Two questions today, both about dropping pumping sessions – one about dropping middle of the night pumping sessions, and one about whether it’s possible to drop two sessions at once.
I Want to Drop My Middle of the Night Session But Am Scared of Mastitis
I started exclusively pumping when my daughter was two weeks old, due to latching issues. She was losing weight and the doctor said we had to supplement. I asked if I could try pumping and bottle feeding. My daughter started thriving and so began my journey!
My daughter is now seven weeks old, and I’m five weeks into this adventure. I’m blessed that since the second week of exclusive pumping, I’ve been making more than enough to feed my daughter – pumping about 40 ounces per day. It has been a rough ride, with both thrush and mastitis having been a factor.
I’ve been pumping eight times per day almost every day since I started. I’ve aimed for between two to three hours between pumps, including during the night. I’m getting to the point where I need to get more sleep at a time in between pumping sessions. My daughter has started sleeping for five hour stretches! Yet, I’m still waking myself up to pump and am scared to stop.
I’m concerned with losing supply (being only seven weeks postpartum), as well as concerned about developing mastitis again if I go longer between pumps or drop a pump.
I totally understand being scared of stopping waking up to pump. However, the potential extra sleep is worth giving it a try! The key is going very slowly to minimize issues.
I think you have two options – either drop down to seven sessions per day or keep pumping eight times, but with a longer break at night. I think seven sessions is fine at seven weeks postpartum, especially given that you have oversupply (as long as you increase the length of each session time so that your total time per day spent pumping is the same).
Again, we want to make this change very gradually to reduce your risk of mastitis.
How to do that? If you decide to stay with eight sessions, you’ll want to move one back so that you’re getting more sleep in one block. You can start by moving it back half an hour a night.
As an example, say you currently pump at 12:30am and 3:30am – what you would do is stretch the 12:30am to 1am the first night, then to 1:30am the second night, and so on until you’ve got the spacing you need to get some decent sleep. Then you can re-space your remaining eight pumping sessions however makes sense to you.
On the other hand, if you decide to drop one and go down to seven sessions, you do the same thing, but just completely drop the session you’re moving. Again, say you pump at 12:30am and 3:30am – you would stretch the 12:30am to 1am, then 1:30am, then 2, and then when you think you can make it to 3:30am, you’d just drop the 12:30am session altogether.
More information on dropping pumping sessions here:
Can I Drop Two Sessions at a Time?
I am struggling with pumping, working full-time and having a husband who works out of town. I would love to reduce my amount of time spent pumping. My question is, can you drop two sessions at the same time? I would love to reduce from seven sessions a day to five. I was thinking I’d drop my middle of the day session and my 2am session. I am concerned my supply will drop or I’ll get a clogged duct. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated!
You can definitely drop two sessions, and I think it definitely makes sense when pumping that often is such a struggle. (You are doing awesome – solo parenting is hard!)
I would drop one session at a time, but you can do them back to back. I would drop one (probably the middle of the night one first), wait a few days, then drop the middle of the day session. You should be able to do it in a week and a half – I would take three or four days to gradually drop each session plus three or four days in between to let your body adjust.
If you’re worried about clogged ducts, it might not be a bad idea to try lecithin – it might help you avoid them while you drop sessions. More info on clogged ducts here:
One other thing I wanted to mention – you said you’d like to reduce the amount of time that you spend pumping. I think if you want to maintain your supply, you should consolidate the time you pump rather than reduce it. So you’d do five sessions per day, but add the time from the two dropped sessions to your remaining sessions so that your total amount of pumping sessions in a day stays the same.
Hi, it is normal for one boob to produce more milk than the other? I notice that my left produces twice as much as my right which leaves them uneven? thanks
Totally normal!
I’m in the process of weaning out a pumping session to where I am pumping 6 times a day to 5. I’ve increased the amount of time for each pump to 25min instead of 20. My supply is slowly dropping. Is there anything I can do?!
Hi Alexa! Supply is so unpredictable and hard – I’m sorry that you’re dealing with this! I think you could either add the session back or try tacking a few more minutes onto your remaining sessions. How old is your baby?
I’ll try and add a little more time. She is 3 months!
