If you’re exclusively pumping, you might have heard about the 120 minute rule. Here’s everything you need to know about how much you should pump when exclusively pumping.
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What is the 120 minute rule for exclusively pumping?
First of all, I want to say that it’s less of a “rule” than a guideline or best practice.
The 120 minute rule is that, generally speaking, when you are exclusively pumping, you want to spend at least 120 minutes (2 hours) per day pumping.
How many sessions you would spread that 120 minutes across depends on how old your baby is. With a newborn baby, you might want to do eight 15 minute sessions. With a baby older than 6 months, you might be able to do four 30 minute sessions.
You can see some sample pumping schedules for different ages here.
What happens if you don’t pump that much?
Possibly nothing – like I said, it’s a guideline.
What we’re trying to avoid with the 120 minute rule is a sudden or gradual drop in milk supply while exclusively pumping.
A drop is always possible, but from what we’ve seen in the Facebook group, it appears to be less likely if you pump at least 120 minutes per day until you’re ready to wean.
Where did the 120 minute rule come from?
The 120 minute rule isn’t backed with science or research. It’s more something that has been handed down from exclusive pumpers as a best practice since breast pumps developed to the point that exclusive pumping was possible.
This is one reason that I stress that this is a guideline. It seems to work for a lot of women, but it might not be the best thing for you, and that’s okay.
Is it 120 minutes per breast, or total?
The 120 minute rule assumes that you have a double pump, so each breast should be pumped for 120 minutes. If you have a double pump, it will take 2 hours; if you have a single pump, it will take 4 hours.
However, if you’re single pumping, you may be able to reduce about the amount of time that you spend quite a bit if you use a Haakaa on the side that you’re not pumping. More on that here.
I’m pumping less than this now and my supply is fine. Do I need to start pumping more?
It depends.
If you are early in your exclusive pumping journey (say, your baby is a newborn) or you are more than a few months away from your goal, you may want to consider it. The idea behind the 120 minute rule is to help you establish your milk supply before it regulates, and to help protect your supply long-term.
For example, say you are two months postpartum, and plan to pump for a year. Your baby takes 30oz per day and you make 35oz per day, pumping 60 minutes per day.
In this case, even though you’re pumping enough for your baby right now, I would recommend that you increase your total pumping time in a day to protect your supply long-term over the next 10 months.
On the other hand, say you are four months postpartum, and plan to pump for six months. Your baby takes 25oz per day and you make 35oz per day, pumping 90 minutes per day. You’re probably fine to stick with what you’re doing – you’re close to your goal, your supply has likely regulated, and you have a decent amount of extra milk.
I’m pumping more than this now and feel like I need to in order to keep my supply up. Do I need to start pumping less?
No. Pumping more than 120 minutes a day is fine if you can manage it without burning out. It’s important to protect your mental health.
I’m pumping more than 120 minutes now and I would like to reduce the amount of time I’m spending pumping. How can I do that without tanking my supply?
To do this, I would start reducing the length of one pumping session at a time, and giving it a few days to see how your body responds. If your supply doesn’t go down, you can reduce the length of another one.
For example, let’s say that you’re currently pumping 180 minutes a day, or six 30 minute pumping sessions. You could reduce one session by five minutes, and see how it goes.
If everything seems okay, supply-wise, you could do the same with another session, until you are pumping the amount that you want. If you notice your supply starting to drop, I would stop reducing the amount of time that you pump.
You might find that some of these tips to pump faster help you get the same amount of milk in less time.
Do I need to pump for 120 minutes a day if I’m also nursing?
No. The 120 minute rule is for exclusive pumpers.
If you’re away from your baby, you might be able to adapt the rule to fit your situation. Say you’re away from your baby for 9 hours while you’re at work; you could calculate that you should pump at least 45 minutes total while you are away (9/24 * 120 = 45).
Again, this isn’t evidence-based; use your judgement here.
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Does this rule apply when I’m weaning?
No. When you’re weaning, you can pump less than 120 minutes per day because your goal is not to maintain your milk supply, it’s for your supply to drop.
To wean, I recommend dropping one pumping session at a time, and not adding the time back on to your remaining sessions. More on weaning from the pump here.
When I drop to two sessions per day, do they really need to be 60 minutes long?
Your best bet at maintaining your milk supply is to pump for 120 minutes a day. At two pumping sessions a day, that means 60 minute pumping sessions.
If you are concerned that that is too long, then I would suggest not dropping to two pumping sessions per day until you’re ready to wean.
