Only Pumping, How Often

I know it sucks....I did it too but I was breast feeding AND pumping. I was able to give my daughter breast milk for 8 months......that's good enough for me!!! I was producing so much milk (yes, it did die down after 6 1/2 months)
I was able to freeze a lot of it!! I actually stopped pumping when she was 7 months old.(I was sick of the whole process by then) I breast fed her at home and then gave her a bottle outside the home with the frozen milk. It worked out well, I was thankful that I wasn't the only person who could feed her.
Keep it up as long as you can! Try for 4 months at least!
Good luck!

I was an exclusive pumper and around 4weeks I went on a schedule for pumping. I pumped 3x's a day: 5:30/6am, then 1pm and again at night after I put my son to bed around 7/7:30pm. It didn't effect my supply at all, I just had to make sure at each session I completely emptied my breast! I kept it up for 6months and had such a large stash in my deep freezer I was able to quit and still give breastmilk to my son for the rest of his first year. Anytime my schedule got messed up and I thought my supply might drop I added an extra pump session, worked everytime!

If you have any questions please let me know.

J., I too had ample supply and I just pumped with my son. It got to the point that I skipped pumping at one feeding during the day. I had plenty of milk to give him plus some to still store in the freezer for a later date.

your milk establishes at 6 weeks so it sounds like you're doing well...are you using the easy expression bra? www.easyexpressionproducts.com then u can pump while you're at the computer and pumping won't be such a drag
and you can pump both boobs at the same time ...i think i went a lot longer b/c of that thing!
good luck..if u do pump less yes your body will make less milk.

I pumped exclusively for the first 8 weeks of my daughters life. It was hard work and very stressfull. Not only to feed bottles but then have to pump every 3 hours. I did as you did and went longer at night so I could get some sleep. 44 oz a day is very good. I may have only been getting 35 oz a day but never really calculated. I would get more in the morning than in the evening. You sound like you have adequate milk supply and would maybe pump every 3.5-4 hours, however if you notice to much of a reduction in milk go back to 3 hours and your milk supply will come back. Remember it is a supply and demand issue. Good luck and just remember breastmilk is best and you are doing a great service to your baby.

I did the same thing until my daughter was 2 months old and then finally she decided she was ready to latch on and we have been going strong ever since (she's now 15 months)!! Keep trying him to give him the chance, even though it can be very frustrating. With cutting back, it's a personal decision. I pumped as much as I could in case she never latched on so that I would have a supply built up for another month. It is very taxing on your body though and double work bc you are pumping and then also feeding the bottle. If you cut back to every 4-5 hours, you probably won't even notice that much of a difference. Good luck!!

Hi J.,

Just out of curiosity, why are you pumping only? Will your son not latch on or is this just what you prefer? I think it is great your son is getting breastmilk but it is SO much easier to nurse than pump!

My daughter and I struggled with nursing for 8 weeks... and then one day she just got it and we never looked back. She is 25 months and still nurses before bed (and sometimes before a nap).

I encourage you to try a few times a day to get your son to nurse, as they get older and become better suckers it works better.

Also, I suggest a lactation consultant visit! They can weigh your baby and tell you how many ounces he needs, etc. and giv you some guidance.

P.S Do you have the "Expression Bustier"? I didn't discover it until about 8 weeks but I don't know how I survived without it. It makes pumping handsfree! I found it at my hospital lactation store.

Hi
I, just like Karen M said, pumped exclusively for a year for my son AND my daughter (20 months apart in age), since I had inverted nipples that my children could not latch on to.
I too adapted a schedule of 3 times a day, early morning - midday and evening.
I had a medela double hospital grade pump that I could attach regular bottles to (most Gerber bottles will fit the pump heads) so I saved a step of washing extra pump bottles etc.
Your breasts will learn to adjust to this schedule,just like they would if this was your baby choosing this schedule.
A little warning though - if you go over your schedule you will most likely feel very uncomfortable, full, tender and start leaking.(not a good time for a run to the mall)
But, that kind of comes with the territory, and I think it's the same for the non pumping moms when their baby is not there to eat as well.
Keep it up, and know you are doing the best YOU can for your baby. You'll get used to the schedule.
If my baby was awake when I was pumping, he or she would sit in a bouncer seat in front of me, and I'd bounce them. If they were really hungry, I'd pump just enough for a feeding - feed them and then finish pumping afterwards.
Good luck - and make sure you have a GREAT pump - it makes a big difference! BTW - 44 ounces sounds great to me - your breasts will adjust according to your childs age as well. It's like they just know.

E.

Hey There,
There is a tea that is sold in health food stores called "Mother's Milk Tea".Pick some up, and if you find that your production has gone down too much, drink some of the tea. It is completely all natural, and it works like a champ. My girl had a veracious appetite, and this tea did wonders for us. It really does work well.

i pump every 6 hours, and my supply is still up, i just pump twice the amount i would if i did every 3. if you pump less frequently it does hurt more, your body knows what should be happening, but you get used to it.

I have heard that it typically takes 6 weeks for your milk supply to be "established." Since your son is 7 weeks, I would think that it is safe to space them a little further apart, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. And many babies begin to sleep through the night (7-8 hours) at this age so I would say that you could go that long at night without pumping also.

44 oz a day sounds like a great supply! If you are concerned about it or if you see your milk supply drop, you could try using "Fenugreek" (sold in capsules at health food stores like "Henry's") and Mother's Milk Tea from "Traditional Medicinals." Those were helpful for me and for my sister-in-law who had a low supply to start.

