Pumping at work - dropping a session?

laceysmom82

Just curious what time you typically drop a pump session at work.  My schedule is to nurse or pump at 6:30 am, then at work I pump at 9:30, 12:30 and 3:30.  I then nurse around 6 pm and 8 pm.  I am no where near ready to wean (letting LO decide that) so I'm afraid quitting a pump at work might affect my supply and force a wean.  Anyone know?

Thanks

azuremama

With DS, I was never able to drop a session without losing some of my supply.  I pumped 3x a day until close to a year.  But some women are able to pump 2x a day without a problem.  I'd just try it and see if you're able to.  If your supply starts to drop, add in the other session again.

ABizzity

My schedule is almost exactly the same as yours and when LO turned 6mo, I started pumping at 10am and 2pm and I get the same amount of milk that I did in 3 sessions.  Not everyone does though so be careful and keep an eye on your supply.  I didnt really feel comfy dropping to 2 sessions until LO was 6mo because I figured my supply was pretty well regulated by then.  Good luck!

maddie789

I am able to get by on two pumping sessions at work. I usually pump at 6:30, pump at 10 and 1 at work, and then nurse around 4-5. I am on my fourth week at work and it hasn't affected my supply so far.

Red_Dahlia

I pump twice at work (10 and 2), and have been for 6 weeks. At first, I was getting 16 oz every day - 12 for DD and 4 to freeze. This past week I've noticed that I've been freezing less and less. Now I'm getting 12-13 oz per day. I'm considering adding in an extra session... So, this is kind of the flip side of what you're asking. I just wanted to point out that it took 6 weeks to see a dip in my supply. I asked on this board about only pumping twice when I first when back to work, and it seemed that some bumpies did fine with only pumping twice, and like pp said, some people got the same amount regardless of if they pumped 2 or 3 times. But others said they had a dip and had to go back to pumping 3 times.

I think if I do add a session, it will be when I first get to work in the morning. I've considered pumping right after I nurse DD in the morning, but that means washing parts, and getting my pump packed up etc, in the morning. If I wait until I get to work, it is much less of a hassle.

GBCK

I dropped one at about 6 months old. (it was every 3 hours.  Now it's 5)

I'd say do it gradually if you can....like go from 3 hours to 4, then 4 to 5, etc.

But really, I had a slight oversupply and the amt. of milk I produce each day didnt' go down taht much