Two questions today! The first has to do with how to drop a middle of the night pump when you’re prone to clogs, and the second covers bringing up your milk supply with a newborn.
My son is 7 months old, and I’ve been exclusively pumping he was five weeks old. I wanted to nurse so badly, and we had such a difficult beginning. After $400 worth of lactation visits, pediatric dentists, cranial sacral appts, etc, I was very depressed, in serious pain and starting to actually dread breastfeeding my baby. I started pumping on a whim with a hand pump, thinking I was just taking a break, and pumped around the clock to build a stash. I’m shocked I made it this long thinking back to how it all started. I love my Medela Pump in Style, and I’ve actually donated over 1,000 oz of breastmilk because it turned out I have a great supply!
I’m down to four pumps a day, six hours a part. My schedule is 8am, 2pm, 8pm, 2am. I could justify getting up in the night to pump because my son would be waking up for a bottle around then (my husband always does that feeding) but just recently he’s started sleeping great and sometimes sleeps through without a feeding. (I never ever thought the day would come!)
I’ve tried stretching out the time between pumps to every 8 hours so I could go down to 3 pumps but I got so painfully engorged I couldn’t. I get clogs often and have had mastitis and terrified of getting it again. Any suggestions?
I definitely hear you on wanting to get rid of that 2am pump, and I also 100% understand not wanting to get mastitis again! Mastitis is the worst – getting knocked down by it and having to take care of a baby AND having to pump is awful.
My first thought – what if you keep four pumping sessions at first, but respace them so that you can sleep 8 hours at a time? So something like 6am, 8am, 2pm, 10pm? The first few nights, you could even do a quick pumping session at 4am (or whenever it will be 6 hours since your pre-bed pumping session) to take the edge off? I’m thinking like 5 minutes or so. Then, you could move that mini-pumping session back by 15-30 minutes a day to make it more gradual until you can get to 6am.
Then, once you can get through the night okay, you can drop a session (the 8am session is the obvious candidate). My thinking is that it might be easier to separate going 8 hours with dropping a pumping session since you are so prone to clogged ducts.
Also, there are a few things that you could consider doing before you start – start taking lecithin (it helps prevent clogged ducts) and possibly get a lactation massager – it can help you get clogs out more quickly if you do get one.
Great job pumping for this long and donating all of that breastmilk!
More information on dropping pumping sessions here.
I gave birth three weeks ago. I pump eight times a day with a brand new electric pump and I supplement with formula. My baby now drinks 3 oz at a time, but I only pump 2 oz at a time. I spend 20 minutes pumping because that is what I have been told – and in the middle of the night, that is all I have patience for. I would love to be able to pump the full 3 oz and not have to use formula but I am not sure what to do. Will my supply be increasing soon?
Congrats on your new baby! Three weeks is really early and I think you can bring your supply up, but I also think that you will probably need to actively try. My first suggestion in your case would be to try fenugreek. I tried it at 3 weeks postpartum, and had a really positive experience with it.
Another thing that I might try is power pumping, if you can (this depends on how well your baby sleeps/if you have help caring for him). While your baby is sleeping or someone else is watching him, watch a hour length show, and pump on and off during the show, 12 min on/8 mins off. (Maybe you could find something on Netflix, or a DVD that you can look forward to watching every night while you power pump? That might help make it somewhat fun.) This will simulate cluster feeding and hopefully tell your body to make more milk.
There are other ideas for increasing milk supply here. Good luck!
And a few more bonus “questions” from the search engines:
How much extra do your boobs weigh when you’re breastfeeding?
I have no idea, but you will be carrying some extra weight from the weight of the milk you’re producing. (For example, 8oz of breast milk would be half a pound.) If you want to eliminate that from the number on the scale you could try weighing yourself right after you pump or just subtracting about a pound.
When to discontinue fenugreek?
There are a few scenarios:
- You have started pumping the amount of milk that you want to be pumping: In this case, you’re all set! You can discontinue it.
- You haven’t seen an increase, but you also don’t smell like maple syrup: Consider increasing your dosage.
- You’ve smelled like maple syrup for awhile (at least a few days), but are not seeing the increase that you’d like: You can keep taking it for a few more days if you want, or you could discontinue it now and try some other options, like power pumping or domperidone.
Please feel free to add any suggestions or thoughts in comments!