Do you stick to the 120 minute rule? Tell us your experience in the comments!
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Comments & Chitchat
Hello!
I am newly PP, I have a huge over supply. ( I pump 10-12 oz each pump) my current schedule is 8,12,4,8,12,4– all for 20 mins. Do you think I could drop a pump and or make all my sessions 15 mins since that would reach the 120 min guidelines? I am very engorged / full all the time. Thanks for your insight!
Hi Daniella! How old is your baby?
Oh I just saw 11 days. I think you potentially could. I’m a little worried since it’s so early, but that’s also a huge oversupply. What if you cut one session down to 15 minutes and made changes slowly so that you can adjust if necessary versus cutting them all at once? It might also help with the engorgement.
Hi Amanda! He is currently 2 weeks old. We simply have too much milk and I am consistently engorged! Sadly!
Thanks Amanda! I have tried shortening my sessions to 15 unless I’m even more engorged, pumping less should realistically reduce my supply. , from what I’ve read on your reducing supply blog. Hoping that helps at some point… hopefully in the next couple of days.
Does the 120 minute rule still apply when transitioning to a more efficient pump? I have been EP’ing for my 4 month old with a portable double electric (Spectra) pump, currently 20-22 minute sessions 6 times a day, with mild oversupply – 32-35 ounces/day when my son takes ~30 oz/day. I just returned to work where they have hospital-grade pumps (Ameda Platinum) available to use and am wondering how long my pumping sessions should be with those pumps since I have heard that they can empty faster. I would love to shorten the duration of pumping sessions if possible and also do not want to create more of an oversupply by using a more powerful pump. Thanks!
Hi! Congrats on your 4 month old! I would see how it goes and whether you’re getting more milk at work than you were getting at the same times at home when you pump for the full amount of time. If you are, you could consider cutting the time back a little bit. If your goal is to pump for a year or so, I would be very cautious in cutting time. If your goal is sooner than that, you can maybe take bigger risks – a lot just depends on your goals and your risk tolerance.
Hello! I am currently 5 almost 6 weeks pp and am ep. I’m currently pumping 6 times a day for 20 minutes. Is that okay? I’m getting between 35 and 42 ounces a day, which is fine since my baby is eating a little more than half that. But should I be adding another pumping session in? My supply regulated super early (2 weeks). Do you think my current schedule will eventually make my supply drop? I did it do I could get a little more sleep.
Hi Chelsea! It’s so hard to predict what will happen – my schedule was very similar and things were fine for me, but everyone is different. If you are very risk-averse and want to pump for more than a year, I might add another session in. If you’re planning on pumping for more like 6 months I would not worry too much. Congrats!
Hi! These posts have been a huge help! I’m 6 months postpartum & recently dropped to 5 pumps per day, so I should be pumping about 24 min each session. I pump 3 times in a 12 hour shift at work & 2 times at home. Do you think it would be fine if my work pumps were shorter (~20 min) & my home pumps were longer (~30 min) to still add up to 120 mins a day? Or could that inconsistency negatively affect my supply? My job is pretty understanding & accommodating for my pump breaks, I just feel guilty being away from my desk so long. On my days off, I can be more consistent with 30 min each pump session.
One concern I have about shortening some pump sessions is that sometimes I get another letdown shortly before I was going to stop pumping. Should I just continue pumping or would it be bad to stop while milk is still flowing?
Thanks in advance!!
Hi Izzy! that’s totally fine on the session length – I have no concerns. Re: shortening – if you have time and you’re in the middle of a letdown, I would pump until it finishes. If you don’t, you don’t. Babies stop eating when they are full regardless of what’s going on with your letdown so I wouldn’t stress too much. Good luck!
Hi Amanda. Thank you for this website. It has been one of my go-to sites for EPing. I’m producing a little more than he’s consuming (plus we’re supplementing with 1 or 2 feeds of formula). I used to pump every 3 hours, 20mins each (although night pumps are inconsistent) and when my son reached 3 months, I am now pumping every 4 hours, 25-30mins each, 5 sessions (excluding nights). By 4 months onwards, I plan to pump every 5 hours, 30 mins each, excluding nights. I’ve been trying to stick with pumping for a total of 120 mins per day but there are days when it just doesn’t happen (such as on a weekend when we’re out and about the entire day or when my 3 month old is fussy the entire day, so I’m only able to pump once or twice). Will this impact my supply?
