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I’ve written quite a comprehensive review about Haakaa silicon Pump in this post.
But I think it would be interesting to write a separate post about how Haakaa can be used by a mom who does not leak.
This post is part of PUMPING AT WORK series. Other articles in this series.
- A Breastfeeding Mom’s Guide To Returning To Work After Maternity Leave
- How to build breast milk stash before returning to work
- 7 Ways To Collect Breast Milk With Haakaa
- How to Collect Breast Milk With Haakaa Even If You Don’t Leak
- How much breast milk stash do you need | A case study
- How to freeze breast milk | 10 Things You Need To Know
- How to rotate breast milk stash
- How to thaw and warm frozen breast milk
- Breast milk storage systems | Milk Bag vs Bottle, Which One To Choose
- 10 tips on introducing bottle to breastfed babies
- How to maintain milk supply at work
- 30+ pumping hacks for working moms
To be honest, when I researched information about Haakaa, I was a bit skeptical if Haakaa will work for me, even though there are moms out there reporting that it works for their non-leaking breasts.
For your info, I never leak in my 3 breastfeeding journey, including this. So I thought, hm.. could Haakaa work for me? Perhaps I can only collect drops with it.
The first time I tried Haakaa was in the afternoon, not while nursing my baby (so definitely no let down here), and I noticed there’s a few drops collected inside.
Hm.. I thought, if it can collect drops even without let-down, how much milk can it collect with let-down?
So I started using it the very next early morning. As I nursed my baby around 4 am, I lattched Haakaa on the other breast.
To be honest, I fell asleep a few time while nursing, so when my baby was finally done, I took Haakaa carefully (my room was dark) and check how much milk I got.
And there it was, 20 ml milk collected without effort.
I could not believe my eyes, really? So this little thing really work even for me?
That was similar to what I get in a single dual pumping session!
And this, without lugging bulky pump and fiddling with the tubing and such.
The very next day, I tried again and collected even more. I was able to collect anywhere between 20-50 ml (the highest so far).
So by using Haakaa in my early morning feeds, I was able to reduce the need of pumping in the afternoon, down to only one pumping session in late morning.
This is a huge accomplishment, considering that I usually need to pump at least 3x daily to get the same amount.
Now, everyday I was able to collect at least 60 ml (~2 oz) with Haakaa, on some days I was able to get 3 oz.
Imagine, if I am trying to build a milk stash in preparation of returning back to work, in one month I would be able to collect at least 60 oz (enough for 5-day feeding, assuming 9-5 working hour). And this is very easy to do.
PS: If you are looking for silicone pump but Haakaa feels too expensive for you, here are some more options with good ratings:
I prefer using Haakaa compared to the conventional pump because:
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You don’t need to allocate separate time to pump. You get the milk while nursing
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Simple preparation and cleaning. Unlike regular pump whereby you need to set up the bottle, flanges, connect to the tubings and turn on the pump (and adjust the setting some more), using Haakaa is super duper easy. Just ‘latch’ it to your non-nursing breast, and that’s it. Switch side when your baby wants the other side.
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Unlikely to create oversupply. The ‘not-so-nice’ thing about pumping regularly is you can get oversupply pretty easily. And that means, welcome to clogged ducts and all those breast discomfort. I hate clogged ducts! With Haakaa, it just collects the milk that flows with the letdown, but not requesting more than that.
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Get let-down easily. Some moms take longer to get let-down when pumping with a regular breast pump. When you use Haakaa, your baby stimulates let-down for you (and naturally it is easier to get let-down with the baby’s suckling). I just proved this recently. I was doing power pumping for 2×10 mins and barely get any let-down. I only got less than 10 ml in those 20 mins. About 15 mins later, my baby nursed and I used Haakaa on the other side. Guess what. In just 5 minutes, I got 20 ml easily from just one side. Whoa.. Of course, don’t expect to get 4 oz in one nursing session like those moms who leak and produce a lot of milk in one go. But for extra 2 oz daily, I’ll happily take it.