Kathryn says
November 27, 2018 at 5:45 pmI am currently pumping 8 times a day with one 4 hour stretch at night. I want to drop a session in 2 weeks but am not sure how to do it without getting a clogged duct. I just got over a clogged duct from being 1 hour late with that 4 hour stretch. How should I drop it and redistribute the times evenly? I am currently pumping for 24 mins each at 12am, 4am, 7am, 10am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm.
Amanda Glenn says
November 28, 2018 at 7:55 amHi Kathryn, which session did you want to drop?
Mary says
September 23, 2018 at 8:36 pmHi.
I’ve been EP since baby was 3 weeks (was attempting bf too but couldn’t get it off).
Now nearly 8 weeks pp, pump 5x a day and produce 850/900mls.
My current schedule is 11am, 3pm, 7pm, 10.30pm and 6am but I’m struggling I the night. My breasts are quite small and feel very tight by 6am. Is there a way I can maintain supply and feel less engorged in the morning?
I pump for 18mins per session.
I’d like to get to 3 or 6 months and even keep 1 or 2 bottles going a day after that
Amanda Glenn says
September 24, 2018 at 6:47 amHi Mary! How long have you been on this schedule?
Alina says
September 12, 2018 at 5:48 pmHi Amanda,
I am pumping 5-6 times a day (15min per boob) for my 4 week old for my son. One boob (the problem boob) is only making 1oz or less and per session and has been constantly clogging and is sore and red. It always feels tight. This boob also has a history of mastitis from my last pregnancy.
Considering this and other factors I have decided to make the switch to formula and wean off the pump all together. My son also loves the formula so I’m going to move in that direction.
With my current pumping schedule and history, how would you reccomend I wean off pumping to prevent mastitis again?
Thank you so much,
Alina
Amanda Glenn says
September 13, 2018 at 9:59 pmHi Alina! Congrats on your baby and so sorry to hear about the mastitis! Here is my general weaning plan. I would recommend taking it very slowly.
https://exclusivepumping.com/weaning-from-the-pump/
Additionally, for you I would recommend considering lecithin to prevent the clogged ducts and using cabbage leaves quite a big, especially on the problem boob. You can just tear a leaf off of a head of cabbage and put it in your bra until it wilts, then replace it. Hope this helps, and good luck!
Rebecca says
August 19, 2018 at 4:51 pmHi Amanda, my 10 week old has just started sleeping through a night feed. I am exlusively pumping on a 4 hourly schedule – 8, 12, 4 am/pm. I would like to drop the 4am pump, as this is the one he has started skipping so I don’t want to have to get up if I don’t have to! I am blessed with a very good supply although the 4am tends to be my smallest pump. No issues with mastitis as yet. My thoughts were to just respace my pump schedule overnight, so do my last pump at 8pm and then another at 2am, before starting the day again at 8am. Would you recommend a different approach? Keen on tips to avoid supply drop/infections!
Amanda Glenn says
August 19, 2018 at 9:33 pmHi Rebecca! Here’s what I would do: push the 4am back to whatever time you wake up (6am-ish)? You can do it slowly, like 30 minutes a night, or faster if you don’t feel super engorged when you wake up at 4 and think you can handle another two hours. Once you do that, you might want to respace your sessions a bit so that you’re not pumping at 6am and 8am – maybe drop the 8am but bring the 12pm up to 11am – it just depends what works for your schedule.
THEN, I would push the 12pm up to whatever time you go to bed (say, 10pm-ish). Again, you can do 30 minutes a day or whatever you’re comfortable with.
You can also do it in the opposite order.
Does this make sense? Please let me know if not or if you have any questions.
Laura says
October 30, 2017 at 2:27 amHi, I’m currently pumping 6 times a day at 3:30am, 7:30am, 10:30am, 1:30pm, 4:30pm and 9:30pm. I also get up at 1am to do a quick 10 mom hand express as I Ammy afraid of getting clogged ducts which I was getting before as back then I only pumped 4 times a day before adding in the 7:30am and 1:30pm pump.
My daughter is currently 8 weeks old and has a middle of the night feed at 3am. I would like to get rid of my 3:30am feed but am worried that I have her clogged ducts again if I don’t pump in the middle of the night but I would really like to be able to sleep more than 3 hours in a row. Any suggestions to do this? Also my plan is to only EP until she is 6 months old. Many thanks!
