Are you an exclusive pumper with a baby past the newborn stage? Here’s everything you need to know about exclusively pumping for an older baby (over three months old).
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How often should I be pumping?
This depends on how old your baby is, how long you think you want to pump, and what your supply situation looks like.
Your baby’s age
The younger your baby, the more important it is to remove milk from your breasts often. As time goes on, you can drop pumping sessions and consolidate the time you spend pumping.
For reference, here are the number of times I pumped each day with my son at different ages (here are some sample pumping schedules):
- 3 months: 5 pumping sessions per day (6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, 10pm)
- 6 months: 4 pumping sessions per day (6am, 10am, 2pm, 10pm)
- 11 months: 3 pumping sessions per day (6:30am, 2pm, 10pm)
- 12 months: 2 pumping sessions per day (6:30am, 7pm)
- 13 months: 1 pumping session per day (7pm)
- 14 months (and pregnant again): weaned
That’s just my experience though – there is no one correct answer.
How long you want to exclusively pump
The farther out your pumping goal, the more conservative you want to be in dropping sessions.
So if your baby is three months old and your goal is to pump for a year, you may want to drop sessions more slowly than if your goal was six months.
Your milk supply
Evaluating this is similar to your pumping goals. Anything can happen when you drop a pumping session – your supply can go down, stay the same, or even go up.
If you’re an undersupplier or worried about milk supply, you may want to be more cautious in dropping pumping sessions.
How long should my pumping sessions be?
If you are exclusively pumping, you should be pumping for two hours or 120 minutes per day as a minimum guideline.
To determine how long you should be pumping for, divide 120 by the number of times that you’re pumping and set that as your goal.
So if you’re pumping 6 times per day, you should pump for 20 minutes at a time; if you’re pumping 4 times per day, you should be pumping for 30 minutes.
How much should I get each time I pump?
Ideally, you’d get enough each day to feed your baby; most older babies drink between 24-35oz per day, with 27-28 ounces being the average (you can see more details about this here).
There’s no magic number that you should be pumping. Two women can pump the exact same amount, and one can be an oversupplier while the other is an undersupplier.
If you’re not making as much as you’d like, there are some methods you can try to increase your milk supply.
However much you get, you are doing great!
How can I pump with my baby around?
My biggest struggle with exclusively pumping for an older baby was that it was difficult to do with him underfoot – he would always want to play with my tubing, or a bottle would get spilled, and it was basically a stressful disaster.
My best tip with an older baby is to put him in a high chair and sit next to him with some toys or solids to keep him entertained while you pump.
Here are other tips how to handle caring for an older baby and pumping at the same time.
Does it matter if I don’t pump at the same time every day?
There’s no research about this that can give us a definitive answer.
We know that nursing babies do not eat on a strict schedule – while a baby may generally eat every three hours or so, sometimes a nap will go long and he might eat at 2pm instead of 1pm, for example.
As a result, it seems reasonable that minor variations in the time lactation occurs are likely fine, which means it’s okay to move a session up or back a bit as necessary.
My suggestion is to test it out for yourself, and pay attention to whether or not you see any differences when your pump times need to vary a bit. If you don’t notice a difference, it’s probably fine to vary the times.
How long do people usually exclusively pump?
Everyone has a different goal. Some moms want to pump for three months, some for six months, some for a year or more. Personally, I exclusively pumped for 14 months.
A comprehensive study of exclusive pumpers found that the approximate mean duration of pumping is 8.3 months.
Is it worth continuing pumping if I’m only pumping X amount?
You are the only one who can weigh the trade-offs of continuing versus stopping.
No matter how much you’re pumping, it’s awesome for your baby to get some breast milk. However, that breast milk does have a cost – your time and your mental health.
In my opinion, a happy mom is more important than breast milk.
Think about the pros and cons of your individual situation and decide what you want to do. If you’re still not sure, try dropping one pumping session and reevaluate how you feel.
If you do decide to wean, more information on that here.
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What should I watch out for with regard to milk supply while exclusively pumping?
One common question that I get on instagram is some variation of “does milk supply automatically drop around 6 months when you’re exclusively pumping?” (Sometimes the question will say 7 months, or 8 months, or 9 months – you get the idea.)
There is no magic time at which milk supply can become an issue. However, there are a few things that can impact your milk supply later on.
Menstruation
As time goes on after you have your baby, it’s more and more likely that you’ll get your period back. Menstruation can affect milk supply.
Here are some things that you can do if you find that your period has decreased your milk supply.
Pregnancy
As your fertility returns, it’s also possible that you will become pregnant again.
Pregnancy can also have a negative impact on milk supply.
Birth control
I would suggest avoiding contraception that contains estrogen, and it can affect your supply.
Stick to your schedule
Make sure to keep up a schedule of 120 minutes of pumping per day to protect your supply long-term.
Medications
Check any medications – both prescribed and over the counter – you need to take to make sure it’s safe for breastfeeding and won’t affect supply.
Sudafed is an example of a medication that can negatively affect milk supply.
Do you have any tips on exclusively pumping for an older baby? Share them in the comments!
Comments & Chitchat
Hi, Amanda! I used to pump on schedule for my baby boy. He is now ten months old. However, I stopped pumping for 1.5months when he was 8.5mos-10months (he directly latches though) and I noticed the drop in my supply which is understandable since my body may have recognized lesser demand. Now, I am trying to build my stash again which is about to ran out. I only manage to pump 1oz (hand express/electric pump) once a day. It kinda is a bit frustrating and I really want to work hard to get it my supply back to be able to save for my boy. If I increase my pumping to 3x a day like what my body was used to, will that help me up my milk supply? 😉
Hi Mary! It’s impossible to say for sure but I think it’s worth a try! I would give it a week or two and then reassess – it might take some time. Good luck!
