When you’re an exclusive pumper, it’s important to make and stick to a pumping schedule in order to maximize supply and minimize issues like clogged ducts.
Figuring out a pumping schedule when you are exclusive pumping is a balance between your need to pump enough milk and the rest of your life. Think about how many pumping sessions you need in a given day, and then think about the best time to fit them in based on your life – whether you work, whether you are home with your baby, whether you desperately need more sleep or are doing okay.
Sample Pumping Schedules with a Newborn
With a newborn, most things that you read say that you should be pumping 8-12 times per day, because that’s how often newborns eat. I think 8 or 9 is a good goal to shoot for, with 7 as the lower limit and 10 as the upper limit. With many more than that, you probably won’t be getting enough rest or time with your baby. (I’ve written more about about how often and how long to pump for a newborn here.)
Below is a sample pumping schedule with eight pumps in 24 hours. A schedule like this will give you three and a half straight hours of sleep (from about 12:30am-4am, once you’ve finished pumping) – assuming your baby lets you sleep! These times can obviously be adjusted however you like.
7am, 10am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm, 12am, 4am
Below is a sample pumping schedule with ten pumps in 24 hours. This schedule will give you four and a half straight hours of sleep (from 7:30pm-12am), with the added benefit that if you have a partner he or she can care for the baby during this time before going to bed themselves.
7am, 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, 12am, 3am, 5am
(Related: Finding pumping around the clock to be a challenge? Check out my pumping resources page for things that can make it easier!)
Sample Pumping Schedules with an Older Baby
Below are some sample pumping schedules for older babies. These aren’t rocket science, and you can adjust them to a schedule that fits your needs; I’m just including them as an example of worked for me as my baby got older. (Note: As you drop pumping sessions, you should increase the amount of time that you pump in each session.)
Six pumps in 24 hours (I used this from 10-12 weeks, until I went back to work and found the 6pm pumping session too difficult to manage):
6am, 10am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 10pm
With this schedule you have eight hours of sleep in a row! Unless you are really working to build up your supply, I would recommend getting some sleep and dropping the middle of the night pump once your baby is three months old.
Five pumps in 24 hours (I used this from 3-6 months):
6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 10pm
Four pumps in 24 hours (I used this from 6-11 months):
6am, 10am, 2pm, 10pm
Three pumps in 24 hours (I used this from 11-12 months):
6am, 12pm, 10pm
Two pumps in 24 hours (I used this from 12-14 months):
6am, 7pm
A one pump per day schedule is a supply killer for many women (including myself), so attempt it with caution if you decide to go this route. Between dropping to one pump per day (at 7pm) and getting pregnant again, my supply crashed to nothing at 14 months.
How Important is Sticking to a Pumping Schedule?
When you have a newborn, sticking to a defined pumping schedule can be a challenge – you are likely sleep deprived and busy, so it’s easy to forget to pump. Skipping a pumping session every now and then is not a big deal, especially if you are able to make up the time during a later pumping session that day or squeeze in a power pumping session.
If you’re finding that you’re missing pumping sessions regularly, there are a couple of tools that you can use to remind yourself. I got an Itzbeen as a gift when I had my first baby, and you can set an alarm with it (either a silent flashing light or beeping) to let yourself know it’s time to pump. Alternatively, the iOS Milk Maid app has a reminder function that allows you to enter your pumping schedule, and it will notify you every day at your defined pumping times.
With older babies (after 3-4 months), sticking to a schedule is less important. As long as you get your total number of pumping sessions (and pumping minutes) done in a given day, you should be fine.
(Want to download this information so you can refer back later? Sign up below and you’ll get an email with these sample pumping schedules in your inbox!)
References- KidsHealth. “Breastfeeding FAQs: How Much and How Often?” https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/breastfeed-often.html
When you dropped to six pumps a day how many minutes did you pump each session?
