Time of Pumping Session

kdenya

I feel good knowing that my LO is getting most of her nutrients from my breast milk, and most of the time I prefer pumping over breastfeeding; however it takes me forever to get enough! I pump as often as LO eats (right now she has 7 ounces every 4 hours or so), but sometimes in order to get enough I find myself pumping for 30+ minutes.  Is this normal?  When I do breast feed her she only drinks for 5 minutes or so before becoming uninterested but then needs to eat every 2 hours. 

ariel8200

I can only pump a max of 4 ounces and it takes about 10-15 minutes. It seems like 7 ounces is a lot for her to be eating. I know that my dd can get very distracted when nursing. It's best to find a quiet and dark area so they don't have as much to distract them and then hopefully she will nurse for more than 5 minutes. You may also want to cross post in the breastfeeding forum and get their take.

Nichole8787

I pump anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending on the last time he ate

kdenya

That makes me feel a little better. Everyone I know pumps for 10 min and gets 5 or more ounces. I know if I pump for at least 30 min I will get an extra let down to get the 7 ounces she needs. Thanks!

lowen83

I pump 20-30 minutes three times a day. Right now DS takes three 5.5oz bottles at day while I'm working. I pump about 18-20 oz between those three sessions.

ADC1979

I only have about 10 minutes to actually pump at work each session (since put together/take down take several minutes each.)  My yield can vary per session.  If he ate from me within the last couple hours, then I'll get less from pumping since he's very efficient at nursing.  I'm currently producing much less milk than I had a couple weeks ago because I've been working to correct oversupply and overactive let-down (and I've been sick to boot, hooray.)

When I was on maternity leave, the times I did pump I would pump for 20-30 minutes.  But now I don't have that luxury of time.  When LO feeds, he feeds anywhere from 8-20+ minutes.  

jnnfrrose6

I pump 15-20 min once or twice a day (depends on my work schedule and if I can go nurse once or twice and only use 1 bottle instead of 2). That being said, my first session (10am) usually gets 5oz. If there's a second session (1:30 or 4:30) it's closer to 4-4.5oz and because I pump into the bottles from earlier I usually end up with 2 bottles under 5 oz.

She's definitely more efficient on the boob than the pump (most babies are) so I'm lucky if she's on for much more than 5 min on each side when she nurses.

ariel8200

TKT17 said:

Whoa, LO still nurses 20-30 minutes each session. Now reading this I'm feeling like that's a long time?

For me, when DD nurses, if it's been longer than 10 minutes I listen to see if she is still actively swallowing. If she isn't, I will unlatch her. Sometimes she likes to comfort nurse, but she isn't actually getting milk.  I'm sure my little chunk would stay latched for hours if I let her.

ADC1979

TKT17 said:

Whoa, LO still nurses 20-30 minutes each session. Now reading this I'm feeling like that's a long time?

For about a month, LO would nurse for just 5-8 minutes, but around the 4 month old mark he decided he wanted to eat longer.  I will unlatch him sometimes after 15-20 minutes because as other said, he just likes the comfort.