Hi Amanda, thank you for posting such helpful information. My baby is 7 weeks old and I am able to pump enough for all his feeds as well as freeze some everyday. I however hate the middle of the night pumps. I want to go from 11-12 pm to 6-7 am without pumping. I am willing to put in extra sessions during the day to keep up supply. I need my night time sleep! Do u think this will be a good idea? Will it decrease my supply? Thanks again!
Hi Ali! If your milk supply is good I think you could try a six hour break like 12-6. I can’t guarantee what will happen but there’s a decent chance it won’t affect your supply. Good luck!
Hi. I’m exclusively pumping and my baby is 10m old. I pump for a total of 2 hours a day (4-5sessions). How many sessions should I do and how long for after 1 year so that I can continue pumping for 2 years if I can. Thank you so much
Hi Lana! Congrats on your 10 month old! If you want to maintain you supply I would keep going for 2 hours but shorter sessions. 🙂
Hello! I’m currently exclusively pumping fir my 11 almost 12 month old son. I’m still pumping every 2-4 hours so about 8 times a day. Even pumping that much my supply is down. I produce around 20 ounces a day. I am about a month ahead in what I call my stick pile lol. I tried cutting out my middle of the night feeding, but I’m terrified I’ll lose those precious ounces! Any suggestions? Thank you in advance. This read was super helpful!
Hi Victoria! HAve you tried any strategies to increase milk supply, like eating oatmeal or power pumping? I think you could try dropping the middle of the night session and see how it goes? Your supply might go down – but the extra sleep might help, too. You just have to weigh the risk. You’re doing an awesome job!
Hi!
Your site is so helpful. Thx a lot.
I have a 3 mo daughter, and she refuses to nurse during the day, so I nurse at night but combo pump/formula for her day feeds (I give however much I manage to pump and supplement with formula for the rest). She has zero schedule whatsoever, day or night, and my supply seems to be dropping a bit……. trying to pump every 2-3 hrs to keep it up and nursing overnight.
How would you recommend I manage pumping for the day while nursing at night? She’s a small eater and likes to snack at night about every 2 hours.
Looking to add any bit of structure to the chaos!
Thanks so much.
Hi Janice! I think that what you’re doing makes a lot of sense. I’m not sure what you can do about the nighttime snacking, that’s more a question for a sleep expert. (I used a sleep consultant with two of my babies and it was super helpful!)
Hi,
I am exclusively pumping mom after my baby turned 16 months. Currently my toddler is 20 months old and I pump at 6:30 am, noon and then at 8:30pm.
I am planning to drop the noon session. I couldn’t find anywhere about ideal pumping session for toddlers.
Thank you.
Hi! I would just make them about 12 hours apart. The exact times don’t matter so much. So like 6:30am/6:30pm, or as close to them as you can get.
Thanks so much for this information! I currently pump six times a day for about 25-30 minutes. I am a low supplier and currently supplement with 1/2 milk and 1/2 formula. I, want to drop a pumping session but am not sure quite how since I teach and my lunch break is at 11:30am. I also try to go to bed around 9pm so my current schedule is 6am, 8am, 1130am, 230pm, 6pm and 830pm. Any suggestions on which session to drop? I’d love to the 8am one but am worried that 6 to 1130 would be too long of a stretch. I am also concerned about my supply decreasing but feel I have tried almost everything with no luck (Go Lacta supplements, Mother’s milk tea, lactation balls flax and brewers yeast, oatmeal, power pumping, and hand expression). Thank you!
Hi Stacey! I think you could do either the 8am or the 6pm. Those are longer stretches, but your body does the long one at night so I think it will be okay. I would just make the 6 and 11:30 longer if possible to make sure you get as close to empty as possible. I hope this helps! Good luck!
Hi Amanda,
I’ve been reading the posts on your website and they’ve been so helpful.
My two month old has been sleeping longer spurts (not consistent yet) and i currently pump 7x day every 3 hrs during the day, 4 hours at night for 20 minutes, i get about 5oz each time and the baby eats around 3-4 per feeding. As her sleeping gets longer at night, I’m getting a bit confused on how often I should be waking up at night to pump and if i can drop 1 pump at night and have 6 in total.
My pumping schedule isn’t at an exact set time but according to when the baby eats (and her feeding times may differ between 30-45 minutes each day, depends on when she’s hungry, so some days, I pump at 8:30, 11:30, 2:30 other days I may pump at 9:15, 12:15 3:15 etc).
My 1st question is, is 2 months too early to to drop a pump from 6-7? I notice your website referred to 3 months.
My second question is, how can I adjust my pumping schedule as i do not have a set pumping time?
Thanks! – Very confused first time mom
Hi! I think it’s okay to drop at this point. Are you currently waking up to pump when she is sleeping, or do you only pump when she eats?
Thanks! I’m currently waking up to pump (anticipating she will wake up within the 30-40 minutes after i start pumping). I’m worried if i cut one of the middle of the night pumps i will get too engorged.. I currently wake up at around 1:30am and again at 5:00am – before the middle of the night pumps, my last pump is around 9:15pm.
Baby wakes up usually either at 2am or 3 pm and again at 5:00 or 6:00 am. Should I be spacing my nightime pumps out slowly before dropping it?
Hmm. I think I would consider keeping the 1:30 and dropping the 5/6am one. What’s your first pumping session of the day?
Thanks for replying!
In the morning, I usually pump around 8:30am or 9:00am. Here’s a sample of my schedule:
8:30am, 11:30am, 2:30pm, 6:00pm , 9:00pm 1:30am 5:00am
I produce the most I notice at 1:30am, should I try and push that out a bit later so there’s not so much time in between (ie. move it to 2:30am) If i do, will I need to space out my day time pumps?
Thanks~!