20! 🙂
I’m trying exclusive pumping because my newborn didn’t want to latch on correctly.. I’m lucky if I can pump 3oz total from both breasts. Do you know any ways I could get my supply up? And how long should I be pumping for? I normally do 15-20 minutes but I rarely get anything during that time
I had to work and work and work my baby to get him to latch, He was a lazy latcher, babies are the best pumps, I heard that pumping just doesn’t cut it. Training my baby was the biggest challenge of my life, I was so exhausted I couldn’t stay awake in the middle of changing his diaper some days. Between bottles until he could latch, pumping, training him to latch and all the appointments we had after he came home I was spent.
By now your most likely done pumping. So this reply is mostly for new readers. I had the same proplem. Very little milk suplly with 3 oz total from both breasts. Until i began vitamin supplements specifically for increase in milk supply. Goats Rue and mothers milk vitamins increased my supply to 36 oz a day. I was on these for a month and half then decided to stop to see if i could produce now on my own and the answer was yes! My body seemed to just need a little boost in milk making them it was good to go. ? i now have so much my plan is to donate to milk bank for babies in NICU. Good bless you to who is reading this now.
Do what they call power pumping. Pump for 20 min or until your milk stops flowing rest for 10 min. Pump for 10 rest for 10 then pump one more time for 10. This will communicate to your body that your baby is going through a growth sprut. It has helped m
y milk supply.
Early on, I had supply issues, so got pretty militant about my pumping length and sessions. Now with baby at 2 months, I’m running about 40 ounces a day, which covers him and puts 1-2 bags in the freezer. If I cut back to 7 – 20 minute sessions a day, think my supply will stick around or safest to stick with my current 8-9 20 minute sessions a day? Just looking for some advice to find balance 🙂 Thanks so much for your site by the way – so, so grateful to read your advice and info.
At 2 months, I think you’re good to go at 7 20 minutes sessions per day! Good luck!
When you started pumping five times how long did you pump for? 20 or 15 minutes?
You can cut back for sure.
Do a power pump at least once a week and it will be fine.
Make sure you are eating and drinking enough. Every time you pump eat something and down a full glass of water. Hard to do but if you sleep more you will produce more.
Brewers year
Guinness or malt star
Coconut water
Oatmeal
Supplements- prenatal, iron, – be careful with calcium- a lot of supplements have lead, dha( syba), choline, gaia lactation support and vitanica lactation blend have the best combination and amount/quality of herbs- I take both.
At what point did your supply start dropping? Were you able to maintain your max supply with 2-4 pumps per day?
At 4 I was okay, but at 3 it did start to drop. I also got my period back then.
Good to know! I’m almost 5 months in and pumping 5x a day now with around 40 oz avg daily output. Your website and e-book were really helpful when I first started! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
My baby is 2.5weeks old and I can only pump about 5oz a day pumping 7 times 30 min each time. I have to give her formula. Have you ever heard of someone going from such a low supply to a full supply? My LC doesn’t seem optimistic and I’m about ready to throw in the towel 🙁
Hi Melissa, I’m guessing you might need to keep supplementing but I think increasing your supply is likely possible. What have you tried so far (fenugreek, etc.)?
When I first started, my daily totals were low like that and my output is now 37-40 oz a day (5 months tomorrow). At 2.5 weeks, my output was more than yours, but this is my second kid so my body remembered some stuff. I didn’t hit peak production until right after the 3 month mark, so you’ve got time to build!
I threw in the towel at 6 weeks with my first because failing at breastfeeding was completely demoralizing and I couldn’t stand pumping on top of it. I regret having done that, especially since exclusive pumping has gone so well for me this time. I had very similar latching & poor transfer problems both times, but this time decided to commit my efforts to succeeding at the pump to remove a level of difficulty (trying to get another human to do what I wanted). My advice is to keep working at it for as long as you can stand! Even if you end up having to continue supplementing, it is worth it in my opinion. The first 6 weeks are hard as hell, then everything starts getting much easier.