RELATED: 7 ways to use Haakaa to collect breast milk effortlessly.
A few tips on using Haakaa to maximize the amount of milk that you get:
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Utilize the golden hour of milk production. That means, past midnight to early morning is a great time to get more milk with Haakaa. I usually nurse 2-3x to get 2-3 oz combined. You can still use Haakaa outside this time window, but expect to get less milk, probably 10 ml the most.
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Invest in the flower stopper to avoid spilling. Although Haakaa comes with a yellow lid, bear in mind this lid is not leak proof. To avoid spilling, flower stopper is a must, especially if you are in sleepy state. Just to share, I spilled my milk a few times because I was too sleepy (either the Haakaa slipped out from my hand – I was nursing in craddle position), or I put Haakaa on my bed side and it got kicked by my elder daughter, lol.
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Do some trial and error to find the best position to ‘latch’ your Haakaa (especially with older babies). If it is latched without enough suction, you won’t get a lot of milk. Too much pressure is also no good, because it can be painful. Usually, once I latch my baby and Haakaa, I wait until my milk lets down and check if the milk drips in the Haakaa side. After that, you can go to half-asleep mode =D. PS: If you have difficulties getting your let-down, these tips may help.
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Notice your baby’s longest sleep window. My baby has one 3-4-hour sleep stretch, and this is when I collect a lot of milk with Haakaa.
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Put Haakaa in your productive boob. Usually, I will latch my baby on my slacker boob first, so I collect more with Haakaa. After that, I let my baby finish up the remaining milk in the productive boob while I put Haakaa on my slacker boob (sometimes I still get some milk, sometimes not). Note: a reader reported after using this tip, her baby’s growth plummeted. So please monitor your baby’s behavior when trying to collect milk with Haakaa. If s/he is much fussier than usual, you can switch technique by only using Haakaa in the boobs that s/he has nursed. PS: Are you trying to build freezer stash but feeling despaired because all you can collect is less than 1 oz. A friend of mine was able to collect up to 300 oz even though she collected only 0.5-1 oz. Read her story here.Or my own story in building my little stash.
Note: If you are desperately trying to increase your milk supply, Haakaa may not be your best option. You may need a reliable heavy-duty breast pump. Here are my two favorites:
2. Super Genie breast pump review (much more variations in pump setting, I got my let-down much faster with this pump!)
I hope these tips are useful for you who wants to use Haakaa even though you don’t leak at all. Don’t despair if you didn’t get any on the first trial. Try a few positions or different timings and hopefully you can get more milk with Haakaa.
I’m not the only mom who can collect milk with Haakaa even though I don’t leak. Check out what other moms have said about Haakaa.
Have you tried Haakaa before? Does it work for you? How much milk did you collect with it? Share your story with us!
Christina says
Will the haakaa be “stealing” milk from my baby ? I am always worried that my baby will get less milk if I attach it before he nurses on that side.
Rina says
Actually, the breast produces milk all the time. The emptier it is, the faster it will make more milk. But I can totally understand your worry. My baby is also the one who is not patient waiting and scream easily if the flow is slow.
That’s why I use Haakaa at wee hours, when the milk production is at the highest. So far that I noticed, my baby has not complained at all when Haakaa is used at night/ wee hours. Give it a try, but if you noticed the baby becomes grumpy, perhaps you can limit how long you use Haakaa.
C says
Valid point! I found that I was stealing milk from the baby after a low weight check at his 2 month appointment. He had been growing great, then I started using the haaka once in the morning like recommended here for a couple weeks and his growth rate plummeted. Now I only use it on the breast he’s already nursed on to catch anything he might have missed. I’m getting 1/2-1oz instead of 3-4oz in a session, but I’m using it at a few nursings and getting 5oz in 2 days. Not a lot, but I know my baby is getting what he needs now.