Hmm. Maybe you could pump after your baby wakes up instead of before? I think that would work well. I might move the morning one up a bit if you can. Other than that, I think you are okay. I would make your sessions longer so that your total pumping time in a day stays the same.
Hey Amanda! I’ve been exclusively pumping for 7 months and I’m an oversupply. I pump 3 times a day and get the output I desire. I was wondering if I cut down to 2 times a day with a 12 hr spacing in between, will that ruin my Supply? Like how should I keep it two and maintain it?
Hi Rora! Honestly I would stick to 2 until you’re maybe a month shy of wanting to stop – there’s just a decent chance you could get your period back or that your supply will drop and you won’t be able to get it back up again.
Hi Amanda!
Thank you for posting this. I have been exclusively pumping for nearly 14 months now. I do not find that cow milk is a 1:1 ration to breast milk and thus am struggling with how much I should be feeding my son.
I have been mixing 2oz whole milk + 2oz breast milk and giving that to my almost 14 month old with each meal (he gets a bottle with breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks). In total he is still drinking about 5 bottles a day and another one during the night (sometimes he takes the whole bottle, other times he sleeps pretty well and doesn’t need much milk to sooth him so he only maybe has half).
So here are my two (ish) questions:
1. Is it ok that I am mixing cows with booby milk? He will not drink straight cow’s milk.
2. Am I overfeeding this kid!? Is 5 bottles too much? I am struggling with this question because most pediatricians go by cow’s milk not breast which I am sure is different in calories and nutrients.
Hi Anna! Totally fine to mix it!
I can’t remember if the limit I got was 20 or 24oz of cow’s milk – but either way, you should be fine because half is breastmilk, I think? As long as his weight is good and he’s eating some solids I think it’s fine? But I’m no expert. 🙂 I hope this helps a little!
Hi Amanda, I was exclusively pumping for 6 months. But after 6 months I stopped pumping after 1 month. I used to do pump after every 4 hrs. I was getting 24 to 26 oz in 24 hrs. But after 6 months I started skipping pump session. I was pumping 4 times in a day after that 2 times a day and suddenly I stopped completely. I got headache and heavy breast also. But my obgyn said stop completely pumping session. But after 3 months of stopped pumping still my breast feels heavy and its bigger. Right now I am 10 mpp. When will my breast size goes to normal size or it will stay forever big?
Hi Geet! Maybe try pumping and see if anything comes out? I am not sure, to be honest. Have you seen your doctor since she told you to completely stop pumping?
I am now 5 month pp and have been pumping this whole time. I have been at 5 pumps for about a month now. Recently I went from pumping about 30 min per pump to about 45 min to feel empty. Is this normal? The increased time is hard for me. I have tried replacing pump parts. Is there anything else you can recommend? I also went from producing about 50-52 oz per day and now doing about 45-47 oz per day with the increased time.
Hi Kelley! Are you doing breast compressions already I’m guessing? If not, I would do that. I’ll post a link on how to pump faster that might have some ideas that would work for you?
https://exclusivepumping.com/pump-breast-milk-faster/
Yes I have been. Not sure why my letdowns are taking so long. I wasn’t sure if something happened around the timeframe postpartum.
I am also having issues with my pump membranes – it seems like I have to replace them every week. Is that normal?
Actually every 2 weeks is recommended, so that’s fairly normal. 🙂
No it didn’t go to spam although I clicked the button,
Ok then, will check back in at 6 months to see when I can drop to 3 pumps if everything will be going well!
Thanks again, a lot, appreciate your help 🙂
Awesome! Sorry about the email!
So basically do 6 times a day for 3ish weeks, than keep doing 5 times a day until the 6 month mark, at 6 month drop to 4 times (while keeping the total pumping time the same)
Do you think this will get me beyond 1 year?
PS. Thank you so much for quick reply I should have checked the website again instead of waiting for an email notification that I never got 😀
Yes exactly! I think that will work great! Sorry about the email thing – if you clicked the button you should have gotten it! MAybe it went to spam?
First, thank you so much for putting this website together, so helpful and informative,
Our baby is 11 weeks old and I have just switched to pumping 6 times a day 20min each, used to do 8 times 20min each than at some point 7 times 20min each.
My supply seems to be the same although I haven’t increased the pumping time when dropping sessions.
How soon is it safe to go to 5 sessions than 4 sessions if my goal is to breastfeed for 6months versus 1 year? Or even 2 years?
I produce between 30-35 daily, baby takes in 27-30
Hi Sophie! I would give it 3ish weeks before dropping to 5, then drop to 4 around the 6 month mark. Hope that helps! Congrats! 🙂
My milk supply came in late and i had all the FTM issues in the world. My little one is going to be 3 months in 5 days and i’ve decided to pump 6 times a day until she’s 6 months old. I want to give her breastmilk as long as possible
Im 9 weeks pp now and my baby completed 2 months , how many times of pump must be do per day ?
Maybe 6 or 7? How many are you doing now?
Hi, My baby is 3 months old. I am pumping 6 times a day typically 6.30 am,9.30am,12.30pm,4.30pm,7,30pm,9,30pm.
I recently went back to work and would like to drop to 5 sessions, may be dropping the 7.30pm pump. On an average I make 35oz per day which is slightly more than my baby eats , like I can freeze 5 oz per day. Can I drop the session and not have an effect on my supply?
Also I have to pump for 25 -30 min each session to completely empty the breasts each time which makes my total time closer to 3 hours per day 🙁
Hi! It’s impossible to know for sure what will happen (your supply could go up, down or stay the same) but it’s worth a shot. Just increase the length of your remaining sessions so that your total pump time in a day stays the same. Good luck!
what is power pumping? my 5:30am is my shorter get more pump session. my noon one is the rough one now, I sit at my desk at work pumping for over an hour, and it’s tough to get over the 18oz mark. when I pumped at 4am, not getting a full nights sleep, my noon pumping was awesome, getting a solid 21-23 oz every time, in about 45 min, usually having to stop at 30min, to move some milk from right to left bottle, cause left boob is always about 2 oz behind, and my bottles hold max 12 oz.
