EP'ers - tell me what works for you & how often you pump+

Richardsmom_817 · November 2014

and how much you get each time? I'm not sure it would work for me, as I don't seem to be putting out a lot. I just pumped & got an ounce out of one (the one he started to feed from this morning) & 1 1/2 oz out of the other....he is 3 1/2 wks old....I might pump a little bit more, but that was after 20 mins or so.

RachelCA29 · November 2014

I EP'd for about 2 months. I started at 7 pumps a day, 6 during the day and one overnight (at about 4 am). I would get 24-28 ounces a day. I usually pumped for about 20 minutes but my supply started to decrease and I had to up it to 30 minutes penpump. We had to supplement about 4-6 ounces of formula a day, I never had enough to make a freezer stash.

I starter when my baby was about 7 weeks old because I had oversupply and overactive letdown. My baby had a good latch but couldn't keep up with the milk flow. At about 4 months old I went back to nursing since my supply was droping and I was worried I wouldn't be able to maintain my supply, and pumping while caring for my baby was getting really hard (I'm a SAHM). At that point I was pumping 4 times a day.

When I went back to nursing we supplemented at first while my supply recovered and adjusted to 8 feedings a day. Now we only use formula if I'm out/away since I have nothing stashed. I pump occasionally, but not much since I'm always home anyway. My supply fully recovered and my baby will no longer take a bottle from me, sometimes not even my husband if I'm home.

beckerec · November 2014

I've been EPing since baby girl was in the NICU (had to add high calorie formula to my breast milk since she was a tiny preemie and she never got the hand of nursing). She is five months now.

Just checked my app that tracks my pumping and when she was 3-4 weeks I was averaging 27ish ounces a day and was pumping every 2-3 hours round the clock. I dropped the overnight pumpings before I went back to work at 3 months and have stayed at 5-6 pumps a day since then. My first pump of the day is anywhere from 8-12 ounces and they decrease in volume as the day goes on, getting to a minimum (usually) of 4 ounces (totals are from both sides put together). Right before I went back to work I was up to 40 ounces a day, but since being back I'm averaging about 30 ounces a day (which is still more than she consumes, so extra is either stashed in the deep freeze or dumped after a couple glasses of wine at the end of the day

. I get most of my volume in the first 10 minutes of pumping.

Sometimes I wish she could nurse, but mostly I don't mind the EPing. It removes excuses from my husband about getting up with her in the MOTN :-) I'm also pretty type A and like having numbers and measurements...

Aurora1181 · November 2014

I've been EP-ing for three Months following our nicu stay. I pump eight times a day for thirty minutes at a medium setting. I get about five ounces each time, but I've worked up to that. For the first six weeks I probably only got one to two ounces at a time. I get the most in the mornings, by far.

Bonnesetter27 · November 2014

I've been EPing since DD was about 3 weeks old. I pump 7 times a day, 1x overnight. I now pump way more than she needs but when I started I couldn't even pump an ounce. Try power pumping and pump for 5 minutes after the milk stops. That will help build your supply. However be sure you really want to EP as it is much more of a hassle than just bfing. I am currently trying to get back to bfing.

LBStewart · November 2014

I have been Eping my 7 month old since she was 2 weeks old. I pump an average of 1 ounce per side per hour since the last pump. For example, if I pump at noon and then at 4pm, I will pump an average of 4 ounces per side since it was four hours since my last pump. I started with 11 - 12 pumps per day, typically every 2 hours. I slowly dropped to 8 pumps per day at 3 months and was at 6 pumps per day by the time I went back to work at 4.5 months. I'm currently at 5 pumps per day and will be dropping to 4 pumps per day when DD turns 8 months in a few weeks. I try to always pump at least 120 minutes total per day so the fewer pumps per day the long each pump is.