Rina says
Oops… so sorry for that. But as always, tips that may work for someone may not work for others. It’s great that you monitor his growth and could quickly revised your haakaa strategy.
Betsy Stanton says
Hi RINA,
Thanks for your information. I never heard about it before. But after reading this article, I know about this, and I impress on its features. I am interested in checking it out. Hope so it will give me the satisfaction. Do you satisfied to use it?
Rina says
Yes, I love it
Dina says
Assalamu’alaikum Rina,
My baby 1month don’t want to direct breastfeeding (I meant she don’t want to suck my breast, we use bottle)
From the first day she frustrated when I gave my nipples. So I pressed and put on her lips for first 3days, and then we can’t sleep for 5days because she always cry in night, so we decided to use formula milk (she cry due to hungry, my milk not came out and my nipples also) .
Can hakaa be used for non natural let-down? My baby is impatient one, we want to try to make her directly breastfeed But don’t know how, because since first day she don’t know about my nipples, and learn bottles in early day
Rina says
Waalaikumsalam warohmatullah.
What do you mean by non natural let down? So you or the pump initiate the let down? If that’s what you mean, the answer is yes.
Have you tried to pump or perhaps do manual nipple stimulation to start your let down? That may replace baby’s natural let down
Bartz says
This is a bery realistic story thanks for sharing. I have always been doubtful of myself seeing other moms puling a 4-6 oz of milk per session (pump or haakaa). Haakaa is expensive and so I was skeptical to get one since I already have a pump. I am stay at home but I need to run errands sometimes so I need to have a freezer stash. We decided to still get haakaa and until now the most I get is 1.75oz which was far from the 4-5oz I see online. But hearing your story made me happy with my decision of purchasing one. Thank you!
Rina says
Haha glad that my story made you happy. Not all moms collect big oz with Haakaa. But the important point here is you collect those drops with less effort, compared with if you use a regular pump.
Dymplez says
My baby likes to nurse lying on her side with me lying next to her at night. The haaka wont t latch on while lying down. Im getting discouraged because when she is awake she kicks a lot. She is 16 weeks going on 4 months. I was trying to save to get a pump. Once I finally received one, it was the same as before. I didn’t realize I had to wait for a letdown. I came across the haaka on YouTube while getting pump advice. I will be back to work in a month and I’m afraid I won’t get up to 3-4 ounces in a feeding. I gathered a lot of info tonight just reading the fact the I have some of the same concerns as other moms do. Im drinking mothers milk lactation tea as well. Is there anything else that can be recommended to increase my milk supply and how much I collect during a feeding?
Rina says
Hello,
Haakaa is just one easy option to collect freezer stash. If collecting milk while nursing is not possible for you, you can try pumping while your baby is asleep (morning is usually when your milk supply is the highest so you can get more milk compared to other times of the day).
I have an article explaining this (including some case studies how moms did it even though they only collect a little at one time, you can go to this article or simply search how to build breast milk stash in the search bar).
Nurul says
Assalamualaikum Rina,
I’ve been using my silicone milk collector for a month now and I love how effortless and time saving it is
However, lately I’ve also realized that my milk supply is reducing despite nursing every 2 hours and using the silicone on the side without the baby.
My breasts are empty each time. With baby’s suction on one side and silicone on the other. But milk is reducing.
What i understand is as long as the milk is expressed, either pumped, silicone sucked, or naturally baby sucked, more milk will be produced right?
So I’m confused as to why my milk is drastically reducing.
Do you think the silicone has anything to do with it? Perhaps the no stimulation at the nipple could be reducing my milk?
This is a first time for me as I’ve never had any milk supply problems with my previous 2 daughters.
Appreciate your help.
Rina says
Hi Nurul,
Unfortunately you didn’t mention why you think your supply is reduced. Is it because you get less when pumping?
Could it be that your baby is more efficient in taking milk out? Another possibility is your baby is going thru growth spurt and start to nurse frequently. That also not a sign of milk supply drop.
Rina says
Replied in email.