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When should I pump??

juliaL13juliaL13 member
in Breastfeeding
So I am EBF and I haven't yet pumped or introduced a bottle to my LO yet....but I want to soon. I want to pump a little each day so that I have a supply so that my husband can give the baby a bottle at night sometimes or so that I feel like I could go run an errand, etc.  Anyway, I don't know when I should pump (when during the day).  I can't find any conclusive info on this, on the internet.  Some people say one hour after the first nursing session of the day, since your supply is usually up....but that would be tricky to make sure I do it then every time....a lot of times I'm trying to get the LO to sleep or am calming him down as he often has reflux/gas issues.   I've also read that you can pump right after (any) nursing session....although they suggested having the baby nurse only on one side and then pump on the other...and a lot of times he nurses (at least a little bit) on both sides.  And then part of me wonders if it really matters when you do it, because eventually your body makes the supply to meet the demand, right?  So even if I try it at a random time of the day and don't get much....eventually I'll get enough right?  

Also, let's say I pump once a few days in a row....but then don't one day. Is that going to mess anything up?  Do I need to be consistent about it?

I may be overthinking this! (I'm a worry wart) ;)  Just not sure what to do and I don't want to mess anything up in terms of having enough milk for my LO! (Although, part of me is pretty sure I'll be fine in this regard because I seem to have quite a lot of milk, in my opinion!)
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Re: When should I pump??

  • TheBorg7of9TheBorg7of9 member
    Try the best you can to pump at the same time every day. With my two sons, I pumped both sides after the first feed when the sun is up. I feel the nursing first primes the pump, you know.
    I put all the milk in the fridge, combing into a jug when it's all the same temp. Then twice a week, I freeze the milk into 5 oz bags laid flat to take up less room.
    If you work and want more stash, I also started pumping around 10:00 at about 12 eweeks when they drop their nursing at that time.
    My TTC History:
    2009: missed miscarriage #1 at 9 weeks (trisomy 16)
    2010: Infertility
    2011: Diagnosis and treatment (low sperm count, anastrozole for DH, clomid for me + IUI)
    2012: Baby #1
    2014: Baby #2
    October 2015: missed miscarriage #2 at 11 weeks (trisomy 22)
    March 2016 BFP#5, due November 2016.

    My Charts since 2009

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