Hi, great blog, very helpful. My question for you is whether my supply will be impacted with the interval duration between pumps. Currently I am down to 5 pumps a day, 11 weeks postpartum, producing anywhere from 5-7 oz per session and meeting my baby’s needs. My schedule for pumping is roughly 5:30 am, 10:30 am, 2:30pm, 7:30pm, 12:30am. I’m finding it hard to take care of my 2.5 month old while I pump the 10:30 am and 2:30 pm by myself at home. Am I able to move around the 10:30 am and 2:30 pm time to accommodate my sons napping schedule as long as I get 5 pumps in per day? I’m afraid to get clogged ducts and have my supply drop since I’ve been trying to keep close to the schedule to avoid issues with clogged ducts and supply drop. Any suggestions would appreciate it! Thanks!
Hi Jasmine – that should be no problem from a supply perspective. I would only worry about clogs if you let it go too long – but just rejiggering the times a little each day should be fine. 🙂
Hi, I am so happy to have found this blog! I have been EPing for my 5 month old in the last 2 months, but I think my pump lost suction power which I didn’t notice, so my milk has become very thin, and over time my breast started to become engorged. (I didn’t notice the problem for over a month, as my baby could not drink the milk for over 6 weeks, but now that he is taking it, he seems to have lactose overload. In the last few days I got a new pump and still have massively engorged breasts between sessions. I pump for 20-25 minutes for 5-6 times a day, but my milk is still very thin, the fat layer is only like a thin film on top of a 4-8 ounce bottle. How could I increase the fat content in my milk by changing my pumping routine? I have also been on a very strict diet (no dairy, wheat, nuts, eggs, fish, beef, rice, corn) and only ate about 10 type of things, not sure how that contributed, but now I am adding back wheat and eggs. Any thoughts would be appreciated, thank you!
Hi Judith! According to kellymom, the ONLY thing that affects the amount of fat in the milk is how much milk is in the breast. I wonder if you wouldn’t be better off pumping for longer (but maybe less often)? Maybe you could try 4-5x a day for 30 minutes? Just an idea – hope it helps!
Thanks Amanda, I will give that a try!
Thank you so much for this blog!!!! I started EP when my baby was a week old due to her being a lazy feeder and latch issues. We are now two weeks in and im pumping 8 times a day about 15-20 minutes and producing 50+ ounces a day. I have built up a good freezer supply. Should I keep up my 8 sessions? Should I cut down my time I pump for? It’s nice to have a great freezer supply but each day I’m pumping for 2.5 – 3 hours and would love to cut it down to closer to two hours but don’t want to mess up my supply.
I think you could cut it down to 7 for sure. I would start at 20 minutes each and see how you do. 🙂
Hello! Your blog is very informative. I have a 10 week old and just made the switch to exclusively pump DT latch and extraction issues. I have had mastitis twice and hope to not get it again 🙁 I have been pumping every 3-4 hrs and last night went 5.25 hrs bc my LO actually slept longer than 2-3 hrs! I am so so so fearful of mastitis again just wondering how to proceed. I have an over supply. Currntly doing 6-7 sessions. Just had my 6th session and went 4 hrs and got 230 ml (120 and 110 from each). My breasts feel soft and floppy but still full if that makes sense. Any advise is much appreciated.
Hi! it sounds like you’re doing great. The only advice that I would have is to try to be as consistent as possible – maybe drop your night session so you don’t sleep through them (rather than keep them and sometimes miss one). If you slowly drop the session your body should adjust. Hope that makes sense – good luck!
My baby never latched properly and after 6 weeks of trying everything the collective wisdom of my mom, sister, and lactation consultant could think of, I’ve been exclusively pumping and bottle feeding. I’m lucky to have a good supply, and 12 weeks in I have a huge freezer supply courtesy of over-production in the early weeks. I’m about to head back to work. My breasts do a good job of letting me know when its time to pump – I usually wake up at least once a night even though my baby isn’t up to pump. At that point, I can’t go back to sleep because I’m too uncomfortable, so I get up and take care of business.
I’m currently pumping 7-8 times a day, but I know that probably won’t be as easy to keep up now that I’m returning to work. I also would love to get an entire night’s sleep (my husband takes the last feeding and I take the first, and we are lucky to have a baby who sleeps 5-6 hours straight, so the potential is there for me to sleep from 10:30 to 5 or 6). Is there any way to adjust my pumping schedule so that my breasts don’t wake me up? I usually pump immediately before going to bed, but usually wake up in pain after 3 or 4 hours.
