Pumping long-term is a drag, so the mother might want to make sure that she's not, perhaps unconsciously, cutting the pumping sessions a little shorter, or rushing the preliminary massage/stimulation that they did more conscientiously in the beginning. There are also a number of posts in the archives about "hands-free pumping" set-ups, either purchased or home-rigged -- some mothers find they let-down more easily if they're distracted from the pumping, and that if they can use their hands to sort papers, make notes or talk on the phone, the pumping doesn't seem so time-consuming. The Breastfeeding Answer Book's section on equipment includes a nice run-down on the different kinds of pumps, and the degree of adjustability and number of cycles per minute and such, which might help you explain the differences between the rental and purchased models. *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html