XP from 0?3 month - EP'ers advice

lakreuz · February 2013

Considering going to EP, DS (4wks) eats better from bottle, and I have to go back to work shortly. What's your pumping schedule? Do you pump throughout the night? Every 3 hrs? Advice please! TIA!

vettymama · February 2013

I have been exclusively pumping since LO was a week old. The first month and a half to two months I pumped every 2.5 to 3 hours for 20 minutes with a power pump session on the evening. Now I pump every 3 to 4 hours and once at night. I still need to supplement a few bottles of formula since I don't have the best supply bit EPing is what I think is best for my baby. Some breast milk is better than none in my opinion. Good luck!

SnShne322 · February 2013

I've been EPing since LO was 10 days old. At first it was every 2-3 hours through the night. When I went back to work at 9 weeks, I reduced to 5 pumps a day (about every 4-6 hours depending on my schedule). I've been fortunate that my supply has kept up with his demands.

sarah62584 · February 2013

I started EP when my LO was about a month. I, like the other EP's who posted, started with pumping every 2-3 hours and through the night. I pretty much pumped whenever my LO ate. She would eat, then I would pump shortly after that. When I started I remember pumping twice at night. Now I pump every 3-4 hours and do not do it at night. However, if I notice my supply dropping I usually throw in an extra pump for about a week to help increase my supply.

ExcitedMum2B · February 2013

I've been EPing since day 2. Stupidly, and due to some PPD, I didn't pump very often at first. I tried every 2 hours and it got to be too stressful and the middle of the night sessions just made me feel even more isolated and alone. So I stuck to every 8 hours or so and was supplementing with 2-3 feedings of formula a day.

I'm now trying to pump every 3 hours or so, since I went back to work, and now am getting enough to feed her and stash away a few bags a week. I still don't get up in the middle of the night, so there is a stretch of 8-10 hours of no pumping, but in the mornings I will get the equivalent of 2-3 feedings, so it balances out.

atrinh11 · February 2013

I don't exclusively pump, but I do pump quite often. I would think the general rule would be to pump as often as LO eats. So when he eats, you need to pump... simple equation. It is a supply & demand process, so if he wakes to eat in the middle of the night, you should pump. If he doesn't then you don't need to. Your body regulates to whatever you take out whenever you take it. I wouldn't just follow others schedules. Do you have a lactation consultant? They may be able to help as well.

JSabs09 · February 2013

Hi! I started EPing around that time - 4 weeks - I switched because it was easier and more efficient for me. I purchased a Simple Wishes bra off Amazon, I have a Medela freestyle and EPing is great for me.

Up until this week, I pumped every 3-4 hours - which was once at night too. I went back to work around DD turning 11 weeks and my best advice, if you're going back to work - after 12 weeks your supply should be steady - you can stop pumping that one time at night. Of course, I didn't realize this and only stopped at night recently... DD is sleeping through the night and now I finally can too. It takes a few days to a week for your body to adjust. So now I pump 5x a day: 530am, 1030am, 230pm, 630pm, 10pm. I'm still pumping more than enough for feeding DD and freezing 2 bags a day. I'll go to 4x a day probably in the next month or so. I'm creating a freezer stash so that I can stop pumping around eight months and get DD through one year with the freezer stash. It works well for me. Good luck!

danabsd · February 2013

You may be able to find some answers here.

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/71719971.aspx

kyssmi88sd:
1. How do you know how much to feed? Is there a chart or formula or something to determine this? Or do you just offer until they stop eating at each feeding?
There may be a chart but it was really trial and error for us, watching what she finished, if she was still hungry or if she spit up after we put less or more in the bottle. Right now during the week I pump about 24 ozs a day, I pump 5 times a day, nurse twice during a day. On the weekend it?s opposite nurse/pump. She eats about 22 ozs of pumped milk a day.
2. Any tips to keeping up with the dishes? And how often do you boil everything?
I do one big load a day. When I get home from I soak everything in hot water with dish soap clean the bottles and nipples with a brush ($4 at CVS) rinse and put all the pump parts in a sterilizer put them on a dry rack and then do the bottles. So I guess I essentially boil every day.
I have 5 pump setups (I don?t know what you actually call them) I had 2 (when I was home all day), then 3 ( when I first went back to work), now 5. For me it made pumping at work easier but it?s not necessary, that?s just why I have to do 2 loads a day.
3. Tips on upping supply with regard to pumping technique or schedule? Or building a stash? (Especially considering she seems to want all if not more than what I'm currently pumping.)
You will likely see a decline in you supply when you start mainly pumping.
Drink lots and lots and lots of water.
Eat, you need the calories- oatmeal is a great breakfast also asparagus, quinoa, fennel, flax, alfalfa and red raspberry leaf. Avoid sage, peppermint, wintergreen and comfrey tea, sassafras tea, ginsing tea and licorice tea. you can try lactation cookies and Fenugreek, it did nothing but give both of us gas I am getting ready to try go-lacta.
Also, drink a dark beer before bed and lots of skin to skin (I know that a tough one ).
The best time of day to pump for a stash is in the morning. I read it and it proved true for me. I pump 10 ozs in the morning and less than 3 before bed. Currently we put 4-5 ozs in the freezer a day. I pump 10 I the morning, she drinks 5-6.
4. Have you found it's better to give more oz further apart or fewer oz more frequently?
I think it depends on the kid a little. We are on a very strict schedule, have since the beginning even when we were exclusively nursing.
4:00-4:30am: I pump, she does not eat. I put 4-5 ozs in the fridge 4-5 ozs in the freezer.
6:30-7:00am: Wake up, get dressed, 6oz.
10:00-10:30am: 5 ozs
12:30-1:00pm: 5 ozs
3:30-4:00pm: Nurse
6:00-6:30pm: Nurse
7:30-8:00pm: 6 ozs
STTN
8:30-9:00pm: I pump, she does not eat. I put 2-3 ozs in the fridge.
We recently (about 2 weeks) went from a 5-4-4-5 to a 6-5-5-6.
5. And why are ya'll EPing (I realize I'm not EPing if I nurse at night, but whatevs)?
Work. Every day I secretly wish they would RIFF me so I can collect unemployment and stay home with her for just a couple more months before I go back to work.
I hope that helps. I know I am not an exclusive EPer but I do pump more than I nurse.

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