Amanda Glenn says
October 30, 2017 at 1:04 pmHi! I think you should be able to do this. FIrst I would phase out the 1am hand expression by slowly moving back the time you’d do it until you can get to 3:30 without issues. Then I would slowly push the 3:30 back to whenever you wake up. You can move it back by 30 minutes-1 hour a day or whatever you feel comfortable with. The key is getting your body used to going longer.
About the clogged ducts – have you tried lecithin at all? Might be helpful.
Leisly Nguyen says
October 12, 2017 at 3:40 amHi,
My baby is 3 week old today. I pump 5 times a day (6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm and 10pm) around 20 minutes each and breastfeed her at night according to her demand (normally twice) My supply is stable now and I want to cut at least one of the mid night breastfeeding and give her bottle from the 10pm pump instead. However my breast will be full, hard and hot which is difficult to sleep any way. Does this mean the mid night feed is considered a pump? And can you please suggest a way I can bottle her once and breastfeed once during the night without full breast?
Many thanks
Amanda Glenn says
October 12, 2017 at 8:06 amHi! YEs, it sounds like she is getting a decent amount at those sessions. That’s great! I think you should gradually reduce the amount that you’re lactating at that time in order to get through the night. Because you can’t control how/when she nurses as much, I’d switch to bottles and then pump, just for a few days – and during those few days you would slowly reduce the amount of time that you pump so that your body gets used to not lactating over night. Hope that helps!
Staci says
October 4, 2017 at 3:53 pmHello,
I have been exclusively pumping and my little one is almost 4 months. When I went back to work about 3 weeks ago I decided to drop my middle of the night pumping session but move it into the daytime hours so I was pumping the same amount of times still (5 times). I used to pump close to 50 oz a day and I have noticed a steady decrease ever since I dropped this session. I’m barely getting 35oz a day now and my baby is drinking 34oz a day. It’s making me nervous that I won’t be able to keep up with his demand at this point. Should I put the middle of the night session back in which seems like the logical solution (although I am dreading this because I really need the sleep so I can function at work) or is there an alternative to get my output back up? Current schedule is 5:30, 10:30, 2:30, 6:30, 9:30 (although this tends to fluctuate quite a bit depending on when I have meetings – could this also be my problem?). Thank you!
Amanda Glenn says
October 8, 2017 at 8:09 pmUgh, I’m so sorry to hear this. I wonder if dropping the middle of the night session didn’t put your hormones in gear to get your period back? That would explain the drop. Do you feel like that might happen? Adding it back in is probably the most logical solution (I don’t think the times varying during the day should hurt anything). So sorry!
Staci says
October 9, 2017 at 3:09 pmHi Amanda,
I technically should have had my period last week but it never came. I haven’t had one at all since I’ve had my son. I should also tell you that I am on birth control prescribed by my OB – she said it is safe for breastfeeding. It is the progestin only birth control. I’ve been taking it for 2 months now. Would that be a factor as well? I’ve been taking 9 fenugreek capsules per day for about a week now and my milk still seems to be decreasing or staying right around 34oz a day at this point. If I could get up to 40 per day I would feel much more comfortable. If I add the middle of the night session back in can I still keep pumping 5 times per day or would I need to do 6 for awhile until it goes back up? Thanks!
Amanda Glenn says
October 10, 2017 at 8:58 pmI would try the 5 and see what happens! Do you smell like maple syrup at all with the fenugreek?
I think you should be okay with that birth control.
Ruby says
August 30, 2017 at 2:19 pmHi, I have a 2 month old baby. I have been exclusively pumping since day 4 and have an oversupply whereby daily I pump ~40% more than my son drinks. I have already reduced pumping sessions from 8 in first month to 6. I wish to reduce sessions to 5 as well as skip the middle Of the night session and then in another 2 months start reducing pumping before I go to work. My problem in skipping night session and making the gap between numbers get and morning session of 8 hours is engorgement.
Current schedule is 2am, 7am, 11am, 3 am, 7 am, 11am. Please advise.
Amanda Glenn says
August 30, 2017 at 6:55 pmHi Ruby! I would slowly push the 2am back to whatever time you want to be pumping in the morning when you wake up (possibly still 7am, maybe earlier?) You could go until 3am one night, see how that feels, and either hang tight there a few days or go ahead and push it back to 4am. You can go as fast or as slow as is comfortable. Good luck!
