Pumping not working as well as it used to?

[katiebee18]

DS is 10.5 months. I had to be away from him all of Saturday and Sunday. I did not do a great job of pumping as often as I would feed him and when I did pump it took 40-45 mins and I would give up before I even felt "empty" and I would just pump like 5-6 oz total. I have the Medela Pump In Style and put in new membranes on Saturday AM. When DS was younger it would take about 15-20 mins to feel pretty "empty" and I would get at least 6 oz total most times.

Any ideas?
As I don't use the pump too often could the tubing or other parts be degrading? I purchased it brand new.

I had to wake DS up at 1:30 AM when I got home just so he could help me out, I was so uncomfortable. An experience nurser is so much faster and more efficient than a pump. He made me feel back to normal

[Erin M]

It's pretty normal for you to be able to pump less as LO gets older.  That being said, if you are still feeling very full after pumping, you might need to do some pump maintenance -- sometimes if you boil the boilable parts, it helps it to work a little bit better.  Also, I had a Medela of some sort at one point, and I remember that something wasn't connected quite right and it made a big difference.  Sometimes hand expressing at that age is almost easier than the pump too. 

[Fiver]

An experience nurser is so much faster and more efficient than a pump. He made me feel back to normal

I think you said it all there
Also, as you don't pump often, it's also normal to notice a decrease in output as LO gets older.

[*Ali*]

I spent 48hrs away from my LO when he was 13mo and did not pump very much very quickly. I did get about 5oz each time but as you found it took much longer than it would take him to feed. At this age more of the milk is produced on demand whilst LO is feeding rather than in advance and stored in the breast. Your LO is better at stimulating the breast than the pump so it all sounds pretty normal to me.