“Cluster” pumping really helped build my supply – I would alternate pumping and resting every 20 minutes for 2 hours for 4 or so nights (as long as I could stand the extra time spent at the pump). It took a few days, but I would always see an increase. Take a week or so off, then do it again when mentally ready.
Of all the supplements I tried, Plexus Slim is the one that gave me the biggest boost. Weird, but it worked.
Also, stress majorly affected me so I practiced affirmations and meditation to help mentally chill out and build confidence, and it helped tremendously.
Hugs and good luck!
This is my third baby my first I gave up at about 3 weeks, my second I nursed as much as she would and supplemented the rest. This one I am taking fenugreek 2-3x a day
Blessed thistle 4@3x a day
Domperidone 3@ 4x a day
Goats rue tincture and tea whenever I remember
Mothers milk tea
Homemade lactation cookies and banana bread
Breast compressions
When my little one nurses before a bottle she basically chokes on how fast the milk is flowing and then after about 5 min nothing more comes out and my breasts feel empty. I thought with my daughter I had IGT and I’m thinking that this is the case. Why else would my flow be so strong and then stop to nothing right away unless I physically don’t have the storage space in my breasts?
Hi gals, I am also an exclusively pumping mommy. We have been very successful this past year, with the occasional decrease in supply when I was sick or too stressed.
I pumped every 2 to 3 hours religiously for 20 minutes each time for the first 9 months (unless I was having too much fun to run back to the car to pump… Yes, I bought a car adaptor and brought that thing with me everywhere). From 10 to 12 months, I pumped every 3 to 4 hours during the day for 30 minutes each session. My last session of the day was at 10pm and I wouldn’t pump again until 6am.
I bought those freemie cups at 6 months. Omg were they a life saver especially at night or in the car. At night I would prop myself up and doze off for the 20 to 30 minute pump session (my pump has an auto off timer for 30 mins). Also I looked up the recipe for lactation cookies and smoothies, bought some brewers yeast, and made myself a smoothie every day and a batch of cookies if I felt I needed to amp up my supply. For me, it worked wonders. Some days I produced no extra milk and other days I produced 4 to 12 ounces extra which I stored in the freezer.
My milk supply dropped recently after my baby turned 3 months old and i can’t meet her demand anymore. I’m still pumping the same as I always did and i has no problem pumping 4 – 5 oz each time. Now I’m lucky if i get 3 oz. Do you know if i can get my milk supply back to what it used to be? I’m eating oatmeal and drinking mother’s milk tea. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
I’m in the same boat. The supply I built the first 2 months is practically gone because I’ve had to use it to compensate the lack of current pumped milk. I’m almost out and fell like I’ve tried everything. I’ve increased pumping, the whole supply demand theory, and oddly it decreased my milk overall. I do mothers milk tea, and fennel oil and I think it has helped slightly but not enough to stop the drain on my saved up supply. My baby is almost 5 months old and at this rate my milk production will not be enough to last another month. So I would appreciate any advice as well!
The tea doesn’t do much
Power pump 3 days in a row then at least once a week. Twice is better.
Make sure you are pumping until there is nothing left. Pumping after a hot shower helps.
2 tablespoons of brewers yeast each day in your oatmeal.
Malt star
Coconut water.
Vitanica lactation blend AND
Gaia lactation support
Prenatals
Eat and drink EVERY time you pump
Hi! Thinking of exclusively pumping for my fussy 3.5 month old. He nurses fine during the night and when he’s sleepy during the day but when he’s alert he is annoyed with the slow flow (he prefers the fast flow of a bottle). He doesn’t drain my breast though so he cries post feed for more milk and my supply decreases as he leaves milk In my breasts. He also has a slight posterior tongue tie but the Lactation consultants don’t recommend doing anything about it as it is so minor.
My question is, how should I start pumping for him? How many sessions? Let’s say he has 7 feeds a day, 3 of which I can manage to nurse directly so I don’t want to drop those.