Power pumping is pumping on and off for about an hour – 20 on, 10 off, 10 on, 10 off, etc. The idea is to mimic cluster feeding.
Wow! I pump for 3x at work (2 15-min and 1 30-min), and the most that I could only get was 7oz! My baby is now 4 months old, so I’ve decided to drop one pump session and decided to pump at 30 minutes. I could now get 8oz.
I wish I had seen your site sooner, but overall I think I’m doing fairly well. I have 5 1/2 month old twins, that I have been exclusively pumping for since we left the hospital. In the early months I was pumping every 2-3 hours, getting about 6-10 oz per pump, and was able to put quite a bit of stash in the freezer. I slowly increased the intervals between pumping and was regularly getting 12-14 oz per pump. That was using one of those Freemie hands free pumps, and they max out at 16 oz, and I was always pumping at least an hour at a time. Anyway, I broke that pump and had to switch to a traditional Medela, and that was the best thing ever to happen to my pumping. With the Medela I reduced to 4 pumps per day every 6 hours, getting at least 14 oz per pump, and at 4 months reduced to 3 pumps per day every 8 hours, getting typically 18-23 oz per pump. The kids are eating a solid 60-65 oz a day between the 2 of them, so most days I’m a few ounces short, and starting to deplete my freezer stash. I know I’m extremely blessed with my current output, but with twins, anything I can do to keep it up or increase production would be great. I find anytime I shorten the interval less than 8 hrs, my output decreases and I have to pump over an hour, if I lengthen the interval to 9 or 10 hrs, I can easily get over 20 oz in less than 30 min. Any suggestions? I really like the 3 pump schedule, but have been increasing the night interval, to get more straight sleep, which shortens one of the day intervals, doing 5:30am (21oz), noon (18oz), and 8:30pm (19oz). Hoping their intake will go down some with the introduction of solid foods, but would like to keep exclusively feeding breast milk through 1 yr.
Hi Tammy! I think you are doing AWESOME. I think your schedule sounds great. It sounds like the longer interval at night and in the afternoon are working for you?
Something as simple as eating oatmeal might get your over that few oz hump? I found a pumped 1-2oz more with it. Also, if your 8:30 is a shorter session (I wasn’t sure) you could make it a power pumping one maybe and see if that helps?
First of all, I have to say I wish I found your site much, much sooner! What an incredible resource in a space that is desperately lacking information! I started pumping as soon as I was wheeled into the recovery room after an emergency c-section with my twins (born 9 weeks premature). We spent 31 days in the NICU and that entire time I was pumping 10-12 times per day for 20 minutes each session. Eventually after coming home, I dropped to 8 pumps per day but needed to pump for 40-60 minutes per session to get enough. I did that for about 4 months and started to drop my pumps to 7, then 6, now 5 times per day, but still 40-60 minutes per session. They are 8 months old now. In January, I got my period for the first time. I’ve now had 2 periods and I’ve seen a DRASTIC decrease in supply over the last 1-2 weeks. I was getting 28-30oz per day with the 5 pumps and now I’m getting 15-20oz per day. My babies each take about 28-30oz of milk per day, so for a little bit now I’ve only been getting 50% of what they need and supplementing with specialty formula. 50% breast milk for each baby was okay for me but the 25% I’m getting now is not! Is my supply decrease normal based on how long I’ve been pumping and having my period back? Or is there something I can do to get my supply back? You suggest pumping for 120 minutes each day but I have always been pumping for much longer than that – was that a big mistake? This has become way too time consuming for way too small of an output when I have two babies starting to crawl around. I am at the point where if I can’t boost my supply and make this worthwhile, I am going to consider weaning sooner than I hoped. Thank you so much in advance for your suggestions and advice!
Hi Jessica! Congrats on your twins!!!
Try taking a Cal-Mag and see if that helps the period decrease. I had the same thing happen (it sucks!) but cal-mag does help some women mitigate the effects. More info here: https://exclusivepumping.com/what-to-do-when-your-period-tanks-your-milk-supply/
It wasn’t a mistake to pump for more than 120 minutes, don’t worry! That’s more a minimum than an iron-clad rule. 🙂
Good luck! I hope this helps!
When you say two hours of pumping per day, do you mean for each breast using a double pump?
Yes!
Hi Amanda,
I’m 4 months pp and have dropped down to 5 pumps per day.. I understand I should be pumping 2 hrs each day spread out over the five pumps.. However I seem to be getting the 7 oz per session after pumping for 10-12 mins.. (I’ll maybe get one more oz in total if I pump the full 24 mins) Is it completely necessary to continue pumping for the entire 24 mins? What are the benefits of continuing to pump?
Hi Kim! So there are a few things. Mostly, it’s that the additional nipple stimulation for the last 12 minutes helps maintain your supply long term. In addition to that, you’re getting the additional letdown (that extra 1oz that you’re pumping), which is going to be mostly hindmilk because your breasts are on the empty side.
If you don’t really care about getting that extra oz AND your pumping goals are shorter-term (i.e., planning on pumping for another month or so), you’d probably be fine stopping after 12 minutes. If you want to EP for months longer, I would do the extra time to protect your supply. Hope that helps!
My little one is almost 5 months old and I am pumping 4x a day (6am, 11am, 4pm, 9:30/10pm) totaling around 2hrs 15minutes
I average about 55 oz/day and would love to go to 3 pumps a day. Hoping to combine the two day pumps and keep the 6am, 9:30pm sessions. I’m not sure if I should try to push my 11 am by 30min and move the 4 pm by 30min to eventually meet in the middle around 1:30pm? How many days/Weeks should the process take?
