XP: Out of Town for 1st time... How often to pump??

MichelleInNOLA

Here's the background:  My son is 9 months old, having BM five times a day, from the breast when I'm home, pumped BM while I'm at work.  On the days that I work, I pump 2x while at work, then I nurse him to sleep, then I pump once around 9 or so while he is asleep to boost my freezer stash, then I nurse him once during the middle of the night when he wakes up.

My questions: How often should I pump while I'm out of town?  (Leaving on a Thurs, coming home Sunday.)  Should I do the 2 daytime pumps like I do at work, then once around 7 (when I'd usually nurse him to sleep) then once in the early morning hours (when I'd usually nurse him when he wakes around 2am)? 

Is it more important to be as close to the usual TIMES as possible?  Or is it more important to just get the same # of SESSIONS during a day, even if the times are a bit off?

I'm going to a mountain wedding in North Carolina, so I won't exactly be able to whip out the pump at any given moment, but I want to do everything possible for things to be normal when I get back to my son.  Things have gone so well for us with BFing, and I'm so scared of screwing with my supply....

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

smilelari

At this point, I wouldn't be that concerned about something like this impacting supply.  I'd definitely want to get in 3-5 pumps per day, but I'd do it more based on when it's convenient than based on the clock.

rockychryslerb2010

My son went on a nursing strike for about four days last month (when he was 8.5 months old).  I pumped 3x a day to keep up supply and to have milk for him.  I was able to pump what he was eating in only three sessions (just added an evening one around 7-8pm) and I never really got engorged.  I wouldn't worry too much about the clock, I would just pump when convenient and when I started to get uncomfortable.

brewcitybride

I would only pump when I absolutely had to. You've been doing it for 9 months, your supply isn't going to go down just because you don't keep up quite as much as you usually do. Enjoy and have fun!

blu-eyedwife

smilelari:

At this point, I wouldn't be that concerned about something like this impacting supply.  I'd definitely want to get in 3-5 pumps per day, but I'd do it more based on when it's convenient than based on the clock.

This.  In fact, not pumping at the same time will help your supply because it's more like nursing (since our kids don't get hungry at the same time each day).  Just make sure you're pumping the same number of times.