For those that pump (all the time or occassionally)...

SomersIsles

According to LO's most recent doctor's appointment, LO is gaining weight just fine (we EBF).  That being said, I never really think about pumping.  Sometimes I will but it's completely random and not for any particular purpose... I just decide, ehhh I guess I'll pump... lol.  But I keep seeing here people posting about feeding and then pumping.. or having some sort of pumping routine. 

Should I be pumping? 

LO eats every 3-4 hours depending on how long he sleeps (occassionally he'll last close to 5 hours).  So I pretty much just feed him and call it a day. 

Care to share your schedule of feeding and pumping and why you have that type of schedule? 

bumpuser1282882

When DS was having weight gain problems, I pumped after every daytime feed. Now that he's gained weight, I do one or two day times a day just to work on my stash.

SassyFlats

I pump randomly, just to have some frozen for dh to use at the point lo takes a bottle and I go out for an afternoon or something.

Usually pumping happens when she's sleeping soundly and I wake up engorged.

I'll pump at work to have bottles for the next day. I'll pump whenever I can to freeze milk for occasional date nights or other times I leave baby with someone else. But I don't really have a situation where I NEED to consistently store milk for later.

ktowle22

I pump about an hour after our first morning feed (normally about 10am) and I pump about an hour after his last evening feed, before I go to bed (normally about 9:30pm). I have been doing this since the beginning of April and have over 100 oz in the freezer. I normally get about 5 oz between the two boobs (I only pump for 7-10 min).

LittlePigeon

I pump once or twice a day to avoid engorgement. When I don't pump before bed I wake up to regret it! I freeze about half of what I pump and end up dumping the rest because our freezer space is limited and we aren't bottle feeding yet. I was saving it all and DH said it was getting a little ridiculous since I don't go back to work until September (aside from a week in June)... He was right.

novelblessings

Thanks for posting this. I was wondering the same thing. I was initially pumping several times a day in the beginning because I had supply issues. Now that we are good, I stopped two weeks ago because I was sick and then LO got sick, so it was time consuming. In just worried about my stash for when/if I go back to work because I'll be apart from LO for 10 hours.

mrsdahamm

While on mat leave I just bfed and pumped if I was uncomfortable because he hadn't emptied all day. Now I pump every 2-3 hours at work. LO only eats from one side per feed but at work I pump both sides each time, so sometimes I need to pump for comfort while at home.

Mcsweets

I do more pumping than BFing because they're in daycare during the day, and well - there's 2 of them!  I pump every 3-4 hours during the day and then go for 1 5/6 hour stretch at night.  I used to pump every 2-3 hours (did this for about 2 months) and my supply never increased.  So, I've come to terms with how much I have and just do what I can.  I'm done stressin' over it!

amandapthompson

When I was on maternity leave I pumped which ever side LO didn't feed from at every session. I had supply issues last time and Ds1 ended up having to supplement when I was at work. I didn't want that to happen this time. I normally pump in the morning and that's his first 2 bottles at the sitters house and whatever I pumped at lunch and 3 the day before gets him thru til I get off work!

MA&CB

I pump once a day to build a little stash for return to work and offering a bottle now a few times a week. 

mfarmer0811

Rad&Co said:

I pump once a day so we have a bottle on hand for MOTN feeds (though she's slept through the night three times this week - woo hoo). Then I generally pump a second time to build our stash for when I go back to work but now that I might not have a job I've backed off on the second pump. I also don't pump if she's in a growth spurt because she eats too often for me to get a pump in!

I do this almost exactly.

saisongbird

I am so jealous of you ladies!  I can only get an ounce between both sides and that's if I haven't fed recently.

saisongbird

@bennieangel - part of what we're experiencing is the fact that I had a reduction, so we don't know how my breasts are going to respond since we don't know how many milk ducts were removed.  Right now we're settling into a schedule of FF sessions vs BF sessions, and I'm ok with that.  I just wish I knew that I was making more.

ProudMommy030614

I was eping and pumped every 3 hours between 5am-11pm and didn't pump at night. Now I bf and pump so I offer breast if he is acting like he wants it instead of a bottle and than pump. I pump about every 3-4 hours during the same hours. I have been making the same amount of milk the whole time about 44-48oz a day. No matter what I do I never get more or less, I keep track very closely since I don't want it to drop now that I don't pump as much.

lindsey1031

I pump the side he doesn't eat from to build my stash once or twice a day when I think about it. This only happens a few days a week. Otherwise I pump during his nightly bottle just to make the next day's bottle.

bumpuser1282882

mommyKT310 said:

How many oz does your LO take in a bottle? My LO is 5.5 weeks and I have no idea how much to give in a bottle.

i'm going out this Saturday by myself so I asked the doctor how much my DH should give the baby – at 4 weeks, she said try 3 to 4 ounces.

PerkyErky

I EP and we supplement with formula since I only get 14ish oz a day. I pump every 4hrs with the goal to get 6 sessions a day. I was pumping every 2hrs for about a month to try and increase my supply, but I get the same now as I did pumping every 2hrs and I have some of my sanity back.

I don't wash and all that jazz after every pump session. I wipe them down and then keep them in the fridge between pumping, then do a big wash of everything in the evening. When I return to work I plan to continue my pumping schedule so I anticipate pumping 3 times during my work day: morning break, lunch, afternoon break. I also have several sets of flanges and stuff so if I don't get to a wash one night it's not a huge deal.