Hi Catherine! Congrats on your sweet baby! It’s hard to say for sure – a lot of this is individual. It’s possible but I would just do the best that you can and get the time in when possible. Good luck!
Hi Amanda,
I just returned to work, I work an 8 hour day and my baby feeds every 2.5 hours, and will be 16 weeks, I was told by the pediatrician to pump every 4 hours, however this would match my baby’s feeding pattern when nursing, can you please assist with what a good pumping routine would be to maintain supply. Thanks so much! I also don’t pump enough when pumping at 3 hours, it’s only 2.0 ounces in total, is that a cause for concern?
Hi Maria! This might help:
https://exclusivepumping.com/pumping-schedule-at-work/
I think with your baby’s age and your workday, three sessions around 3 hours apart is good. I’ll link to some info on troubleshooting supply – I hope it helps!
https://exclusivepumping.com/increasing-milk-supply/
I’m 8 weeks PP, nursing 1-2 times a day and then pumping the rest. I’ve been getting 4.5-5.5oz each pumping session and usually get that in less than 10 minutes. Milk flow typically stops after about 8 minutes. I’m concerned with going longer and increasing my supply when it’s not needed. From what I can tell the milk has enough fat. Do you think I can stay at that time and not pump longer?
Also, any idea why I would get a random oversupply/engorgement at 8 weeks? I’m pumping to get to amount of milk I normally get and not going longer to empty so I don’t trigger my body to thinking I need to maintain the oversupply. Anything else I should do?
Hi Hannah! Yeah, if you’re nursing (even part time), this doesn’t really apply since oversupply is a concern. Re: staying at that time – it’s hard to say. At 8 weeks it’s possible your supply hasn’t regulated yet (sometimes supply drops when it regulates) so I would be concerned about that too. Basically I think you need to weigh too little supply vs too much and decide which of the two you’d rather risk? I’m sorry, I wish this was more helpful!
My son was born at 28w 3 days and is in NICU. I’m almost 3 wpp and pumping for about 3.5 hours daily about 30 mins each session. I’m getting just under 19 oz (555 ml) but this is increasing little by little each day.
I was a just enougher with my 3 year old and really want to establish a good supply this time. I’d like to do a combination of nursing and pumping once he comes home since eventually I will have to return to work.
I don’t mind the extra pumping time, but am not sure what my goal output should be. Right now he is consuming about 9oz per day, so the extra is being frozen and will begin our stash.
Do you have any resources for NICU mamas?
Hi Melanie! Congrats on your sweet son! I do have a few resources – let me know if you have any questions!
https://exclusivepumping.com/pumping-in-the-nicu/
https://exclusivepumping.com/nicu-advice-pumping/
I am exclusively pumping..My baby is 6 weeks old.. I m not able to pump for 8 times for my second baby now. I m doing 2 times a day for 90 mins.. one sessions being power pumping..
could you please suggest if this works for more supply?? I am just getting 11-12oz a day.. My baby drinks atleast 24 to 30oz a day.. I am trying for atleast half and half as my goal…
Let me know if I should increase the sessions.. would it help as my baby is already 6 weeks now…
Hi Amu! With a younger baby, I would definitely recommend doing more frequent sessions when your baby is younger – frequent milk removal is necessary for supply before your milk supply regulates. Could you maybe do 5 sessions that are 25 minutes each?
I’m 12 weeks postpartum. I pump 8 times a day 20 minutes each for total 160 minutes a day. I’m looking to decrease the amounts of pumps a day and eliminate my 2 am pump. My last pump of the day is usually 9:30pm and I wake up at 7am. Any advice for changing my pumping schedule. I usually get 30-35oz a day and my baby takes about 23-34 ounces a day.
Hi Carly! I think you can drop the 2am. I would push it back slowly until you can comfortably make it until 7. Then I would make the 7am 30 minutes and add 10 minutes to the remaining 6 sessions (not 10 to all of them – 10 total divided by the 6). Good luck!
Hi,
Baby is 6 weeks old and I pump 20 min day. If I powered pumped twice a day but then 15 min the rest of the time is that ok. I only make about 1-2 oz a session.
Hi Pavan! How many sessions do you have, in addition to the power pumping sessions?
I am 8 weeks postpartum and my supply has dropped due to letdown issues while pumping as well as transfer issues with my son. What’s the best way for me to increase my milk supply and then maintain it? He is currently eating 25-30 oz per day of which I am able to provide 1/3-1/2 with breast milk and the rest is formula.