I know my supply is good, but I’m nervous I’ll drop too low. I currently donate extra milk, but would be happy if I could get to the 40oz range. Then I could still have some stash/donate.
Thank you!
Hi Carla! I think moving the 11am forward and the 4pm back will work great! If you haven’t had clogged ducts or mastitis before, I would do 30 minutes on each end per day and be done in about 4 days. If you have, maybe wait a day or two before moving again? (Hopefully that makes sense, let me know if not!) For supply, can you keep your total pumping time to about 2 hours? 55 oz is awesome! 🙂
First and foremost I’d just like to say that your website is a God send! So informative & helpful.. Thank you for creating it!
Now for my question.. Your pump schedule for 3 months sounds amazing.. I would loveeeee to be on that. I feel like it will def give me more of a life! I’ve been EPing for going onto 4 months now.. I pump 5-6 x a day.. During the day I pump every four hours.. At night I go for longer stretches of five hours. I’ve had two major clogs so far that pretty much traumatized me (entire breast was clogged) & lasted 2.5 days.. Before those clogs.. I pumped every three hours and went for 8 hours at night without pumping which was fine.. Since the clogs I’ve been scared to resume that 8 hr stretch and have been pumping at night which is exhausting. Now that I’m four months in id like to train my body be able to do that again. I’m trying the method of spacing the times in between each pump a lil more each day.. But breasts were still very lumpy (had to pump for extra 10 mins at higher intensity to unclog). What would you suggest for me? I am afraid to try the method of pumping less amounts at sessions but I am worried not emptying my breasts will lead to another clog. My goal is to give my son bm for a year.
Hi Kim! Sorry you had to deal with those terrible clogs!
Okay, the first thing I would do is try lecithin and see if that helps with the lumpiness (basically, it makes the milk “less sticky,” so it can help if you’re prone to clogged ducts).
The next thing I would do is start working to train your body to go 8 hours, so slowly making the time that you wake up later. I would have a firm “bedtime pump” time, so say it’s 10pm and you usually wake up to pump at 3am. I would slowly push that back (maybe 30 minutes at a time), and then make that session – the one you’re pushing back – long enough so that you’re empty.
Does that all make sense? Let me know if you have any questions!
Hi my daughter just turned 11 months old today & I have decided that I wanted to wean her when she turns one year old next month. Currently I’m pumping 5 times a day, at 20 min. What is the best to way to wean? Drop a pump every few days or dropping once a week?
Thanks!
Hi Cheryl! Congrats on making it to almost a year!!! Here are some more details about weaning –
https://exclusivepumping.com/weaning-from-the-pump/
I think you could do every few days if you’re not prone to clogged ducts. If you are, I might aim for one a week. Good luck!
My baby is 5 months now and until now I was pumping 5 times a day for about 20 minutes and feeding him once or twice a day and my supply was enough for baby but now I have to pump for about 25 minutes in a higher setting of my pump and still not getting enough, I had some frozen milk from the previous months that I was using to make up for short supply but I am about to run out. What can I do to get my supply back? Should I keep increasing the setting on my pump as baby gets older?
Hi Yesica! A few thoughts – I think at 5 sessions 25 minutes is a good length, but you shouldn’t necessarily have to go longer than that or increase the speed. With the decrease – do you think there is any chance that you might be getting your period back or are pregnant? Sometimes a hormonal shift can be the cause.
Hi, my daughter is 10 weeks today and I have been exclusively pumping since birth. She did breast feed a little bit but I always pumped after and I gave up due to her latching issues and have been exclusively pumping since. I pump about 6-7 times per day and am feeding her and freezing about 24 oz-30 oz per day. I don’t have a set schedule because I stay home with her and have a 7 year old with activities to attend to, so I just try to pump every 4-5 hours for 20-25 minutes each. Can I cut my sessions down without a decrease in supply? She is sleeping through the night from about 11 or 12 until 5 or 6 am. I have so much frozen breast milk in the freezer that I’m running out of space. I have filled a chest freezer of milk and am full in our house freezer as well. I want her to have enough but I also am ok with decreasing my supply. My daughter is very big at 14 pounds currently but I just worry about having enough to give her. How can I cut back on pump sessions and is my milk supply established enough to do so?
Hi Nicole! Maybe start by doing 6 sessions at 20 minutes each, see how that goes, and then drop one and make it 5 at 25 minutes? I think that should be okay. Obviously no guarantees when it comes to supply, but since you’re okay with losing some I think it will work.
Hi my Son is 2 months old and I pump about 6x daily. I recently started taking fenugreek to try to increase my supply. Was wondering when should I discontinue taking fenugreek? I normally get around 4-6oz total every 3 hours (20 min session)during the morning session. My night sessions can be 8-10 oz My son drinks about 4-5oz a day How much oz a day is considered good at 2montha pp. iam trying to make it to a year?At this time I make enough for every feeding. Sorry so many questions! Thanks in advance
Hi! For fenugreek, I think that once you’ve started smelling like maple syrup and seen some gain, you’re okay to discontinue. (You don’t need it to maintain.) So – it sounds like you’re making 30-35 oz a day? And your son is drinking less than that? I think you’re definitely in good shape, I would just keep up that pumping schedule and you should be good!
Hi!
My daughter is 4 months old. I am currently pumping 4 times per day 4:30am, 10am, 3pm, and 8pm. My original goal was to make it to six months but I may continue longer. I typically produce 48oz per day and baby takes about 35oz now. I have enough in the freezer to feed her for a month if she keeps at this rate. Question, can I drop my 3pm pump? It is getting so hard to fit in, but I don’t want my supply to decrease a lot.
