How many times do u pump?

jessicafigueroa1 · June 2015

i currently exclusively pump 5 times in a 24hr period: 4am, 9am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm. I make on avg 6-7 oz per session, which makes about 10 meals for baby. Would it be ok to merge my 1pm and 5pm session? I'm thinking i would still have enough for baby.

mdaugherty8 · June 2015

How often does your baby eat? Multiple places I've read and other people have said you need to pump as often as baby eats to keep your supply up. It tells your body to produce as often as baby eats. I personally wouldn't merge or decrease your pumping sessions.

JAP09-02 · June 2015

I EP'd with my oldest DD & had to pump every 3 hours during the day to maintain my supply. I did have one six hour stretch overnight with a one hour power pump from 10pm -11 pm. I also would caution against merging the two sessions. Trying to get your supply back up after loosing it is a beast.

ieles0531 · June 2015

I pump between 6 and 7 times in a 24 hour period and also get between 6-8 oz per session. I was sick a couple weeks ago and didn't pump as much...and my production went down to 4-6 oz per session. I wouldn't cut a session because it could make you yield less per session.

mrlarpr · June 2015

Lurking. As an EPer you should be pumping 8-10 times a day for the first 12 weeks. After that your supply should regulate. Cut pumps too early and you could damage your supply, so even making enough now could mean not making enough later. And like PP said building supply back up sucks.

RSupry · June 2015

I started with a low supply and it is a bitch trying get it up. Progress is very slow. I can only get in about 4 sessions a day bc I have a toddler. At first it was only 3 a day but we a starting to get a schedule down, so I'll be trying to add a fifth session in soon. I definitely wouldn't recommend skipping early pump sessions. Like pps have said you don't want to damage your supply.

txirishdreamer · June 2015

I have a question for y'all ... How do you find the time to pump? I try to pump in the afternoons but my baby doesn't really nap much for me to actually pump. Any suggestions?

RSupry · June 2015

@txirishdreamer I have the same problem, my baby naps fine but my 18 month old only naps once a day if I'm lucky. When I pump while he's awake he wants to mess with my pump or crawl all over me. On days when it's impossible for me to find time I manually express as often as I can. I keep trying to find more time since I have low supply issues.

gittybaby · June 2015

Timing issues suck, especially if your LO doesn't take long naps. I stick mine on her activity mat, which usually occupies her for 15-20 minutes. If that doesn't work, try a swing. Today I had her in our bathroom in her bouncy chair with the water running, which soothed her enough to allow me to pump. I had to exclusively pump over the weekend and it was terrible. I feel for anyone who has to do that.

NutritionChick · June 2015

I exclusively pump it's hard but now going every 4 hours so pump before dh leaves for work and comes home, during nap or she sits next me in boucy seat, right after bedtime and before my bed and then during night she wakes 1'time so after she's back asleep. Thank goodness for hands free bra lol

MrsAndy3 · June 2015

I'm an EPer as well, pumping 6-8 times a day. My LO will be 7 weeks on Friday. According to my "app" I'm getting about 5oz a pump. Which seems low compared to y'all? Any advice? I'm taking fenugreek and drinking a lac smoothie. TIA

mdaugherty8 · June 2015

I also put my baby on his activity mat to get fifteen-ish minutes of entertainment so I can pump

RSupry · June 2015

I only get about 1/2 oz per pump. I'm trying everything but still having trouble. Doing my best to let LO nurse as long as possible then express or pump in addition to extra sessions but it's not easy to find time. My toddler gets into everything when I'm pumping, so my sessions are infrequent and not as long as I'd like. Like I said I'm trying all the normal stuff. Brewers yeast, fenugreek, lac cookies, reglan, tea, more milk plus(tastes awful) and tons of water. It's a little better but I'm still a long way from being able to feed my baby just breastmilk. Just wondering if there is anything else I could be trying.

mdaugherty8 · June 2015

RSupry said:
I only get about 1/2 oz per pump. I'm trying everything but still having trouble. Doing my best to let LO nurse as long as possible then express or pump in addition to extra sessions but it's not easy to find time. My toddler gets into everything when I'm pumping, so my sessions are infrequent and not as long as I'd like. Like I said I'm trying all the normal stuff. Brewers yeast, fenugreek, lac cookies, reglan, tea, more milk plus(tastes awful) and tons of water. It's a little better but I'm still a long way from being able to feed my baby just breastmilk. Just wondering if there is anything else I could be trying.

It may sound silly but things that I read and tried when my supply was low was pumping right after a shower, looking at a pic of your baby while you pump or playing a recording of his/her cry, staying hydrated, and a lot of skin to skin contact with baby between pumps. I tried just these things and didn't take anything for it and it got supply right up.

juliaandpatrick · June 2015

@RSupry I wasn't pumping a lot either and I still sometimes only get 1 oz depending on the time of day. What I find helpful is to pump in LO's nursery. Also as pp said pumping right after a shower definitely helps. I'm able to get about 3 oz after a shower opposed to 1 oz. I've tried looking at pictures but that really doesn't help me.
I tried everything to build my supply but the only thing that has helped is constantly feeding LO but who really has time for that?

JoyRazo · June 2015

I'm having the same issue. I pump as often as possible and only get 1/2 to 3/4 oz. I've tried all of the herbs and supplements and haven't seen any difference. I'm going to try to pump after a shower to see if it makes a difference. I let baby nurse almost all day long and I still haven't been able to build my supply. So frustrating!

HollyHK84 · June 2015

My Son is 15 weeks (had him early) and I EP. 2 weeks ago I weaned to 3x a day and I average 32oz a day. I think pumping after feeding those first weeks was key.

How many times do u pump?

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