I think if you gradually start going longer at night, you breasts will learn to go longer. If you are going three hours now, try to stretch it to 3.5, then 4, then 4.5, and so on. Some people even have to move the sessions in 15 minute increments – hopefully yours will start to get the message earlier. Since you have a great supply, you could also use cabbage leaves to help you stretch the time – if you’re trying to go 3.5 hours you could put the leaves in your bra at the 3 hour mark. Hope this helps!
Hi Amanda. Unfortunately I have to stop pumping for my LO on the advice of my doctor. I have to start a new medication that is not compatible with breastfeeding. I have been exclusively pumping for almost 9 months now and am down to 2 pumping sessions. My AM session is only 10 minutes long but my boobs don’t want to stop making milk. I’m pumping about 5 to 6 ounces total in about 10 minutes. I want to drop this session, but get very engorged if I even go 1 or 2 hours beyond my scheduled pump time. What can I do to speed this process along?
Can you take Sudafed? I would do that for supply loss, and use cabbage leaves for engorgement. I would probably drop the night session first by pumping an oz or two less each night until you feel like you can drop it altogether, and use cabbage leaves when you’re feeling too full. Then repeat for the AM pump. Good luck!
I’m so glad I found your site! I have been EP since my baby was about 1.5 weeks old due to latching issues and lack of weight gain. My baby is now 10 weeks old. I am currently pumping 7-8 times per day with an over supply (but not way over like some people), however am starting back to work next week. Is there any way to consolidate my pumping so that I’m not spending my limited time at home pumping instead of with baby? At what point will my supply be completely established? Thanks!
Hi Sarah! At 10 weeks I think you should be totally fine to be at 5-6 sessions per day. Just increase the length of the remaining sessions so that your total amount of time pumping in a day stays the same. If you haven’t had any clogged ducts or engorgement issues, I would just drop them one at a time cold turkey. Good luck!
Hi – I love this site it has helped me SO much! So I’ve been EP for about 5 weeks, baby girl will be 15 weeks old tomorrow. This is my third week back at work and so far, pumping is going well and I have not noticed any dip in my supply. Thanks to your site, I have dropped down to 4 pumps per day. I’m on a good schedule for now, but eventually want to wean down to three sessions per day. I’m not super concerned with a supply drop, as I am okay with supplementing with formula at this point, should I need to. I’m just proud I’ve made it this far with breast milk exclusively! My question for you is, if a change in my pumping schedule is going to make my supply drop, how long will it take for me to see that drop? A few days, or a week or more? Just curious! I dropped down to 4 pumps only five days ago and again have not noticed any decrease thus far…
Hi Kelly! I would say you’d notice it anywhere between immediately to within 3 weeks. Sorry I don’t have a more precise answer!
Thank you for your reply and again I love this website – I have sent MANY friends here for advice! 🙂
So happy to have found this website, as I felt so alone in this world of EP – having no friends or family who have experienced this. I’ve basically been EP since day one – and my little girl is 7 weeks old today. I’ve been blessed with a plentiful supply of milk, but a daughter who refuses to latch.
Every day I am pumping nearly double what my daughter is eating – and I now have a freezer FULL of milk. While it is nice to have a backup supply, I’ve run out of room and I have no idea what to do at this point. I’ve heard of donating or selling, but not sure how I feel about either of those options.
Should I just cut back my pumping so that I’m producing a volume that is closer to what she is taking in each day? In the beginning I was having to pump nearly every hour due to engorgement, and I weaned myself back little by little. Currently I am pumping 5-6 times per day but each time producing 10+ ounces. Any suggestions would be helpful!
Hi Dana! Honestly I think I would donate the milk rather than trying to reduce your supply. It’s super hard to guess what will happen with supply when you try to tweak it and any attempts to reduce it by a certain amount can go to far. I would keep doing what you’re doing and look into seeing if you qualify to donate to a milk bank.
On the other hand, if you’re uncomfortable, you can try to reduce your supply like you did with the engorgement before. And obviously, this is just my opinion!
Thank you for your input!
I’ve been exclusively pumping for 6 months and notice my supply has dropped since I dropped a pumping session. I’m still producing more than my LO eats, about 5 oz. a day more, but it used to be closer to 10 oz. I would like to make it a year EP. Should I add a session to increase my supply or as long as I’m producing enough each day keep it at 4 sessions?
How long has it been since you dropped the session? Sometimes the drop can be slow and drag out so it could continue, which is the concern. Did you lose the 5oz all at once or over a few days? Also, have you gotten your period back yet?
