- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Breastfeeding
all EP's come in please
I am considering only EP and I need any advice that you ladies might have like how many times to pump, pumping schedule, etc.
TIA
This discussion has been closed.
Re: all EP's come in please
Why are you thinking of EP?
I had little choice, if I wanted to give bm - LO refused the breast at 2.5 months and hasn't looked back.
I would suggest pumping as often and for as long as your LO eats on average. I pump 4-7 times a day, depending on how long I'm up and what LO's demand is that day, for 20-30 minutes on average. My pumps are 2-4 hours apart.
I pump when I know that she's not going to be demanding attention, such as naps, right after her bottle, or even during her bottle (stick her in the boppy or carseat, depending on where we are, use my hands-free pumping top and go for it). I also try to pump twice while she's asleep for the night - once after she goes to bed, and once before she gets up.
When I first started EP I would pump every 2 hrs. It was difficult sometimes to work around sleeping schedules for LO, but I managed. Sometimes it was hard because he was really fussy, but I had to pump because he started refusing to nurse. The biggest thing that helped me was taking a sports bra and cutting slits to make it a hands free bra for pumping. That way I could have both of my hands free to take care of DS if he started to fuss.
Once I went back to work DS started STTN. I wouldn't pump during the night at that point and would pump every 3 hrs during the day. I have since been able to stretch my sessions out to every 4 hrs, so I pump 5x/day. I pump at 5am, 9am, 1pm, 5pm, and I stretch my last pump out to 9:30ish.
BFP#2: 8/14/11 M/C 8/30/11 6w1d
BFP #3: 10/26/11
Beta #1 @11dpo: 22 Beta #2 @13dpo: 90 Beta #3 @17dpo: 480
Missed m/c 12w3d 12/28/11, d&c 12/30/11
dx Homozygous C677T MTHFR
I never pumped every 2 hours or pumped for each feeding -- even in the very begining. On average I pump every 4 hours mon-fri and just whenever I can on the weekend. It is so hard to tend to Tristan and also find the time to pump. Especially if I have plan on the weekend and I am up and about. Sometimes I only get to pump twice in a day. But - I am very lucky that it has not affected my supply and even when I only pump twice for the day I don't need to dip into the freezer to supplement. I just extend the pumping sessions from 15 to 30 minutes and pretty much get the same amount of milk. BUT - if I were to do that every day I am sure I would see a dip in supply. Sometimes if no one is around to watch him I pump hands free (I have a freestyle) and put LO in his bouncy chair. I sing and dance let a crazy women for him to keep him entertained... he loves it... LOL.
Here is my pumping schedule for weekdays:
7:30am - about 11oz
12:00pm - about 6-7oz
4:00pm - about 5-6 oz
9:30pm (after Tristan has gone to bed) - 6oz
On average I get about 28-30oz per day. He consumes an average of 28oz each day.
i always EP'd. i started every 4 hrs, but then the pedi said to do every 2 hrs, so i tried every 3. every 2 is just too damn hard to do. i didn't wake up during the night to do it, i just tried to do once right before bed and as soon as i woke up. i thought every 3-4 worked well. i was getting 5-8 oz per pumping session (i also used herbal supplements to increase supply sometimes). then i've just been gradually cutting out a session or making it longer in between sessions. GL!