Questions for pumpers

WinesNotWhines · August 2010

I tried my first pumping session today, and now I have a bunch of questions:

1. When do you pump? Immediately after a feeding? In the middle of the night? Some other time?

2. If LO is awake when you pump, how do you manage to do it?

3. How long do you pump, and how many ounces do you get? Will I get more output when LO gets older?

4. When did you start to build a freezer stash?

5. How do you know how many ounces to give LO at each bottle feeding? Is there a chart based on age or something? I've had a surprisingly hard time finding a solid answer about this.

I'm mostly trying to pump so DH can feed LO a bottle during his part of the night shift, and eventually I'll want to create a stash for when I'm away and when I go back to work. Any other advice would be appreciated!

Jan12Bride · August 2010

Since I just started back to work today, I've been researching about pumping recently too.

1. Everything I've read says your body makes the most milk between the hours of 12-5 am. You should pump the most ounces first thing in the morning after you wake up.

2. After DD eats, I give her tummy time and try to pump then.

3. I pump for 7 minutes, pause for 2 and then 7 more. It triggers a second letdown and I always get more milk the second half.

4. I wish I had started building a stash way earlier, but I would say at least 2 weeks ahead of time.

5. https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html This calculator helps to estimate the range of milk your baby will be receiving at any given feeding. The website in general also has some resources for pumping, like how to pump hands free using rubberbands.

One more rec - make sure you are diligent about giving a bottle at least once a day. We were too lax about it and had some trouble with her fighting the bottle, but she seems to be doing fine now at least.

kastle · August 2010

for your #2, a hands-free bra & a bouncy seat/swing to hold baby was what I was planning to do/was told works before my milk disappeared.

mommmyz · August 2010

1. When do you pump? Immediately after a feeding? In the middle of the night? Some other time?

I definitely got the most after the first morning feed

2. If LO is awake when you pump, how do you manage to do it?

Swing or bouncy worked for us

3. How long do you pump, and how many ounces do you get? Will I get more output when LO gets older?

My output never really increased, but I had a really cruddy supply. When I pumped to replace a feeding once he was at daycare I would typically get 4 oz. My best friend gets 8 oz. a pump. I'm dreaming of that for #2!

4. When did you start to build a freezer stash?

I started worrying about it way too early. I'd say about 3 weeks before I went back to work I really started putting some away. I had about 40 oz. frozen when he started daycare and that worked well. The most I ever had in my freezer at one time was about 90 oz.

5. How do you know how many ounces to give LO at each bottle feeding? Is there a chart based on age or something? I've had a surprisingly hard time finding a solid answer about this.

The kellymom link from pp is a great one! When ds started daycare at 3 mo. he would take about 3 4oz. bottles while he was there, he got up to 3 5oz. bottles at 6mo, when I had to stop.

tomandcourt · August 2010

1. When do you pump? Immediately after a feeding? In the middle of the night? Some other time? I used to do it immediately after a feeding during the day, and then at night while he was sleeping.

2. If LO is awake when you pump, how do you manage to do it? I would stick him in the swing. It usually worked out well because he usually fell asleep, and then I would take a nap.

3. How long do you pump, and how many ounces do you get? Will I get more output when LO gets older? I would usually do it for about 10 minutes after a feeding, longer at night (usually you're supposed to do it until the milk is gone). I did get more output as DS got older - I actually had this whole spreadsheet where I tracked ounces pumped per minute, and I went from about .1oz/minute to .25oz/min between weeks 3 and 8. So at week 4 if I pumped for 22 minutes I would get 2 ounces, and by week 8 pumping the same amount of time I got 6.5 ounces.

4. When did you start to build a freezer stash? I didn't have a ton built up, because DS was using a nipple shield at first so I would nurse him and then sometimes top him off with a bottle of BM. As long as you have a day or two worth of milk you should be fine.

5. How do you know how many ounces to give LO at each bottle feeding? Is there a chart based on age or something? I've had a surprisingly hard time finding a solid answer about this. Here's the Kellymom milk calculator: https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html.

I'm mostly trying to pump so DH can feed LO a bottle during his part of the night shift, and eventually I'll want to create a stash for when I'm away and when I go back to work. Any other advice would be appreciated!

I think you're on track. I did the same thing with DH. J would go to sleep around 7, I would pump around 9 and go to bed. Then J would wake up around 12-1, and DH would give him a bottle. When J woke up again around 3, I would nurse him - but I would have gotten a nice long stretch of sleep in the meantime. Eventually he dropped the midnight feeding and now it's just one nighttime feeding (still!).

eeclem · August 2010

1. In the early days, I had to pump every other feeding because of a really, really bad crack. But once C started going down early for the night, I started pumping every night before I went to bed.

2. If DH wasn't home, it was hard. C generally wasn't too content in the swing for that long. I was glad when I didn't need to pump during the day anymore.

