As far as the rings go, I don't know if they limit growth, I do know that I didn't really start to have any growth until I was pumping without them, but I over pumped in the beginning and caused tissue reduction instead of growth. I'm growing and on my way to my goal now though, but my breasts do not like the foam rings. I'm currently using the CL domes, and if I try to use the L rings with them they make the internal diameter too narrow for my breast shape and actually kinda hurt if I try using them, so I just noogle without them. I know many have used them and other methods of padding and had excellent results though, I think it just varies from person to person, no two respond exactly the same.
As far as the suction with the rings on, if you can't keep a suction with them on you need to glue them onto the cups so they are air tight and none can leak in. If you want to try it with them glued on I suggest using a hot glue gun to glue them on, hot glue makes a good airtight seal, but is easily removed should you choose to take them off. Whatever you do don't use super glue like I did with my first set of domes I started out with, it ruins them because it can't be removed without destroying them and leaves a very sharp, hard, nasty edge on them that will cut the skin around your breasts if you tried using them with it on. If you choose to hot glue them on, put the rings on the domes, then pull the outer lip of the ring back in a small section and squeeze the glue into the groove so it makes a seal between the plastic and the ring. Just do this in small sections until you work your way completely around the domes, then let them sit for at least 10-15 minutes to make sure they're dry and sealed. You won't have any problems with air leaking back in once they're glued on, unless you have a crack in a dome or the tubing, which does happen from time to time, with the tubing way more than the domes. But you have to be extra careful not to over pump with the rings on, it's very easy to do because they make it so much more comfortable that you don't realize you've pumped too hard until it's too late.
As far as the gauge pump goes, I don't have one of them, I just use the standard pump without one. You can email Lucy to find out what pressure she'd recommend using or avoiding, or maybe some of the other users that have one could give you some advice on that. The only advice I can give you is not to worry about the amount of pressure as what your breasts are doing inside the domes. Pump them up while standing in front of a mirror, you need the front view in the mirror to really tell what shade they are inside the domes, looking down at them through the outer wall of the domes can be very misleading. You may think they're pink when they're actually purple, which is not good. Pink to red in color is fine, that's just blood flow into the breasts, which is necessary for this process to work. If they turn purple or end up with little red dots when you pump it means you're over pumping and need to use less pressure. If you're not sure what's going on inside the domes you can always pop them off and see what the skin color is immediately after you take them off. If they're purple, spotted, or any color other than normal skin color to red then use less pressure when you pump them back up. You want to pump until you feel them being pulled out, but not so much that they hurt, pain should not be experienced during pumping, unless you're like me and get growing pains as they're growing, then you might have bouts of tender breasts from time to time, which isn't bad if it's from them growing. Anyway, just take it easy and be careful with them and you'll do just fine. One suggestion I would make would be to do like I do, I count my pumps. Once I know what my safe zone is I don't have stand in front of the mirror to check myself anymore, when I used the large domes I'd start out with 10 pumps. 10 pumps gave me the safe pull, then as they get used to the pressure and you don't feel as much pull anymore just add another pump or two, and check them in the mirror if you want to make sure you don't over pump when you top them off. Once you get used to what you can use safely it will be a piece of cake and you won't even have to give it a second thought. Like right now I'm using the CL domes, so the first session of the day I start out with 18 pumps, unless they hold any amount of swelling from the day before or it's just before my period when they're swollen and take a little more pressure, then I use 20. Then throughout the session I don't increase them anymore then them being pumped a total of about 24 pumps, anymore is bordering on over pumping for me. Don't know if this makes any sense to you, but I hope it helps at least some.
Welcome aboard, good luck, and happy noogling!
;D
