?'s on starting a stash

lindseywit

Ok so I EBF my DS and I have not been pumping up to this point, but I  need a small stash for when I need to leave the house.  He eats about every 2-3 hrs, from only one breast at a time, he never takes both.  I see that people say the best time to pump is in the morning. How early in the morning?  Also how long do I pump?  Which breast do I pump from, both? If I pump from the one that he isn't eating from then will that mess up his next feeding?  I am so confused.  Please help!  TIA.

ewilliams1127

I would pump after the first feeding of the day.  Offer DS his feeding then pump from both or the opposite side if he only took one side.  You can do this after a few feedings to help with a stash.  

I had a supply issue so I pumped after every feeding to up my supply at first, then to have a good stash for when I went back to work.  On my 12 week leave I was able to stash a 3 month supply since I couldn't pump at work.   

jlsimon56

I see that your LO is 5w2d old.  This is the ideal time to start pumping.  I would recommend:

A)  pump both sides 1x per day, approximately 1 hour after his first AM feeding (once he's up for the day).  Pump until there is nothing coming out, then keep the pump on for a few minutes. 

  pump just one side, the side he didn't eat from, either while he's nursing or immediately after, just 1x per day.  Again, pump until empty and then for a few more minutes. 

Either way, your body is going to need a few days to adjust to this increased demand.  If your LO gets fussy at the breast, just keep swapping him back and forth to help increase your supply.  He is almost at the 6 week growth spurt so he may be hungrier. 

I'll be interested to see how others respond too.  It's been a while since I've had a newborn!

blu-eyedwife

I always fed/feed from both breasts, so you may have to adapt my advice, but when I started pumping I would pump after his first morning feed.  For me, that was usually around 2:30 in the morning.  I would pump both breasts for 20 minutes as soon as I was done feeding him.  At first I didn't get much, but after some consistency I was getting 2-3 ounces at that time.  I liked to do it right after feeding him because I knew there would be some time before he ate again, and since he was sleeping, I wouldn't have to worry about entertaining him.

lynniecheer06

My LO always eats from both sides as well.  Your body makes the most amount of milk between about 2-5am-ish, so after he eats, pump both sides.  Your body will learn to make more, and it will take a few days.  Something that helped me, was to get this product https://www.amazon.com/Milkies-896593002008-Milk-Saver/dp/B001ZT12T8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354069215&sr=8-2&keywords=milkie

I let down on both sides and leaked (quite a bit!) when nursing, so this helped me to save some of that milk (up to an ounce and a half when i was quite full).  Also, LO started sleeping a few more hours at a time at night, so I started feeding her before bed, pumping about 2-2.5 hours later, and then would still have milk ready for her when she woke up for her first feeding around 2am.  if he does something like that, I say take advantage of it!  I sure did and it definitely helped.  Also, pump any time he misses a feeding, such as takes a ridiculously long nap (mine took a 5 hour nap once.  Got a good 8oz while she slept!)