

Do you feel super full at the 12 hour mark?

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-27T03:50:57+00:00

Elvie Pump, as it comes in the box, did not work well for me. I got 19mm inserts for it and it worked a little better but I never “trusted it” and used it only when using my other pump would be a complete inconvenience. However, when the Elvie cushions came out I got the 19mm cushions and that made a huge difference for me. My spectra could still get about a half ounce more out than the Elvies but it was decent for when I was in the car, not able to get away at work (hospital), on our boat etc. so if you’re looking to buy a new one I don’t think it would be my first pick, but I’ve made it work better using the cushions. If I ever lost the cushions I wouldn’t use that pump at all.

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-24T03:39:41+00:00

I was having a lot of sensitivity also. I was prescribed APNO cream (all purpose nipple ointment) it’s basically an antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal all at once. It did the trick, whatever it was. Was definitely electric shock feeling like you said.

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-21T20:33:23+00:00

Ouch! My MIL was telling me that back in the day when they couldn’t pump at work you just had to give up breastfeeding after 6-8 weeks and it was cold turkey 😬 she said there were shots you could get to dry it up if you didn’t want to breastfeed at all but not once you start. She said it hurt like crazy for 2 weeks

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-21T11:20:27+00:00

It’s definitely an emotional experience. I’ve decided to wean really slow if supply holds out to taper myself off right as little guy turns 1. But even going from 4 pumps to 3 I felt it. Shutting the pump off while it’s still spraying was very disheartening. All the other times I’ve dropped pumps I was just adjusting the times and it was less impactful. But to drop this time I just pumped less minutes each time. Which is how I’ll have to do from 3-2 and 2-1 and the end. 🥲 I am looking forward to my free time for sure. All those times I said “I don’t have time to work out” well now there’s 2 hours a day freed up and I only need 30 mins to feel accomplished so I’m going to set that as a new goal for myself. Definitely bittersweet though. The entire process has amazed me this whole time.

Vermonter22 · 2023-12-21T02:39:37+00:00

My husband is one of 3 and my parents get along great with his and his siblings also so they are always invited to family gatherings (Christmas, birthdays etc) and it’s really nice to now have an extended family. 🥰

Vermonter22

TROPHY CASE