September 2015 Moms

EBF moms - pumping question

I have no stash - which scares me. Everything I pump the LO just ends up eating later for whatever reason. How do I start saving some? Do u pump after each nursing session? I fear that would only give me a half an ounce. Which I guess is fine if I could do that for every single nursing session but wowsa, I don't know where I'd find the time for that!?

Re: EBF moms - pumping question

  • Natasha238Natasha238 member
    edited November 2015
    I'm a first time mom and had the same problem as you... My son was and still is eating about every two hours so I was concerned that if I pumped I wouldn't have enough milk for his next feeding. I got a lot of tips and this is the one that worked:

    Pick two feeding of the day that you are consistent (this was hard for me because Infeed on demand ... But did notice that no matter what I always end up feeding around 3pm and 9pm so those were the times i chose.

    Once you feed, pump 30mins later for atleast 20minutes even if you have no milk coming out. If you stay consistent at those time, your body will eventually realize it needs to be producing milk at those times. It took my body 3 days to get into gear and I am now able to pump 5oz at 3:30 and 9:30 ever day... Freezer is filling up fast and it's making me happy!!!!

    If you are only getting .5 to 1oz at first just collect the milk in the fridge until you get to what ever portion you want to store. When all the milk in the fridge is the same temp. You can combine into same bag/bottle. I like to store 2 and 3 oz bags because he currently only eats 2 oz every two hours... But at night if he has a long stretch he will eat 3. We are 8weeks today.

    Good luck momma. You'll get there!
  • I wake up in the middle of the night to pump. I usually get around 6 oz so I freeze that. Then when I'm at work I pump every 3 hours so I usually end up being able to freeze one of those sessions.
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  • My LO usually only fets up omce a night now and only snacks on one side then goes back to sleep. I pump as soon as I put her down and usually get 4oz from untouched breast and about two from the side she snacked on. Then I split it into two 3oz baggies and freeze.
  • Sully3302Sully3302 member
    edited November 2015
    I do the same as @Knottie12323835 but I only get about 2 oz total!! I think there is something wrong with my pump.
  • That is so helpful!! Thank you! I'm totally gonna start doing this today!
  • Im EBFing, LO has only had a bottle once (and she only took an oz). I worry about me getting sick, so I started pumping last week. Every morning I'm engorged and leaking, so I feed LO on one side, then pump the other (getting 4-5oz with a manual). It's not much work, and it's adding up!
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  • Yup same, it's hard to get ahead of her during the day. Mine sleeps through the night (thank god!) so I wake up and pump at 2am every night. I really want to sleep but having that stash is so important to me!
  • Now that LO is in bed for the night by 9pm and sleeps until at least 5am, I pump right before be (usually at 10:30 or 11pm).

    Try to pick a consistent time to pump so your body gets us to the demand.
  • These are all really great suggestions! LO usually goes to bed around 7:30, so I pump right before I go to bed (around 9:30 or 10). I 'power pumped' for a while to increase how much I get. I used to get around 3oz, but now I'm getting between 4-6oz.
  • You can also cluster pump to up your supply. Pump for 10 minutes then stop for 10 and continue on like that for an hour. Also there's mother's milk tea that will boost your supply.
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