Hi! I think three sessions is okay at four months if you goal is six months and you have a ton in the freezer! If your goal was a year I would tell you to wait – the main concern is that your period might come back sooner (longer breaks between lactation can trigger that) and start hormonal changes that affect supply and are hard to come back from. If it happened, it might not be a dramatic change, but there is always the risk. Hope this makes sense! Good luck!
Thx for your replay do sorry for my late respon (was missed this website!)
YesI have my period back since she arround 6 weeks old ?. And looks like nack go normal every month now! Is the period impact with supply? Is it reduce when I got period? Never relize but will pag attantion now n on . Thank you again!
Hi! If you’ve had it the whole time then no worries. Sometimes when you space out pumping sessions longer than you were before, you will get your period back and it will impact your supply. But if you already have it back that’s not a consideration.
Hello, I while ago I used this post as a guide to make my own pumping schedule. I am exclusively pumping, baby is 4 months old and since he was 1 month I only have 4 sessions of 40 minutes each at 6am/11am/5pm/10pm. I was getting a little bit over 40oz a day and I was so happy with my schedule. Then happiness came to an end when I got a clogged duct. I was able to unclogged after some hours, but less than 1 week after I got another one in the same place. 2 days later I have been able to get ride of it, but I got mastitis this time. So, if I have been having this pumping schedule for 3 months without issues, could I blame some other factor? Also, I am back to pumping every 3 hours, but it’s killing me, because I was already used to my schedule, also lack of sleep will be the end of me. When and how do you think it’s safe to go back to my old pumping schedule? I am now taking Lecithin.
Hi! I’m glad you’re taking lecithin! I really hope it helps. I would ease back into the old schedule once you’re sure you’re clear of the mastitis. (So sorry you’re dealing with that!) So, don’t go back cold turkey, but drop sessions like you did to get to 4 pumps per day, if that makes sense. Good luck!
Is it normal that after unclogging the breast the production drops a lot? I was producing 5-6oz each session and now every 3hours I am only getting 1.5oz
It is normal for supply to drop after clearing a clog, unfortunately, at least on the affected side. So you were getting 20-24oz per day and now are getting more like 12oz? Is the decrease the same in both sides?
I get like 6-8oz per session with the other breast. I was producing around 40oz a day. Between both breast 13oz in the 6am session and around 10oz total for each of the other sessions.
Ah – I understand! Yes, unfortunately, that’s normal. I would stick to your pumping schedule and if you can squeeze more pumping sessions in just on the affected side, that might help.
Thank you! I am back to waking up in the middle of the night to pump the sick breast. Feels like being back to the newborn face!
My Daughter in 9 and half month and she was bottole feeding express breasfeed in the last 2 month (after my cyct operation) currently Im with 3 sesion pump (7am, 1or2pm and 8pm) i got arround 650ml and the milk for her is more than enough (often she not finish the whole bottle,she almost always left a little bit)
She good with solid food and have cow milk for her cereal breakfast and also have greek youghurt or cheese for daily diet!
I want try to drop to 2 sesion morninh amd night so make me easier durinh the day! Do you think its time yet?
Im usually almost always up to 1 hour pump in ever sesion thoug!
Thanks in Andvance ?
Correcting the ammont milk perday is 550 to 600 a day (not 650)
Sure, that sounds like it would work. Have you gotten your period back yet?
My son is 8 months old and I recently switched to pumping only 2x a day. I am pumping for an hour at a time and getting round 28 ox a day so I am freezing a little and trying to use some of our freezer milk from when I was pumping 4x a day. I want to make it to a year, but I am worried about running out of freezer milk since we had to throw away around 100 bags due to it going bad. 🙁 I switched to 2x a day because of how active my little one is getting as well as my work schedule. Should I go back to 3 or 4x a day until he turns one? My goal has been to pump for 1 year. My husband thinks we will be fine, but I have so much guilt about cutting back and getting less than what he eats in a day now and not being able to freeze very much. What do you think?
Thank you!
Hi! I think it’s it is super important to you to make it to a year with as little formula as possible, I might add the 3rd session back and make them 40 minutes each. At 2ppd, you’ll be able to do some breastmilk for a year, and everyone will definitely be fine, but I wouldn’t be surprised if in a month or two your supply drops to, say, 20 oz. Or it might not! I have no idea, that’s just my guess from experience. So it’s all what you’re comfortable with – I hope that is somewhat helpful!
I am considering to only pump and feed my 9 month old daughter by bottle. She is teething and its getting extremely painful to breastfed her in addition to the extra sensitivity I have since my period returned. She has been primarily breastfed since birth with the occasional bottle of expressed milk if I need to go out and leave her at home. She accepts the bottle with no problem.
I think my supply is ok. I normally pump about 30 – 45 minutes after nursing now and get around 3-4 ounces combined. Sometimes slightly less. How many pump sessions do you recommend and for how long? I am intending to breastfeed until 1 year or possibly a little longer. Currently she is eating solids but still nursing around 7 times per day.
She has been an efficient nurser since birth and only nurses one side at a time for about 6 to 8 minutes. Not sure if that makes a differnce
Hi! I think I would start with 5 sessions at 25 minutes each since you nurse 7 times a day. If that goes well then I think you could drop one fairly quickly and go to 4 sessions at 30 minutes each. When you do them doesn’t matter, just space them out a reasonable amount.
Hi! My baby is 3 months old and I am currently pumping 7 times a day (about 43 ounces total a day). I want to reduce the number of times I pump, but I want to maintain my supply. So if I still pump for 120 min a day – just in 4 sessions instead of 7, will I maintain my supply? Thanks in advance for your response!
Hi Stacie! It’s likely that you would maintain your supply (assuming you drop the sessions one at a time instead of all at once), but there aren’t any guarantees – your supply could go down, stay the same, or increase. You won’t know until you try, unfortunately. I would drop to 6 and see what happens and go from there. Good luck!
