Pumping/EPing questions

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lazyreader

I heard to:
> pump 2-5+ minutes after milk stops.
> pump at the same time every day.
> massage the boobs while pumping.

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PerkyErky

I pump every 4 hrs around the clock and max I've pumped in a day is 18oz. Fenugreek helped and I try to get my water in. I also find when I am more relaxed and not feeling rushed I pump better. Hot compresses and massaging as I pump helps too. I have a medela pump in style, I pump for 20 min each time and at the 10 min mark I hit the letdown button again.

ProudMommy030614

I drink mothers milk tea 3-5 times a day,eat oat everything, drink almond milk, eat all kinds of nuts, and drink tons of water. When I was eping I pumped every 3 hours for 15-20 minutes each session. I get 45oz a day but I work at it!

babylimas

Hands on pumping is supposed to increase your output. It doesn't do much for me but my symphony seems to completely empty me. You get similar to me but a little bit more. I do find when I can increase my pumping (less time between pumps) I see more output in the following days. I just really can't do any more than every 3 hours. I'm working full time while having my kid with me.

mrsdahamm

I don't ep but wanted to share, my EBF baby eats about 10 items a day and my understanding is 10-12 times is normal so I think increasing your number of sessions a day (shorter time between) would help, if you're able to fit it in your schedule. I think power pumping is just once a day to increase supply. Good luck!!

SamanthaJoD

I EP for my twins and had a lower than desired supply too, but around 8 weeks pp I decided to really try hard to increase my supply before I went back to work at 12 weeks pp. I think one of the biggest things that helped was starting to do breast massages while pumping. This video shows you how - https://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html. Before I was just surfing the net and not paying attention to how pumping was going, but I saw a real difference when I started getting more hands on with massage. I tried the power pumping thing too, and I think that helped as well. I did more like 10 minutes on the pump, 20 minutes off whenever I thought about it. I started pumping around every 2 hours during the day and at least once in the middle of the night. I read that your body makes the most milk in the wee hours of the morning, so I think it was helpful to pump at 2am.

Another HUGE thing that helped was when I started logging how much milk I'm pumping. I keep track in an iphone app called "Baby Connect" and it shows a really pretty graph of how much you're pumping day to day, or even per week/month. When you see that you've pumped 5 oz less than you did the day before, it really motivates you to get in an extra pumping session. Also, it will be easy to see a drop in supply if you start logging less ounces pumped, and you can work to correct it.

Currently, I'm up to 50 oz a day and I'm pumping 7-8 times per day. I'm trying to drop my middle of the night pumping since the girls are finally sttn, but my boobs feel like they're exploding by 4am, so I'm still getting up. The point being, you CAN increase your supply, and it feels great to be able to provide your baby with the right amount of milk (but any amount is great, even if you need to supplement). Good luck! You can do this!

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carrieandtim

Definitely keep pumping after the milk "stops." When I continue, I usually have another letdown and pump 1-2 more oz!!

I'll also suggest you eat oatmeal for breakfast for a week and see if you see an increase. I did!