Hi Melissa! Have you figured out the letdown issues? I’m going to link what I usually recommend for increasing milk supply along with letdown tips. I hope this helps!
https://exclusivepumping.com/increasing-milk-supply/
https://exclusivepumping.com/how-to-boost-milk-supply-letdowns/
I only produce 10 oz a day and I am exclusively pumping. How can I increase supply? I pump every 2 hours except at night 11pm to 6am I do every 3 if I am too exhausted
Hi Alexia! have you tried any of the other strategies like oatmeal or power pumping?
https://exclusivepumping.com/increasing-milk-supply/
I am just over one week postpartum, and have switched to exclusively pumping due to latch troubles and baby not gaining enough weight. I am currently dealing with engorgement. How many sessions a day should I be pumping and for how long each time? I’m worried about making the engorgement worse! It’s already so uncomfortable!
Hi Lydia! I would aim for 7-10 sessions a day, 15ish minutes each. Good luck! The engorgement should get better over the first few weeks. Congrats on your baby! ❤️
I’m 6 weeks PP and EP. I pump over double what my LO eats.. and only pump four about 90 minutes a day.. when is it appropriate to drop sessions or shorten them?
Hi Danielle! I would wait until you think your supply has regulated if possible. Here is more info:
https://exclusivepumping.com/when-is-milk-supply-established/
Hi! I pump 6 times a day for 15 mins, so 90 mins per day, 10 weeks pp. Per day I have about 1 liter milk. When is you supply regulated? Do I have the risk its going to drop? I want to pump for I think 1 year.
Hi Christel! It’s hard to know exactly when you regulate and there’s no real way to test. There is a risk (but there is always a risk) that your supply will drop, but you kind of have to weigh that with the hassle of changing what you’re doing. There’s no one right way to do this. Sorry I don’t have a more clear answer!
Hi. My LO will be 8 weeks in a few days. I exclusively pump 8 sessions for 30 minutes each on most days. I breastfeed sometimes.
Can breast feeding substitute for a pumping session. Also I wish to drop from 8 to 6 sessions but alter the current timings…going from 4-5 hours between sessions. Will altering the timings affect my supply?
Hi Fern! congrats on your baby. Yes, any milk removal (nursing, hand expression, etc.) can substitute for pumping. Supply is so individual that I can’t guess what will happen, I’m sorry!
I’m currently 8 weeks pp pumping 8 to 10 times a day for 30 minutes a session. Is it possible to drop down to 6 pumps a day or is it too early?
Hi Emma! At 8 weeks I think it should be fine to go to seven and see how that goes. If everything goes well (give it a few weeks) you could try six. Obviously, there are no guarantees as far as supply goes, but that timeframe seems to work for most people. Good luck!
My baby is a week old and I’m currently doing 6 sessions a day, each session is 20mins long to make the 120 minutes.
Will this help keep my milk supply for when the baby gets older even though it’s less sessions?
Hi Faith! Everyone is different, so I can’t say for sure. How is your supply now? Are you pumping more than your baby takes?
Hello! I’m 6 weeks pp and have been EPing since Day 3. Currently I pump 6-8 times a day, targeting every 2-3 hours, 30 min each. Producing about 16oz a day. Half of what baby needs. Any best tips on how I can increase supply or pumping schedule changes to try? Thanks!
Hi Nicole! Congrats on your new baby! Your schedule sounds great and I wouldn’t change anything! Here’s some suggestions on milk supply – I hope this is helpful!
https://exclusivepumping.com/increasing-milk-supply/
HI! MY SON IS 8 MONTHS OLD. I WAS INITIALLY NURSING AND PUMPING, 50% EACH. THEN AROUND 6 MONTHS, I STARTED EXCLUSIVELY PUMPING. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PUMPING 15 MIN EACH BREASTS 5-6 TIMES A DAY. MY SUPPLY HAS NOW DROPPED TO 11 OZ A DAY. I HAVE ALWAYS BERN SUPPLEMENTING MY SON WITH FORMULA. HOWEVER, I DONT WANT TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF FORMULA TO MEET HIS NEEDS. IS THERE A WAY TO RE-ESTABLISH AND INCREASE MY SUPPLY?
THANKS!
Hi! Is it possible you’re getting your period back or may be pregnant again? I would try doing 6 times for 20 minutes a day and also try oatmeal and power pumping and see if that helps. Good luck!
I am pumping 5x or 6x a day for a total of 85min to 1hr and I am able to get 33oz.