Dropped the session about two weeks ago. The loss has been a slow progression over the last week. I think I’m about to get my period, but I haven’t gotten it yet. Not sure if that’s a factor. By the way, I love your site. It’s been a great help during my journey.
Yes your period could definitely be a factor. I might add the session back for a week or so to see what happens, if it won’t drive you crazy to do that. Or you could add it back most but not all days? If you do get your period, there is a calcium-magnesium supplement that might be helpful.
Thank you Amanda. I will add the session back during the week while I’m back at work. Also, between 9-12 months, should your supply stay the same? I.e. should I expect the supply to remain the same amount my whole year?
I found that I gradually lost supply with every period I got. So it would dip with my period, then come back – but not quite as much as before. Repeat every month. So no, it definitely can change, unfortunately.
Hi there! I have a question I’m trying to drop evening pumps. My baby is now 3months old and was in the NICU for 19 days- so I was using the hospital pump and have a freezer full of milk. now my poor lil guy is having terrible acid reflux and screams in pain/ he’s not napping well or sleeping well at night. All of his pain and fussiness is preventing me from being able to pump on time or for 20 mins. I recently dropped to 6 pumps a day but get engorged and wake up to soaked sheets between that eight hour overnight break. Do you have any thoughts on how I can prevent this engorgement?
Hi! So sorry you’re dealing with this – reflux is so hard for everyone involved! How long have you been on your new schedule? Sometimes it can just take a few days for your body to adjust. I would wear breast pads and if you’re still having pain try to ease into the 8 hour overnight break gradually – try going 6 hours first, then seven, then eight. Hope this helps!
Thanks Amanda! I’ve just been doing it for a couple of days now but wake up at the six hour mark in pain and very hard. Your right reflux is tough for all of us and that’s why I want to drop some sessions so i can actually get what little sleep I can and try to maintain my sanity! I only pump about 4:5 ounces per session at 20 mins and often my breast don’t feel completely empty after a session even when I’ve elected to pump for 30mins – it’s so crazy! I can usually manually express more after the pumping sessions too. At least for now the ounces more than keep up with baby needs and again probably have a month or more in the freezer. My goal is to make it 6months (longer would be nice) since he’s a premie hoping we can get the reflux all sorted out.
Hi Amanda,
My twins are 8mo and I’ve been exclusively pumping since birth and supplement one bottle per day-each. I’ve produced about 48 oz per day since about 3mo (4 pumps per day 20-30 minutes each pump) and it’s been fairly consistent until last month (7mo). It’s now started to fluctuate and some days I get 48 but most I get about 40… which I am still happy about. However, with the babes being more active, I’m havjng a hard time staying on pump or fitting in the appropriate time. If I drop 1 pump a day and pump 3x per day will my supply drop? How fast will I see it drop? And if I add a pump back will it go back up?
I really want to make it to the 1year goal but it is starting to get difficult! Thanks for your advice!
Hi! Congrats on your twins! You may see a drop when you go to 3, but it could go either way. The best way to mitigate the risk is to add the time from the fourth pumping session to the other 3 so that they are longer and your total pumping time in a day stays the same. You’d probably see the drop anywhere from 1 day to 3 weeks. If you do see a drop and want to add a session back I would do it right away to minimize supply loss. Good luck!!
So glad to have found this site. I have been EPing since the first week due to LO’s weight loss and latching issues but am having trouble keeping up with LO’s demand. At 3 weeks now, I am pumping every 2-3 hours for 20 minutes each but overall daily production is topping off around 30 oz. Can I expect my production to go up further? I am planning to start taking fenugreek to see if that helps with increasing supply but I feel frustrated at times that I am not able to produce enough to satisfy my baby. Also, will it help to do more sessions (currently at 6-7 sessions per day) early on to encourage more production? Is there any medical concern with pumping more than 120 minutes per day?
Hi! Totally fine to pump more than 120 minutes per day. At 3 weeks, you may see it increase a bit over the next few weeks but I don’t think fenugreek is a bad idea if you’re having a hard time keeping up with you baby. You may see some small gain from going to 7-8 sessions per day. You could also make one of the 6-7 sessions a power pumping session and see if that helps?