Hello! I have been exclusively pumping since my baby was about 3 weeks old. He is now 11 1/2 weeks. I started out pumping 8+ times per day, and have slowly decreased down to 5 times per day, to make it easier to go back to work (5:30 am, 10 am, 2:30 pm, 7 pm, 11 pm). I pump for 45 minutes at 5:30, 7, and 11, 30 minutes at 10 and 2:30. I’m getting 60 ounces per day and haven’t noticed a drop in supply since I dropped to 5 sessions per day last week.
I’d love to get down to 4 times per day in a few more weeks (and 3 times per day after that!), but I’m not sure what sort of schedule to set up. He is sleeping through the night now, so I’d love to be able to go 8 hours at night between pumps. I work 8-5. Do you have any advice or suggestions?
Also, I love this website. It made me feel so much better and made things so much easier for me when I had to switch from nursing to pumping!!!! Thank you so much!!! 🙂
Hi Sarah! I would give it a few weeks and then go ahead and drop to 4. (I wouldn’t drop to 3 right away after that if your goal is to pump past 6 months, but if isn’t not, go for it.) If it’s reasonably easy to pump at work, I would do 2 at work, 1 when you get up (like 6am-ish), and 1 before bed (like 10pm-ish). 10am and 2:30 are fine for the work sessions. Hopefully this helps? Good luck!
Thanks Amanda… How much fenugreek should I be taking?
Hi! I would start with 2 capsules 3 times a day. There is a lot of great info on dosage here:
https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/fenugreek/
Hi Amanda,
I have a 7 month old baby, and I am breast feeding and supplementing one feeding with formula. I pump 3 times (8 am , 11 AM, 9PM) on most days and 4 times occasionally for 20 min each session. I see that my supply has come down and I get 3 oz on all sessions except the morning session when I get 6 oz. How can I increase my supply. I want to breastfeed for atleast a year.
Please suggest some tips on how I can increase my yield per day to make atleast 20 oz?
In addition, I only feed the milk I pump to the baby by bottle, I don’t breastfeed her any more. I have some stash that I had, and thats also supplementing the overall supply to keep my baby content. She has 24 – 25 oz oz a day 🙂 and has solids as well.
Hi Anju! I would suggest making your sessions longer – I would try to have the total amount of time that you spend pumping in a day be 120 minutes, if possible. The other thing I would try is fenugreek. Good luck!
Hi, my LO is 4 months old now, and have been breastfeeding (with nipple shield) and supplementing with formula since the beginning, only giving formula once a day at most, sometimes not at all… I feel like my LO is hungry all the time when breastfeeding, leaving me no time to do anything else during the day! I am thinking about pumping exclusively, do you have any advice? I used to pump as well sometimes to get a stash for when we went on outings or while I was at work, but would have to pump at least 3 times, just to get enough for one feeding, that’s why I started supplementing with formula…
Hi! I think pumping exclusively might be a good option and save you some time from nursing all the time. You might have to supplement with formula a bit more if you don’t respond well to the pump. Have you ever tried fenugreek at all? It might be worth a shot to see if it brings up your supply. Here is all the advice that I would give to a new EPing mom. 🙂
https://exclusivepumping.com/category/exclusive-pumping-101/
Hi Amanda,
My little girl is 5 months old and I also have a 2.5yr old. I currently pump 4 times/day – 6a, 9:30a, 2p, 9p. So about 9 hours btw last pump of the day and first. I’m really wanting to extend the time btw first and last. Do you think I could move my last pump up 30-45min or is that too long btw pumps?
If everything is going well now (no clogged ducts or mastitis lately, supply is good) I think that’s fine!
I’ve tried fenugreek, blessed thistle, lactation cookies, mothers milk tea. I eat oatmeal every day. Short of prescription meds, I’m pretty sure I’ve tried it all.
Wow, it definitely sounds like you’ve tried everything. I can’t really think any other options (except for the prescription meds that you mentioned). So frustrating! Sometimes physical or hormonal issues can make increasing supply really difficult. I think that you’re doing a great job with the hand you were dealt. If you wanted to try domperidone, that would probably be my next suggestion. Otherwise, I think giving your baby whatever you can pump and supplementing is a really good option too!
Try acupuncture! It helps 70% of the women who try it for milk supply.
Hi there,
My little one is three months old. We’ve been struggling with supply issues from the beginning and have been supplementing the whole time. When given a bottle, my little guy tends to eat relatively fast. When on the breast, he can go for upwards of two hours and still sometimes needs a top up at the end. I’d like to switch to exclusively pumping, both to save some time and hopefully to wean off of formula. When I pump now, it doesn’t seem to matter how long I pump for, I get between 50-75 ml max every time. Meaning It takes 2-3 sessions to pump enough for one feed. Any advice for how to pump more?
Hi Kristi, Have you tried fenugreek at all? That would probably be my first suggestion –
https://exclusivepumping.com/fenugreek-for-increasing-milk-supply/
Hi there, my son is just coming up to 7 months on August 5, and I am wanting to start weaning him from exclusively breast feeding to pumping and giving him bottles since he has been getting his teeth in. I started off pumping really well (was pumping about 30oz/day, pumping every time after a feed), I was donating my milk to the preemie program here in the hospital, but when I got the flu about 2 months ago, I was barely able to take care of both of us and manage to pump at the same time so I stopped pumping for the hospital to focus on my LO… since then, I have been having a hard time learning how to incorporate pumping back into my schedule (now that LO is very active) to get enough for a days feed… I have never atcually seen how much he eats in one sitting since he is EBF, and when he has been fed a bottle, the amounts always vary- aswell as the amounts of feeds vary, sometimes he’s on the boob all day, other days he eats very little, so I’m also having issues trying to figure out how much I need to be pumping/storing at a time daily to comfortably make the transition… I guess what I’m trying to ask, where do I start!? I know it won’t be a quick transition and it may take some time to get exclusively pumping but any tips would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!