My baby is only 5 weeks old but I feel we are ok.
Do you think that my milk supply will lower? Or can I continue like this without a risk?
Hi Nicole! There’s still a risk because there’s a good chance that your supply hasn’t regulated yet. Some people see a decrease in supply when that happens. However, you might also be fine – there’s not really any way to know without trying. Sorry, I wish I could give a clearer answer!
I’m currently 9wks post partum. I’ve been EPing since day 1. Pumping 9-10 times a day usually a total of 180 minutes per day, but my pumps vary in length depending on what’s happening at the time haha. Getting 55-60 ounces per day and my baby eats 32oz on average. I feel I’m getting a little burned out and want to drop a pump or two in the daytime if I can. Do you think at this point I should expect to see a big drop in supply? What’s the best way to organize and drop some pumps?
Hi Autumn, I think you’d be fine to drop a session or two. I can’t guarantee it, but I doubt you’d see a big drop. Good luck!
I’ve been nursing and pumping for six months now. And I’ve finally had a breakthrough. I’d been pumping 7x a day about 30-45 mins a go… oofda! I was soooo brunt out at 5 months. My goal was a year but I finally reach a breaking point (my nipples we’re gonna reach a breaking point!!!). I finally decided to drop a pumping session and stick to the 120 rule. And about a week later my ole boobies got with the program and starting producing more efficiently. Now I’m only pumping 5x daily about 20-25 min and producing as much as when I was going 7x for 30-45 min (25-30 oz). Honesty I feel like by just relaxing and giving myself permission to let go (I feel like I was soooo tense about getting my ounces or else I was a failure and a bad mother) my body was finally able to relax and let the milk flow. I’m telling this story, not to make people who are pumping a ton and barely meeting their quota, fee jealous or bad… I just want you to feel like you can give yourself permission to relax a bit. Just by making one change at a time that made pumping better for me, I honesty think did more wonders for me than any supplement. Idk I know this is weird but I can’t help but to compare a milk let down to a female orgasm… not saying that if feels amazing but just in that you have got to be in the right headspace with the right ambiance and all that jazz at first. I could never orgasm if I was super tense and worried about something (like the well-being of my baby lol that some pretty heavy stuff). Anyway. That was a lot of words, but ultimately my advice is to relax and give your self some grace, and permission to make things a little easier for yourself
This 120 minute thing seems bananas to me. Our daughter is now 5 months old, my wife has been pumping for about 4 months. She pumps at least 6 times a day, for an hour at a time, and her record is 26 ounces, and that was an outlier. It’s very taxing, as you could imagine. I thought pumping for an hour at a time was the norm, because it seemed like the only way, but now I’m understanding that women pump for only 15 minutes at a time, and it’s possible to exceed 30 ounces doing that?! Remarkable!
Hi Jay – some of these might help things go faster. Good luck!
https://exclusivepumping.com/pump-breast-milk-faster/
Thank you so much for this helpful site!
Question- will pumping beyond 15 mins each session really yields more milk? I find that most of the time if I pump more than 15 mins that I don’t get another letdown/no more milk is coming out. I used to pump 120 mins/8 times a day with very good supply. Currently I’m weaning the night pump as well as going down to 6 pumps a day. (My baby is almost 3 months old and I’m going back to work)
Hi Tiffany! You might find that if you drop to 6 sessions you do get another letdown, so I would try it. The other question is how long you want to exclusively pump. If you want to do it for a year, I would definitely stick to 120 minutes per day. If you want to do it for 5-6 months, it might not be necessary. The nipple stimulation can help protect your supply long-term.
I pump 6 times a day for 20 min,sometimes longer, however my supply is very low, I make half of what my baby needs so i give him three feeds of breastmilk and three feeds formula. I also tried eating all the foods that have been shown to increase milk supply but so far it hasn’t helped. I also tried massaging the breasts and taking a hot shower before but it also hasn’t helped 🙈 Any advice?
Hi Lana! You have a great schedule so that’s awesome! You could maybe try a supplement? I’ve never used the legendairy milk ones but people in our FB group seem to like them. Or you can just keep doing what you’re doing – you’re doing great!
I pump for 280-300 minutes every day. My output is only 22-25 ounces per day. It’s a lot of work. I’ve tried every lactation treat, drink, and tea. I’ve tried about 8 different lactation supplements from different companies. I think some of us just have to work extra hard. My daughter has a feeding tube so nursing was never an option for us.
Could it be your pump? Proper flange fitting?