Hi Lia! Congrats on your baby! I would replace the remaining four sessions with a pumping session then – you can just plan to pump as close as you can to his bottle feed. 🙂
hi.. i am a stay at home wife/mother to a almost 3 weeks old baby.. not really planning on pumping exclusively, but still want to have a good pumping schedule to stock a nice supply of breast milk for my baby and to make sure i can still breastfeed until 2 years.. plus i also wanna relieve engorgement..
is now pumping every 4 hours good enough? do i need to pump again after i breastfeed?
thank you ?
If you are nursing and pumping I would pump right after nursing a few times a day and not worry about doing it every four hours. Good luck!
My baby is 4 weeks old and I started pumping after nursing sessions . How many ounces should I realistically be able to pump each session? For how long should I pump ?
If you’re pumping right after a nursing session, I think it’s great if you can get a few ounces. I would say 10-15 minutes is good for pumping after nursing. (Pumping without nursing I would say should potentially be longer depending on how many sessions you have.)
I have a 9 week old and pumping 7x with average total output of 23oz minimum and 29oz max. I pump 3x at work; 8:30 am, 11am and 1:30 am average of 3oz per session. Home sessions would be 5:30am, 4:30-5pm, 7-8pm and 10:30pm.Do you think it is advisable to drop 1 pumping session at work -say I just pump 9:30am and 1:30pm? Would it affect my supply since I am just an enougher? I’ve noticed that I am able to pump atleast 1 oz per hr, and can pump more during longer intervals. I am semi-exclusively pumping since LO is just learning to latch and still fuzzy on the breast. Thank you!
Hi there! Congrats on your baby! I think at 9 weeks you should be okay dropping one session. Just make sure you increase the length of your remaining sessions. Good luck!
Hello,
My baby is 24 days old and I have been exclusively pumping since she was 14 days old. I pump for 15 minutes every 3 hours after I feed her, unless she sleeps for 4 hours at any point during the night then I pump after I feed her. I usually pump anywhere from 7-8.5oz per session- I have a ton frozen and also save enough during the day to feed her. Im looking to slowly space out my sessions so I can actually go do something with my hubby without worrying that my breasts are going to feel like they will explode if I’m not back in 3-4 hours to pump; I also have a little over 8 weeks left till I return to work and want to stop pumping all together before then, slowly so my breasts don’t hurt in the process. So I’d say I have 7 weeks to get my sessions down to zero. Suggestions on best way to do that?
Hi Amy! Have you read this yet? THis is what I would suggest. https://exclusivepumping.com/weaning-from-the-pump/
Is it ok for pump sessions to last 30-40 mins? I usually have to pump close to 40 mins to get a full feeding (4 oz) for my 4-month old. After 20 mins, I usually have only pumped about 2.5 oz so I always pump past 20 mins. I pump 6 times a day.
It won’t hurt anything if you can swing pumping that much!
I want to suggest the massaging technique. It worked great for me. Google it! I would rub my breasts and then jiggle them to get the milk flowing.
I see you posted this a while ago, so you may have already discovered this, but it bears mentioning for any future readers.
If you want to increase your supply, pumping more frequently for 20 minutes is a MUCH better option. I did what you are doing (pumping for 30-50 minutes at a time) because I noticed what you are noticing, that continuing to pump gets you that next ounce. The problem is it also will damage your nipples, and badly, depending on how high you have your pump set. I wound up in an insane amount of pain; pumping felt like I was pulling needles out of my nipples at hydraulic speeds. The LCs I spoke with in the ER when I went in with mastitis during this time told me that the 40 minutes sessions were necessary because I was using the wrong size flange and that pumping for that much longer can actually hurt your breast over time.
What they told me was:
– pump until the breast is empty; it should feel like a sand-filled stress ball; not more than 25 minutes
– to increase supply, eat all the stuff you see recommended throughout the site and increase the number of sessions, not the length of time
– pump a few times overnight, but SET AN ALARM so you don’t fall asleep pumping and wind up pumping for hours
– make sure you are pumping in the morning between 1-6 am, at least once if not more. (I pump at 12:30, 3:15, and 5:30 or 6.)
