How many times a day do you pump?

giglamesh · February 2016

I just went back to work and I'm curious how many times a day mamas have to pump in order to make enough milk for the following day.

marijaa333 · February 2016

First, nice nickname! Second, I remove milk twice a day, around 11:30 and around 3:30. I work 9-5:30 or so on most days.

Bailey1823A · February 2016

It depends how long you are away from baby. I work 7a-730p 3 days a week. I pump in the car about 615 on the way to work then again between 930-10 then again between 130-230 then one final time between 5-6. Then I nurse before I leave and on demand in the evening and overnight. Some nights it's once other nights it a few times. I average about 22-25 oz a day when I pump the 4 times and my baby eats 16-20 when I am away.

tarheelgirl8 · February 2016

I pump every three hours to match when my daughter eats at daycare. I nurse around 6am, pump at 9, 12, 3 and then nurse again at 6pm when I get home. She sleeps through the night now but before that I was nursing on demand at night. I'm lucky that I can keep working while I pump. Private office and a desk job help a lot!

christiel14 · February 2016

I'm a registered nurse and find it hard to get off the floor to pump. Luckily I only work 8 hour shifts. I pump right before I leave and get 10oz usually and then halfway through my shift and get another 8. Then depending on when baby last ate I may pump at home or just feed him. I'm very thankfully this seems to work for us and hasn't decreased my supply at all. By the end of the week I typically have 30-35oz to add to my freezer stash

krissyberb · February 2016

I work 8-4:30. Our schedule is nurse 6:00am, pump 10am, pump 2 pm, nurse 4:45, nurse 7:00 pm and nurse at some point during the night. I used to pump 3x a day, then I figured I could get the same amount pumping 2x, and I haven't looked back.

wintersong · February 2016

giglamesh said:

I just went back to work and I'm curious how many times a day mamas have to pump in order to make enough milk for the following day.

How long are you away?
How old is your lo?

kristyn831 · February 2016

I'm gone from 5:30 am until 8 pm. I nurse before I leave and put LO back to sleep. I pump on my commute in, finishing around 6:30 am. I pump again at 11 and then 4. I nurse when I get home. I was pumping 3 times at work (9, 1, and 5) when I first went back but it was nearly impossible as I'm an RN on a busy ICU. I started taking fenugreek tincture and my supply hasn't dropped. Working while breastfeeding sucks!

giglamesh · March 2016

Thanks ladies. This is helpful. DS is 5 months old. I've been feeding him at 6am, pumping at 10am and 2pm, feeding him at 7pm, and pumping again at 9pm. I work from 7am-5pm. I'd like to not have to pump before bed but it seems like I need to. He eats about 22-25 oz while I'm gone. It's hard to pump that in 2 sessions

krissyberb · March 2016

@giglamesh A couple suggestions:
1) It sounds like baby may be being overfed--22-25 ounces is a lot for that time period. Average breast milk amount is 1-1.25 ounces since last feeding. kellymom.com has a great calculator. Also look up information on paced feeding. I've always taken the guidelines with a grain of salt because my son is a big eater, but he would usually take 15-18 ounces before stating solids while I was away (I'm away about the same time as you). Now that he's on solids he gets two 5.5 ounce bottles plus his solid food while I'm at work.
2) Around that age, I had to instruct my sitters to hide the bottle when he was finished. He'd throw a big fit when the milk was gone no matter how much he'd eaten and they would think he was still hungry. After he couldn't see the bottle any more he was totally fine.
3) Can you feed your baby at pick up so child care can skip the last bottle? I tell my day care that I will feed at pick up, but I send an extra bottle (just 4 ounces) with instructions to give it if I'm delayed and he's crying.

ETA: I've also been able to get ahead by pumping once on my days off (usually after the first morning feeding when I'm still extra full)

giglamesh · March 2016

Thanks this is super helpful! He's having a growth spurt right now too which is making things harder. Not sure how much extra they eat during growth spurts.

Also, I wasn't able to access the kellymom calculator. It said I needed a password

krissyberb · March 2016

Try this link: https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

How many times a day do you pump?

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