May 2013 Moms

EPers

I'm not sure if this has already been discussed or not, so I apologize if it has!
For those that are EP, how often and how long do you pump? How much do you pump in that time, on average? How much of what you pump does your LO eat?
I'm thinking of switching to EP, but I wanted to get some feedback.

Thanks!

Re: EPers

  • I pump every 3 to 5 hours for 20 minutes and get anywhere from 5 to 7ozs. He eats 2.5 to 3ozs on demand. I have been eping since he was born.

    Edited because I am new at this. Haha
  • imageoutgoing101:
    I pump every 3 to 5 hours for 20 minutes and get anywhere from 5 to 7ozs. He eats 2.5 to 3ozs on demand. I have been eping since he was born.

    Edited because I am new at this. Haha


    :

    I figured you didn't pump every 35 hours and you meant 3 to 5....that'd be sweet if we could only pump every 35 hours and produce enough for our LOs!
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  • I pump every 56 hours and get 24 oz each time. We supplement with formula.
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  • First of all, if you are BFing and it is working for you, I would advise not to switch to EPing. Not only are you still tied to the hunger needs of your baby (feeding bottles), but you are also tied to your pump around the clock. Even if you get someone to feed the baby a bottle for you, you still have to pump during that feeding. Makes it hard to get out and about when you have to milk yourself every couple hours. Just my two cents!

    That being said, I EP and pump every 2 to 4 hours and get 3 to 6 oz total each time (more in the morning, less at night). I feel like this is pretty low compared to other EPers, but it meets the needs of LO who eats 3 or 3.5 oz every 2 to 3 hours. I have been trending pumping the same amount she eats a day, but I'd like to have more to build up more of a stash.

    Right now I only have a one-day stash built up (there are 30 oz in the fridge and LO eats about 25 oz a day). LO is 5 weeks.

    (Edited for spelling and clarity.) 

    She is here! 5-29-13

    image



  • I switched to EP when LJ was a week old because she wasn't latching on well and was losing weight and showing signs of dehydration. I started out pumping 8 times/day. Since then I've slowly reduced the number of sessions in a day and now I'm pumping 4 times a day - 8am, 12pm, 4pm and 10pm. They say you're not supposed to reduce the number of pumping sessions until your supply is established at around 12 weeks, but I was going through the baby blues and just couldn't handle pumping so often. 

    I pump for 30-45 minutes each time and get around 12-13oz total during my morning pump and then 6-8oz total at each subsequent session. In total, I pump around 32-36 oz/day and LJ eats around 22-23 oz (she's 8 weeks), so I have a pretty decent freezer stash (approx 350-400 oz). 

    EP is really really hard, even when pumping only 4 times/day, because not only am I attached to the machine, I can't take care of my little girl during that time and between the bottles and the pump parts, there are SOO many dishes. But this was the only way I could give my baby BM. My ultimate goal is to EP for a year, but I'm not sure if I can do that. My mini goal is 6 months and then I might switch to formula. I guess we'll see how the pumping goes when I return to work.

    Good luck to you and just remember that whatever decision you make will be the best one for you and your LO! :) 

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  • Wow. This thread makes me realize how low my supply is. I pump 5x a day for 20 min or so and usually only manage to pump about 15 oz tops. My LO eats at least 32 oz a day usually so I have to supplement. Sometimes I wonder if its worth it. Gonna try to continue for 6 months but we will see how it goes.
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers
  • Thank you for your feedback everyone!

    I currently pump and nurse. I started off nursing on the left side and pumping on the right side because we had latch issues on the right side and my nipple took a pretty rough beating. I would nurse on the left side and pump the right side after LO was done nursing and refrigerate/freeze what I pumped :I currently refrigerate about 12 oz a day:. I liked having the option to bottlefeed so dad could help out, however, I think LO likes the bottle better now because she gets the milk faster. I have noticed that she gets extra fussy at the breast...sometimes she's ok, but other times we both get pretty frustrated and I'd rather just give her a bottle instead of spending an hour of her nursing to be satisfied. I haven't really cared for BFing and this makes me really not enjoy it.

    In addition, I'll be going back to work in a few weeks and I will have to pump while I'm there. I wanted to try our EPing for a bit to see if it works out for us. I justed wanted to see how much other people pumped to see if the amount I pump is comparable.
  • imageAmyG*:

    imageAllisonO78:
    Wow. This thread makes me realize how low my supply is. I pump 5x a day for 20 min or so and usually only manage to pump about 15 oz tops. My LO eats at least 32 oz a day usually so I have to supplement. Sometimes I wonder if its worth it. Gonna try to continue for 6 months but we will see how it goes.

    if you get 15 oz in 5 pumps that's 3 oz a pump? that's not bad.  Most moms have to continue to pump at least 8 times a day to get enough for baby, esp young babies, where your supply is not fully regulated--so if you pumped 8 times a day you might get 24 oz, which is right about where baby should be taking in. to get to 30 oz you'd probably have to pump 10 times a day which would be rough, but with continued pumping a bit longer at each pump and using some galactogogues you can probably get very close to that amount with some concerted effort.



    I use galactogogues, tried pumping longer, tried pumping more, etc. There is a lot more back story I didn't include here; I was just surprised that my supply is AS low as it is. I've made a LOT of effort, and LO and I madeba lot of effort to EBF, then BF with supplementing, etc. Im quite happy that we are able to give him some BM even if its not a lot.
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  • Gotcha. Im just a wreck when it comes to feeding LO.... I feel like we are over feeding and I didnt mean to get defensive. I edited my post in hopes that no one had seen that yet once I realized how rude I sounded
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers
  • I pump 7 or 8 times per day and get anywhere from 1.5 to 4oz each time. I average around 17 to 19oz per day and have to supplement each bottle with formula. I have tried every.single.thing I've ever read on this and other boards to increase supply and I've leveled off at this amount. I know I gave bf'ing my best effort and am now content with the situation and happy he usually gets around two thirds bm and one third formula.


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  • I pump 7x a day for 20 minutes and get 4 to 6 oz each pump. Today was the 1st time I actually wrote down the Amts. For today I pumped a total of 36oz. I feed 4oz 7x a day as well. Sometimes like now during a growth spirit he'll eat 8x a day. I am still able to put a bit away. I try to stay one feeding ahead. So I am pumping now but baby won't eat this til his next feed. It seems to go well for us.

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  • Due to latching issues, I've been EPing since we got home from the hospital.  I have inverted nipples, so I've literally gone from the XXL (36mm) flanges down to the small (21mm) flanges and I'm finally getting a steady supply with the small flanges.  I typically pump about 30 oz a day and my LO takes about 27oz (we supplement with one bottle of formula at bedtime to hold her over through the night). I pump 6x a day (5:30/9/12/3:30/7/10) for 30 min each. It's definitely VERY difficult, but I'm committed to giving her breastmilk and this is the only way I can do that. I agree with the other posters though...if you can breastfeed I would keep doing that.  The amount of dishes I do a day is ridiculous between the bottles, pump parts and pump storage bottles.
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