– make sure you’re using the right flange
– lean down so gravity helps you
– massage before and during the pumping session
– stimulate the nipple to get letdown going at the beginning of the session; I just apply a little nipple cream or coconut oil
GOOD LUCK and I hope you aren’t in pain!
Hello, great posts and advice on your website!
I have been following your pumping schedule for the last 5 months as my baby is 5 months old now. I am currently dropping from 4 to 3 pumps per day gradually by decreasing the session I want to drop following your other post about dropping a pump and also read that you should roughly pump around 120 minutes total per day.
So if I go down to 3 pumps per day that would equal to 40 minutes per pump, correct? What about when I am ready to go down to 2 pumps a day would I have to pump for one hour each pump? I am just curious to know whether you had sat down to pump an hour when you dropped to 2 pumps a day as I don’t know or heard of anyone who have pumped that long before!
Look forward to hearing back about your experiences!
Hi Kelly! You have that correct. So when I dropped down to two pumps per day, I did not increase to an hour at a time (I stayed at 40 minutes) and that’s when I started to lose supply. The 120 minute guideline is mostly for trying to keep up your supply long-term – if you’re okay with losing supply (which a lot of people are because their babies are eating more solids or they’re weaning), then it’s fine not to increase it up to an hour. Hope that helps!
Yes that is a great help thank you so much for replying back! Will definitely have to recommend your page to people who want more information and advice about pumping!
Hi, I’ve been pumping for 6 weeks, 8 times a day for 15 minutes and produce 6 ounces per session. Is it safe for me to drop to 6 sessions or would I have to wait for the 3 month mark? Also, if I follow the 6 session schedule that you listed, would I pump more during the 6am session than the other sessions or measure by ounces produce?
I think you’d be good to go down to 7 per day now and 6 in two weeks (at the 8 week mark)!
Yes, you would probably get a lot more at the first morning session. 🙂
How much more time would you recommend to add during the 6am pump session?
So going from 6 to 8 sessions, each session would go from 15 to 20 minutes. I think I might have added five more minutes to that morning session to make it 25 minutes (and maybe had one session in the middle of the day when I didn’t have as much milk be 15 minutes, so it was still 120 minutes per day). You can experiment with what feels right and if you feel like you’re draining the breasts all the way.
Thank you so much for this post! I’m going to try to relactate. My son is now almost 7 months old and I stopped trying to BF at 2 months. I had a lot of issues with him not latching, no support, tongue and lip tie, etc. Any who, would you recommend I start over as if he’s a newborn? I’ll be exclusively pumping and rented a hospital grade pump. My doctor also prescribed me Reglan, and I’m going to make lactation treats as well as take other galactagogues. Any extra advice is so appreciated!
Hi Desiree! It sounds like you have a good plan in place! YEs, I would recommend starting over like he’s a newborn (so 7-9 sessions a day). Good luck!
Hello
I have a 1 month old baby. I am on day 2 of exclusive pumping. I am currently pumping after each feed. He feeds about 8/9 times a day.
Should I pump both boobs at the same time? Or just 1 boob? I currently get about 2.7ounces per boob in 10-15 minutes. However I want to build a supply. I am currently only 2 feeds ahead of myself which is stressful!
I fear that pumping both boobs every few hours will exhaust my boobs! Thanks
Hi Camille! You should do both at one time every 3ish hours. Don’t worry – that’s totally normal and your boobs should be fine. 🙂
Hi I have a 4 day old I can only pump about 1-1.5 oz every 2 hours it is still yellow so maybe my milk supply has not fully come in. I eat lactation bars and drink mothers milk supplement shake starting today to hopefully help this. I feel like my son isn’t eating enough I just get worried. Is this a normal amount for the first few days. I will say he is peeing and pooping regularly. He does much better with the bottle than on the breast. He always seemed hungry on the breast now he eats and then sleeps until next feed
This is right on target for a 4 day old! I think your supply will go up a bit over the next few weeks. You’re doing great!
