Yet another pumping question!

J&D2007 · September 2015

My LO is 3 weeks now and we've been EBF. At his peds visit last week, they advised me to start pumping as I go back to work part time in 4 weeks. They advised to pump about an hour after every second or third feeding. I only get 2 to 2-1/2 oz each time. I pump both sides after LO feeds on both sides. That doesn't seem like much does it? I usually pump once in the am and then again once in the late afternoon. When pumping, the milk seems to come out pretty decently in the first 4-5 minutes, then seems to slow to barely a trickle. My questions are: is there better timing in your opinion to get more? I know I've heard early a.m., but still an hour or so after feeding? And even though the supply seems pretty much gone after a few mins of pumping, do I still keep pumping? Will that increase supply? And how much do you ladies that are EBF and starting to pump for storage usually get per session? I'm freezing in 2 to 2-1/2 oz portions but I'm thinking I should be freezing in 3-4 oz? tIA

SashaDenn25 · September 2015

I get anywhere from 3-5oz in one session. In total I may end up with 8oz for the day. I pump immediately after my MOTN feeding becuase she never empties my boobs during that feeding. Then ill try to pump about an hour after her mid afternoon feeding bc she usually goes down for about 3 hours then. My last time I pump if I can is about an hour after she goes down at night. For that pump sometimes I get barely anything but I still do it bc some nights I do get a couple ounces. I freeze whatever I got that day after ive started pumping the next day, this way I also have a bottle of milk ready in the fridge should we ever need it. I freeze the one day all together right now. So each bag has 6-8oz. I do this bc im assuming her care provider can thaw out a bag and use throughout day until gone.

Edited to say that I do pump for at least 10mins even if it seems not much more is coming. I often will pull the nozzles off my nipple and push right back on about halfway through and typically will start to get a good let down again for a couple minutes.

kettlekitten · September 2015

I will leave most of your questions to the gurus, but this may be helpful: I was speaking to an LC yesterday who is also a lactation researcher. She said that you will get 75% of the milk you're going to get with 15 min of pumping. There are usually at least two let downs in that time so I would keep pumping and wait for that second letdown to ease off before stopping. She said 20 mins max (per side) - if there is still milk coming - would be sufficient.

jesselayne8 · September 2015

2oz an hour after feeding sounds good to me. 4-5oz a day will get you started on a nice stash. Once you are back to work and not nursing you should expect to get a lot more at each pumping session.

J&D2007 · September 2015

jesselayne8 said:

2oz an hour after feeding sounds good to me. 4-5oz a day will get you started on a nice stash. Once you are back to work and not nursing you should expect to get a lot more at each pumping session.

Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better!

tarheelgirl8 · September 2015

I'm in pretty much the exact same situation. The way I see it, since I'm still breastfeeding DD, anything I pump is over and above what she needs. So I don't really stress about how much I'm getting. I figure once I'm actually substituting pumps for feeds I'll get more.

I'm aiming to freeze 3oz bags but it's probably better to err on the side of smaller bags so you don't risk wasting milk when you thaw. Only downside is you'll go through more bags that way.

J&D2007 · September 2015

tarheelgirl8 said:

I'm in pretty much the exact same situation. The way I see it, since I'm still breastfeeding DD, anything I pump is over and above what she needs. So I don't really stress about how much I'm getting. I figure once I'm actually substituting pumps for feeds I'll get more. I'm aiming to freeze 3oz bags but it's probably better to err on the side of smaller bags so you don't risk wasting milk when you thaw. Only downside is you'll go through more bags that way.

Not sure why I didn't think of it this way. I've been stressing thinking I should be pumping 6oz at a time. And I find it hard to believe I make enough in the hour and a half after pumping to feed LO again. Makes me feel guilty for some reason?!

candicejeff2013 · September 2015

I think the more frequent you do it the better as your body is adjusting to the demand. I wouldn't extend the amount of time you spend pumping. I think 15 min is good and if needed maybe 20 but time is so limited right now. I personally don't get much in the mornings but mid afternoons are great for pumping (for myself). Just find your groove - be patient.

daniellepanda · September 2015

You will definitely pump more ounces when you return to work and are solely pumping during the day and not nursing and then pumping afterwards. You don't need too large of a stash to be honest. If you respond well to the pump you can give her the pumped milk each day that you pumped the day prior instead of constantly freezing it. So you really should only need enough frozen to start you off when you go back for the first 2 days to be safe

SashaDenn25 · September 2015

daniellepanda said:
You will definitely pump more ounces when you return to work and are solely pumping during the day and not nursing and then pumping afterwards. You don't need too large of a stash to be honest. If you respond well to the pump you can give her the pumped milk each day that you pumped the day prior instead of constantly freezing it. So you really should only need enough frozen to start you off when you go back for the first 2 days to be safe

This as well. Im only trying to get a stash early for peace of mind and ill be donating if I can get an oversupply at all. I figure if I can get extra then I for sure want to to help someone elses LO who may not be able to BF but wants to give their little one breast milk.

tylery · September 2015

As all the other posters said, 15-20 minutes average each side. That should allow you to get a sufficient amount! As far as storing your milk, store it in portions that your baby eats. So if baby is eating small, you can store in small portions for now. OR if you want to be self sufficient with saving the amount of containers or bags you use, you can store larger amounts at a time. Just know that once you thaw frozen milk in the fridge, it's good for 24 hours. If you warm milk, then it's only good for an hour after. So just keep the frozen milk to thaw in the fridge and then portion out the milk in the amount that baby eats and heat it on demand ( you have 24 hours to use the frozen thawed milk!). Hope that all made sense lol.

J&D2007 · September 2015

tylery said:
As all the other posters said, 15-20 minutes average each side. That should allow you to get a sufficient amount! As far as storing your milk, store it in portions that your baby eats. So if baby is eating small, you can store in small portions for now. OR if you want to be self sufficient with saving the amount of containers or bags you use, you can store larger amounts at a time. Just know that once you thaw frozen milk in the fridge, it's good for 24 hours. If you warm milk, then it's only good for an hour after. So just keep the frozen milk to thaw in the fridge and then portion out the milk in the amount that baby eats and heat it on demand ( you have 24 hours to use the frozen thawed milk!). Hope that all made sense lol.

That's just the thing! I have no idea how much baby is eating as we've never used a bottle! Thanks for the advice!

Want a personalized experience?

Yet another pumping question!

Re: Yet another pumping question!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards