Pumping question re: amount

etoyama · April 2012

My recent hospital stay was a wake-up call that I need to start a freezer stash and work on getting G to take a bottle or sippy cup. I just bought a good pump and started pumping once a day. I've done one week of this so far. I am getting 2 ounces from each side at each session. I have to admit, I kind of thought I'd get more! I nurse G every 2 hours during the day and usually twice during the night ( we bedshare). But is 4 oz total a "normal" amount? I assume that as my body gets used to pumping, I'll get more, right?

ladychicago · April 2012

When are you pumping? If you are only doing it once a day, the time you pump will make all the difference. Your max output tends to be overnight or first thing in the morning. I am still nursing every two hours during the day and DS goes to bed around 7:30. I pump at about 9 or 10pm before i go to bed and get 4-5oz total. When I have forgotten and pump at like 3am instead (when I wake up horribly uncomfortable), I get six without even trying and could probably get more.

etoyama · April 2012

ladychicago:
When are you pumping? If you are only doing it once a day, the time you pump will make all the difference. Your max output tends to be overnight or first thing in the morning. I am still nursing every two hours during the day and DS goes to bed around 7:30. I pump at about 9 or 10pm before i go to bed and get 4-5oz total. When I have forgotten and pump at like 3am instead (when I wake up horribly uncomfortable), I get six without even trying and could probably get more.

I am pumping in the morning most of the time, yeah. She nurses so much I hardly have a chance to get engorged!

DrVWife · April 2012

I was pretty much an EPer...only nursed at night...and my supply would bounce around. Some days I would get 30 oz total...others it would be 50 oz. (I had a huge oversupply but that worked for me because I was building my freezer stash.)

Because you have a well established supply...I think that amount sounds normal. Madison has never been a big eater when it comes to bottles....6 oz at one time is a big amount for her.

ladychicago · April 2012

DrVWife:
Because you have a well established supply...I think that amount sounds normal. Madison has never been a big eater when it comes to bottles....6 oz at one time is a big amount for her.

I had this thought, too. Adding a feeding (which is essentially what you are doing) at this point with such an established supply won't yield a ton of extra milk. It is tougher to get your body to all of a sudden produce more at this stage of the game. My guess is that you will slowly see more, but 4oz total is pretty good, I think, for adding an extra session at 8 months.

Germanwife2b · April 2012

I only pump once a day and only every few days. Sometimes I only get 1oz total. I don't get more than 3 oz total. I think your amount sounds great!!

AlissaCell701 · April 2012

ladychicago:
When are you pumping? If you are only doing it once a day, the time you pump will make all the difference. Your max output tends to be overnight or first thing in the morning. I am still nursing every two hours during the day and DS goes to bed around 7:30. I pump at about 9 or 10pm before i go to bed and get 4-5oz total. When I have forgotten and pump at like 3am instead (when I wake up horribly uncomfortable), I get six without even trying and could probably get more.

This exactly.. I have been pumping way more then I would like just due to our move and the need to have Alexis take bottles.. Which I guess is good and bad but this is what I do also.. I pumped last night at 10 and then didn't till 7am when I woke up and I was super engorged and leaking.. I get normally 5/6 ounces first thing in the am and the. 3/4 during the day..

etoyama · April 2012

Thank you all for the helpful answers!

dana316 · April 2012

That sounds pretty good to me. I have recently started trying to pump again, and I'm getting less than that.

Time of day is important. I try to pump right before bed (which is sometimes a bad time for people, but works pretty well for me), and right when I get up.

I also am trying to pump first thing in the morning, but that rarely happens.

schoolsoutbride · April 2012

Yup, sounds great. I never got much more than that with my singleton, and he never took a ton more than 4oz with a bottle. Unlike someone working or EPing, you're doing it in addition to what she eats, so keep that in mind.

I got more with my twins, but I was twice as full. i had a hard time making enough extra to pump a stash for them to have when I was gone, so they usually had formula when I had to be gone for a while. that was one of my concessions with EBFing them that I just had to be ok with.

gringa78 · April 2012

My supply has always been on the low side, but I get 6oz total first thing in the morning and 4oz every other pumping session. I'm pumping about every 5-6 hours right now and using formula too. When I was pumping every 3 hours, I was still getting the same amount per session.

perry7285 · April 2012

that sounds good--like PP said, you're essentially adding a feeding and your body can't up your supply dramatically right away. if you want to make more and have time to do so, power pumping for an hour a day (where you pump for ten minutes on, ten minutes off) can work wonders. but it's a PITA!