Hi DJ – I have to ask, does your 3-week old need more than 30 oz a day?? That sounds like a ton of milk. I’ve never produced more than 30 a day and my LO is 20 weeks and drinks between 27-30oz, usually closer to 27. I make exactly as much as she needs so I haven’t had to supplement just yet. I was just curious how much you were feeding your LO if 30 oz a day wasn’t enough. In my personal opinion 30 is great!
Hi Amanda,
Currently my LO is just over 10 weeks old. I have been exclusively pumping and supplementing with 1 bottle of formula a day.
I pump 6 times per day (roughly around 1:30 am, 5 am, 8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm, and 9 pm). I have had mastits twice now- just getting over the 2nd bout. My doctor thinks I should give up but I’m not quite ready. I am ready to drop to 5 pumps per day though. Do you think a schedule like 10 pm, 5 am, 8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm would work? If so, how would I go about getting there?
I am ok if my supply drops a bit and I need to add another bottle of formula.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
Hi! Yes, I think that schedule would work great. I would switch the 9 to 10 cold turkey and then slowly push the 1:30 back to 5am (make that session 30 minutes later at a time – you can push it back every night or wait a few days in between depending on how you’re feeling). Hope that helps!
Hi Amanda – my LO is 10 weeks and I need to start dropping my pumping sessions – 7x/day – to 4x/day for when I go back to work, which is in about a month. I am ok if I see a dip in supply. My LO eats about 30oz/day and I pump anywhere from 45 – 55oz/day.
I currently pump 7x/day every 3.5 – 4 hours for 20 minutes. My last pump of the day is either 11pm or 12am and my first pump is 4:30am or 5am but the rest of my schedule varies because I am home alone with my LO all day, so I pump when I can.
Here’s a typical day: 12a, 5:20am, 8:30am, 11:45am, 2:10pm, 5:30pm, 8:25pm
I’m shooting for something like this: 11pm, 4:30am, 10am, 1:30pm, 6pm
I was thinking about first getting myself on more of routine schedule. Should I then gradually start increasing the time between pumps? I just recovered from mastitis so I want to be cautious. I really thank you for any help – your site has been such a blessing to me. It was never my plan to be an EP’er but with resources like your site, I have made it 10 weeks and my little is thriving.
Thank you!
Hi Gina! Congrats on your baby and sorry about the mastitis. Your plan sounds really good. So yeah, the way I would transition is to switch to the new times that are close to the existing times right away (12a to 11p, 5:20a to 4:30a, 2:10p to 1:30p, 5:30p to 6p, etc) then drop the ones in between slowly. You could just pump a little less each day by oz (so pump 1-2oz less each day for a given pump until you feel comfortable enough to drop it). Good luck!
I’m so glad I found this site this morning! Thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge with us!! I’m wondering if you could help me..
My baby is 2 weeks old and I am pumping and giving bottles of breastmilk during the day and then giving 2 bottles of formula in the middle of the night. I am pumping about 4-6 times a day for 20 minutes and getting anywhere from 22-30 ounces of milk a day. I do not pump through the night. My baby is eating about 3.5 ounces every 3-4 hours. I already have 50 ounces of breastmilk stored in my freezer. I am worried about overproducing breastmilk but also know that I will need more breastmilk once he starts eating more. Am I pumping the right amount? Thank you so much for your insight!
Hi Dana! I think you are doing great. I would probably try to make it 6 20 minute sessions every day if you can. Other than that, you’re good. I would not worry about overproducing, you’re doing fine, and like you said, he will probably take more as he gets older. Good luck!
Okay great! Thank you so much!!
Hello Amanda,
I have a 2.4 month old and pumping from 2 weeks but not consistently 8 times a day (sometimes 6 or even 4) for 15-20 mins. I got my period back and I am pumping only 1-2 ounces per session .
I have started having fenugreek seeds (twice a day) hand full quantity.
Please advise.
Hi Usha, are you looking to increase your supply? I wasn’t sure what you were asking. If you are, I would pump at least 6 times a day for at least 20 minutes per session. I would look into possibly taking calcium-magnesium supplement to help with the hormonal changes.
https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/natural-treatments/
Hello Amanda,
Thanks for your response .sorry for not being clear, yes I wanted to increase my milk supply .
Also would like to know what is the average milk expected for each session by pumping (just to know as I am consistently getting 50 ml each session).
Which week will I have milk established?
Usha
Hi! Supply is usually established by about 12 weeks. As far as average output – it really varies – I would say anywhere from a few ml to over 300ml could be normal. Average would probably be about 90-120?