Pump time

kmos816

I seem to get everything within 10 minutes- barely anything comes out after 10 minutes even when using the letdown feature. I've always heard to pump for 20 minutes- is this really necessary in my case?

talknerdy2me

I pump until I'm empty.  Sometimes, it's 10 minutes, sometimes 15 to 20.  It can depend on if DD ate before I left for work or not.  If she doesn't, I can be a bit engorged and can pump longer.

Maybe you can get an additional let down if you're pumping that long?

jenn43

casey78 said:

For the first 8m, I could get what I needed within 12 minutes. Going longer didn't help. From 8m on, needed to go more like 20-25 minutes. I'd pump a few minutes past "empty" just to help your body know it needs to keep making the milk.

This.  I don't even watch the clock- I will do the letdown feature (where it pumps faster) once or twice to see if I can trigger another letdown.  Then I stop a couple minutes after the flow stops. 

Peanutz21

when i first started pumping i would pump maybe 15 min. the last 2 weeks though i've extended the sessions.  i now notice i can get 3 letdowns by the 25 min mark or so..didn't know i could do that! 

Jmorgan971

Yeah definitely give it a shot and pump until 20 minutes or however long it takes for a second letdown, if only for educational purposes. When I'm rushed at work I sometimes want to stop when the milk stops flowing (usually around 8 minutes), but if I stick it out to 16-20 minutes, I get another letdown. It makes a huge difference!