Mac says
July 12, 2017 at 1:49 pmAny tips on making each session more efficient? I already do hand compressions. I’m not pumping enough per session. On the weekends, we BF, so I know there’s enough milk to go around. I’m just not pumping enough per session during the week at work. I am having to pump 6-7 times per day to get enough milk for 3 bottles. (This is in addition to our morning and evening feedings, which are BF.) During the weekend, we only nurse 5 times per day, so I had expected that I could pump ~3-4 times per day (maybe 5) to get enough for her 3 bottles. Thanks in advance!
Amanda Glenn says
July 12, 2017 at 3:05 pmHi! I wrote this awhile ago –
https://exclusivepumping.com/getting-the-most-milk-possible-out-of-a-pumping-session/
You’ve already got the compressions, but maybe getting another letdown would help?
Katie says
March 10, 2017 at 9:01 amIs there a time (number of weeks PP) when it is “safe” to drop the middle of the night pumping if you can still get 7 pumps in during the day? Could you give a sample schedule of how you might make the transition? ( I am only 16 days PP but would love to have a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of longer potential sleep sessions). Thank you!
Amanda Glenn says
March 10, 2017 at 9:14 amHi Katie! I think 8-10 weeks is definitely safe! What is your schedule now?
Christine says
March 8, 2017 at 9:12 pmThanks! Suggestion in which sudafed?
Amanda Glenn says
March 9, 2017 at 9:03 amHi! Anything with phenylephrine will work!!
Christine says
March 8, 2017 at 5:15 amHi! I’m trying to get down from 5 sessions to 2. Then to be done pumping all together. I have a 6 week old son and I am going back to work and I will be so busy to pump and need social time at work mentally. Plus he was tongue tied and just hasn’t matched the same since then. To top it off I’m leettt sure I have an kver supply. Anyways, right now I’m trying to gradually space out my pumps and make them shorter and less volume, but I can get past 4 hours without being engorged and leaking. Any advice to stretching these sessions out? Right now I’m pumping 1am,5am,9am, 1pm,5pm, 9pm. Any suggestions? Just let it leak and push the pumps? There is no way I can do the 9am and 1pm pump.
Christine says
March 8, 2017 at 5:17 amBad autocorrect. To top it off I’m pretty sure I have an over supply. Since he got his tongue tie fixed he doesn’t latch well. Should say I can’t get past 4 hours. 5am posts will do that you. Thanks!
Amanda Glenn says
March 8, 2017 at 9:07 pmHi Christine! I would do Sudafed and cabbage leaves if you are looking to wean and are not concerned about supply. (If you still want to maintain supply after you back to work, then disregard). That should help you stretch the sessions out so that you can drop some!
Bailey says
February 20, 2017 at 5:31 pmHello, I started pumping to build a supply for my little. She hasn’t been latching well since the beginning and now I feel like I need to pump only because it makes me happier and I know how much she is actually eating. She is 1 month old and I want to pump only during the day as it is very hard to get her back to sleep after eating and could take a half hour to an hour. To pump after that I wouldn’t be getting any sleep. Please help, I really want to make this work.
Amanda Glenn says
February 21, 2017 at 11:22 amHi Bailey, what does you pumping schedule look like overall? Do you think you could get 7 sessions in during the day?
Katie says
October 19, 2016 at 12:57 pmHello,
My daughter is 2 months old and I am exclusively pumping 7 times a day. She is sleeping a good 8 hours at night, so I would love to drop the night pumping session. Is it possible to drop the night feeding and go down to pumping 6 times a day? Will my supply still be ok?
Amanda Glenn says
October 19, 2016 at 1:45 pmHi Katie! I think you will be fine! I would just up the length of your remaining six sessions so that your total time pumping in a given day is the same. Good luck!
Jodi says
September 29, 2016 at 7:48 pmHello, I have a six week old that would not latch and I am pumping exclusively. I usually pump 7 to 8 times a day and pump about 5 to 6 oz. Per pump. I have a concert to go to and would love to escape for the evening leaving baby home with dad for up to 8 hours. Is it possible to go this long without destroying my supply if it’s only one evening?
Amanda Glenn says
October 3, 2016 at 3:52 pmI think it would be okay. I would make up the time before and after the concert. You can also bring a hand pump in your purse if you’re worried about engorgement. Have fun!