My babies were formula fed after the first few weeks and they never consumed more than 28-32 oz a day of formula for the first year, even during growth spurts. I know breast milk is said to digest more quickly so a baby can need a greater amount of breast milk than formula but I think that your breast milk production will likely be adequate.

I admire you for your diligence in pumping. I was unable to breastfeed my babies and I pumped for a week, but I couldn't keep it up any longer than that! Congratulations! You are doing a great job!

Good for you for pumping even though your son won't nurse. My dd took several weeks to figure out the nursing deal and it was so tough to pump every 3 hours and then clean all of the parts in addition. My hat is off to you! You could probably back down to every 4 hours and not lose much supply, but I would do it gradually and see how your body responds. If all goes well, then you could try cutting back even more. Good luck and keep up the good work!

-M.

Did you want to breast feed....or he won't? My first little guy was 6 weeks early. And he would not lach on for the first months. But persistance he finally did. That made things sooo much easier. I got help at the Healthy Beginnings breast feeding clinic. It's by San Antonio Hos. Upland Ca. Everyone is so helpful there.

Hey Jen, I had that same problem with my first son, what it came down to is me giving up trying, and taking a day or so to just lay with my son and allow him to relearn to come to my breast. If he's hungry and you allow no easy bottle option, he will eventually come to you.
I was actually was told to lay skin to skin by the lactation counselor for 48 hours.
So if you have the time, I would recommend trying it the old school way again, because after your baby relearns from you, it is so much easier than pumping & cleaning bottles.
Relaxing is the key, babies read your body language, when we are tense, they don't feel comfortable either.
I hope all the best for you...

J.,
I pumped a lot the fist 6 weeks in a futile effort to make enough milk. Oh its hard to both bottle feed then pump in the middle of the night! Try dropping the feedings the way a new born naturally does. Fist loose the midnight feeding. Then maybe around 3 or 4 months, loose the 3 a.m. feeding. As for the day time, you cannot regularly skip pupmping, or you will not continue to keep your same supply, however, a once in a while skip won't hurt now that you have an esstablished supply.

I think that once your supply is firmly established, you could pump less often and get the same amount. When I worked and pumped, I pumped 2 times, and got the same amount as my daughter drank, but when I was with her she nursed more often than that. But, I would encourage you to see a lactation consultant, because there was a woman in my baby yoga class whose son wouldn't latch on, he had been in the NICU and was used to bottles. At 3 months she saw a consultant who worked with them, and he was able to latch on so that she wasn't constantly pumping. It will keep up your supply for longer, and it is so much easier than pumping constantly, and a lot more pleasant to be sitting in a chair with your warm baby than attached to a pump. Not to mention time saving - you have to pump and then feed now, which takes double the tim! So call the Pump Station in Hollywood or Santa Monica, or a mother's haven in the valley to get some referrals. Good luck - I admire your tenacity to keep pumping, it is really the best thing for your baby.

I found that even if I went to 5 hours between pumps my supply wouldn't really drop in a sig. way. I think it is different for everyone but try to go to every 4 hours and see what happens, then stretch to 5 and see. I will warn you though--your breasts will get really full!

C.

I've pumped exclusively for 8.5 months after trying desperately for 9 weeks to teach my daughter to breastfeed (unsuccessfully). I also had no problems with supply. I went back to work full-time when she was 3 months old. I had read/heard you have to pump 100 minutes/day to keep your supply up, so I was pumping 5x/day for 20 minutes each time. Obviously, most of the milk was expressed in the 1st 10 min or so, but my left breast always had a 2nd letdown at about 18 minutes. I DID notice my supply go down with major changes (i.e., finally giving up trying to breastfeed so baby was not at the breast anymore; going back to work fulltime so baby wasn't even around me as much anymore), but with each change, I never had any problem REestablishing my supply back to normal!!! With focused effort, I could get back to my normal production within a few days. I think the secrets were the 20-min pump times (really emptying myself to stimulate more production), and the hands-free pumping bra thing. I quickly went down to 4x/day, and I can not even BEGIN to tell you how much of a difference that was to me personally and how much that changed my overall lifestyle (Once just when getting up, once on my lunchbreak, once on the drive home from work, and once just before going to bed.....) The longer intervals between pumps were a bit uncomfortable at times, but fitting 4x/day into my routine was infinitely easier, and I seriously think it's the ONLY reason I've lasted this long. I think your supply is probably established by now. It's a TON of work to keep up what you've been doing (no one can believe I've kept mine up this long), so you should really feel great about it. But I think it's safe to increase the intervals between pumping, make sure you try to stick to longer pump sessions to really empty and stimulate your breasts a lot to maintain/reestablish a great supply, and gradually work down to 5x/day then 4x/day. If you're like me (especially if you're going back to work), getting down to 4x/day CAN work, you CAN maintain your supply (I've made about 44-48 oz/day, even more sometimes), and it WILL make you life SOOOOOO much easier (i.e., very routine, no longer such a burden), so you can last for the long haul if you want. Good luck!

This is so personal to your body, you just have to try and see what happens. Everyone is different and it does not mean it will be the same if you do what others did. I see alot of women saying it is okay to go longer between pumps, but when I did my supply would diminish. I have a friend with twins and the same thing happened to her. It is all about supply demand and everyones body responds different to pumping. I on the other hand could breast feed all day long, but the pumping thing was a huge struggle for me when I had to start. You just have to see what is working for you and play with it a bit. Good luck. : )