3. I pumped until no milk came out. I still don't really time it. And even after the first let down, ramp your pump back up to get another one. Your output will go up a fair amount in the next few weeks, but not too much after the first few months. But that's okay, because generally breast fed babies don't increase their intake as much as formula fed babies do.

4. I started at about a month when I started the bedtime pump. In hindsight I really didn't need to start that early. I have a ridiculous amount in my freezer and I've never had an oversupply or anything. I just pumped religiously at night (it was like a weird milk-hoarding compulsion). Honestly, pumping is a hassle and right now I wouldn't do it more than you have to.

5. Ditto the kellymom calculator. That's a good guide. You could also see an LC and do a weighted feeding.

suecadence · August 2010

1. I would pump really early in the morning...like 5:00 or 6:00 am.

2. I was only pumping once a day or so when I was home on maternity leave. DS was almost always asleep.

3. I'd pump for 15 minutes or so...in those morning sessions I could get 3-5 oz.

4. About three weeks.

5. We'd give DS a 3 oz bottle at his evening feeding. We did the same thing you are...DH would give DS a bottle in the evening to get him used to it before I went back to work.

Sofka · August 2010

I can't believe the bump ate my 1st post!!!

gtown_bride:
I tried my first pumping session today, and now I have a bunch of questions:

1. When do you pump? Immediately after a feeding? In the middle of the night? Some other time?
This is pretty hard to do unless someone else is home. For both DD and DS, I have to hold them upright for 20mins after a feeding to help with reflux (not so bad w/ DS but I still do it to help digestion). However, as others said, I always have most milk in the mornings so when I do pump, it's always in the morning. I am a one-sided nurser (i.e.: 8am left, 11am right, etc). In the mornings, I have enough milk to nurse on left at 8am, pump on right and then nurse again on left at 11am, then do right at 2pm, etc. DD did not STTN til 9.5mo so I was up nursing, not pumping.

2. If LO is awake when you pump, how do you manage to do it?

It's hard. Neither of my kids wanted to stay in the swing. When I had to EP with DS due to tight frenulum issues, I would bottle feed w/ 1 hand while pumping on one side w/ the other. With DD, I'd sit on the floor w/ my back to the wall while she played on the floor.

3. How long do you pump, and how many ounces do you get? Will I get more output when LO gets older?

I don't time it, I pump until nothing comes out, 2-3mins longer if I want to increase my supply. on a good day, I can get 8oz in the morning (3 from the side I nursed from, 5 from the other), this is about 1.5-2hrs after I nurse. I can usually get 4oz during my other 2 pumping sessions at work. The supply stayed pretty much the same when I pumped with DD, which I did until she was 11mo old.

4. When did you start to build a freezer stash?

Pretty early. I had a huge stash w/ DD, about 1500oz. I was able to stop pumping at 11mo but she was on BM til 14mo. However, we have lipase issues with DS so while I was able to store about 10oz/day with DD, I'll be lucky to freeze 2oz/day with DS.

Please learn from my mistake. I have 2 mos worth of frozen BM DS will not take b/c of lipase. Give your DS a thawed milk bottle every 2-3 days.

5. How do you know how many ounces to give LO at each bottle feeding? Is there a chart based on age or something? I've had a surprisingly hard time finding a solid answer about this.

DD only ate about 4.5-5oz a day but was up all night nursing to make up for it. DS took 3 4.5oz bottles y'day (my 1st day at work). You cannot overfeed an eBFed baby. I just give him as much as he wants. I'm using 4oz Playtex drop-ins right now (they actually hold 4.5oz) but will start putting 6oz into the 8oz size bottles in a few months.

I'm mostly trying to pump so DH can feed LO a bottle during his part of the night shift, and eventually I'll want to create a stash for when I'm away and when I go back to work. Any other advice would be appreciated!

In the 1st few weeks, you need to nurse on demand, be careful skipping a nursing session. you should be pumping every time he nurses right now.

Good luck, sounds like you are doing fantastic!

annapolischick · August 2010

1. right after i feed her then every 3 hours.

2. she's not or i give her toys... if i've fed her before i pump then she's content normally

3. you will get more in the AM then PM. You will get more typically as LO eats more but at one point your milk will "level" out so you won't get as much of a surplus.

4. when i first started pumping, she was about a month hold. I have about a months worth in the basement

5. LO is 8.5m and still drinks 4oz every 3 hours. your milk gets "thicker" as they get older so it has more nutrients. I think the base is like 24oz in a day or something... as long as LO is putting on weight then it's all gravy

When you do pump squeeze your boobs to get all of the milk out. Also try to do a second let down. Nurse nurse nurse. Mothers Milk Tea helps, and Fenu Greek tablets help.

you can PM me for any other questions. I work full time and am still only breastfeeding, no formula for us!

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