Hi Isobelle! I think what I would do is just replace feedings with pumping sessions, but you can do it at a time that’s more convenient for you. Say your baby nurses 5 times a day – you switch to pumping five times a day. Start generally around when he eats (so like, if you nurse him down for naps, you can feed him a bottle at that time, then pump). Then you can move things around gradually or drop a session and make your own schedule around what works for you. Good luck!
Hi. My baby is 5 weeks old and takes about 4 oz per feeding. I have been pumping every time my baby takes a bottle and have been producing 12oz per pump in a 15 minute period and have a freezer full of milk. I have to go back to work soon and want to decrease the amount of times I pump per day and I have been trying to but my breasts become extremely painful and engorged. Can you give any recommendations? My pediatrian suggested that I start with doing shorter pumping periods which I have (10 minutes per pump) but I’m still getting a high output right now.
Hi Maureen! How many times a day do you currently pump and how many do you want to do? I think longer sessions less often will probably help.
I pump about 7-8 times a day. I’d like to drop the overnight pumping which usually is 2-3 times but my breasts become so engorged and uncomfortable that it wakes me up even if my little one doesn’t. Ideally I’d like to be pumping maybe just 5 times a day.
I think going to 5 sessions is a good idea – just make them longer sessions so that you empty each time. I would do 25 minutes to start and see how that goes. Go slowly to give your body time to adjust – that should help with the engorgement. You can also try cabbage leaves for that – your supply is really good so no worries there. To start with the overnight sessions, push the time of the first one back slowly (say, 30 minutes a night but you can increase/decrease that depending on how you feel) until you run into the second one. Then repeat until you can go the amount of time that you want to. Hope this helps!
As far as length of pumping sessions … what about when staying hooked up longer doesn’t give you anything except sore nipples?
I’m on almost exactly the same schedule you were on for your 3-month-old (mine’s 3.5 months now), and my early morning/bedtime sessions are long and productive. But sometimes when I go much longer than 10 minutes during the day I come up empty and get no additional yield for however long the session lasts.
If I keep doing that, will it spur my body to eventually step up and produce more? I also just got a fenugreek/blessed thistle tea to see if that helps.
Thank you for this site too, it’s a lifesaver!
Hi Meredith! The goal with the longer sessions is nipple stimulation to protect supply over the long term – so if you goal is more near term (like to pump for another month or two), you’d probably be fine just stopping when the milk stops flowing. If it’s long-term (like a year), I would try to keep the time if you can. Are you using anything like coconut oil to prevent the sore nipples? That might help. Good luck!
Hi there, you site has been such a helpful place for me when I was struggling with exclusively pumping. I still am and I am 9 months PP. My question is, how long are you pumping for when you went down to 3, then 2, then 1 pump per day. I can’t imagine sitting there for 45 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours etc. as I drop pumps. I have a good freezer stash, but would love to continue giving fresh milk to my baby – as I know baby will start drinking less and less after the 1 year mark. However, I am getting close to finishing since my supply is regulated, and I want to wean so I can get a few periods before trying for baby#2.
I think that if you want to wean, you don’t have to do 120 minutes per day – but if you want to keep up a full supply (or try to), that is what I’d recommend, even though it is a looooong time to be sitting pumping. I did 40 minutes for each session starting at 3 pumps per day and lost a lot of supply. I wouldn’t really recommend dropping below 3 sessions per day until you’re ready to wean, but different things work for different people.
I am exclusively pumping. My LO is 5 weeks old and I have managed to pump 4xper day, getting between 8-10oz in 20 minutes each pump session. I total between 32-40oz per day, and am able to freeze at least 8oz per day. Is this okay to keep my milk supply? I was pumping more often but would get about 4-6oz and equal amounts overall per day. She is taking 3oz per feeding 8 times per day totaling 24 oz/day. I just want to make sure I am pumping adequately to meet her needs overall, and can I continue only pumping 4x per day?
Hi Cass! I think it might not be a bad idea to at least increase the length of your sessions to 30 minutes for a few weeks. I’m just a little nervous that your supply hasn’t regulated yet … it all depends on your goals though. If you plan to pump for 3 months, I think you’d be fine with what you’re doing. If you want to go for a year, I would increase the length of your sessions. So it kind of depends on how long you want to pump and whether you can swing longer sessions. Hope that helps!
Hi, I decided to be an exclusively pump for my baby boy because he would not latch at all! Found out at 8 months his tongue was tied. He did get it clipped but by 9 months he was too old too want to latch. He is now 11 months and has always been a good eater and now that I’ve dropped my pumping to 3times within a 24 hours my milk supply has lowered and or he’s not satisfied with the milk i can provide. So I want to know since he is almost 1 year can I mix whole regular milk with my breastmilk and start weaning him off little by little? Thanks!! Stressed mommy
Hi! I would just check with your doctor that you baby is ready for whole milk and then yes! That’s how I transitioned my baby off breastmilk to regular milk. Good luck!
When you dropped pumps, was there an adjustment period? I am 2 1/2 months postpartum and I dropped from 6 pumps to 5 a day to fit into my work schedule. I recall doing this with my previous baby with a good milk supply able to feed her completely from breastmilk. This time around I am struggling with my supply – long pumps (45 mi-1 hr) to get the ounces needed. I worked up to 27 oz/day but since I dropped a pump I have lost that pump’s milk and seem to be making a little less at other pumps to.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Hi Violet! I actually did not have an adjustment period, usually. If you can swing adding the pump back in, I would try that and see what happens. Sorry! So frustrating. 🙁