Hi, my son is currently 4 months old & I just recently dropped down from 5 pumps per day to 4 pumps per day at 30 mins each session. Do you think I can maintain an adequate milk supply with 4 sessions at 30 minutes apiece? Any advice as to what to do if my supply dips?
Hi Mary! It’s so hard to say for sure what will happen. Everyone is so different! I do think 4 sessions at 30 minutes is a good schedule.
If you notice your supply dipping (and you don’t have oversupply), I would add the extra session back quickly. It can be hard to get supply back once it’s gone.
Thank you for your response. I’ve been very fortunate with an oversupply & have a nice frozen stash. One more quick question…how many pump sessions were you at when your period returned? Thanks in advance…
I was at 3. 🙂
Hi Amanda! Loveee you website!!! Thanks for it!
I’m a huge oversupplier, I pump approx 75-85 opd and pump 4 times a day and skip a MOTN. I’m only going on 7 weeks pp and have a huge freezer stash and will be out of room fairly quickly. Am wanting to keep pumping, but on around 40opd so I can feed fresh.
My question is how can I reduce my supply? Do I cut a pump? Slow the time?
I also don’t get much flow from the left til about 15 mins in.. it take about an hour each time to empty.
Thanks in advance! ?
Holy cow, that is an amazing supply. So are you pumping for four hours a day? I would cut it to 4 30 minute pumps and see what happens. (If it makes you nervous not to empty, you could keep one session a full hour). Use massage to try to empty faster. I think that might help you a little bit and then we can reassess. 🙂 Also if you’re comfortable with it, you should look into donating!
Hi!!! What an amazing website! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and advices!
My daughter is now 12 weeks and I’m pumping 6 times a day getting about 40-45oz a day which is double of what she takes so I have a nice stash and would like to drop to 5 sessions a day but I didn’t want to loose too much oz. I’m now pumping at 6-9-12-3-6-10 and wanted to know if you lost any oz dropping the 6pm. That’s the hardest for me to keep because it’s the time to give my kids bath and prepare dinner etc but I feel like going from 3pm till 10pm a lot of time so I wanted to see what happened to your supply when you dropped that one and if you pumped for longer at 10pm to compensate?
Thank you so much in advance!
Hi Vivian! I did not lose anything dropping the 6am. I dropped it for similar reasons – just too much going on at that time. I did pump a little bit longer at 10 (but just a few more minutes, nothing major). Hope that helps and good luck!
Hi…I am exclusively pumping since week 4 as my baby has problem transferring milk. I am currently at week 7, I pump 8-9/ day for 15-20 mins, with 2-3 hrs interval and 1 night session and can’t get more than 16-17 oz per day, which is borderline for my baby’s needs. I have tried cluster pumping where I pumped for twice a day, for 3 hrs, initial and end session of 15 mins and 5-10 min session every 30 mins. I did this for 4 days and that’s what brought my supply from 16 to 18 oz, however my supply is inconsistent and inadequate for my baby’s needs. What can I do to facilitate my supply?
Hi Kia! Have you tried fenugreek? That would be my first suggestion!
https://exclusivepumping.com/fenugreek-for-increasing-milk-supply/
Yes. I began with taking 500 mg × 3 times/day for 5-6 days. Then for 3 days I took 500 mg x 5 times/day with no significant improvement, but it gave both me and baby severe gas. It didn’t bother me as much, but my baby got fussy with increased gas and green poop. He was very restless! So I had to discontinue use of fenugreek. If I try that again, then I might have to let my baby take formula for that duration. How long should I have to take it before I see improvement?And how much dosage?
I would start with 2 500 mg capsules 3 times a day and see if you smell like maple syrup in 2-3 days. If not, I would up it to 3 times a day. (Disclaimer: not a doctor, read it on kellymom.) 🙂
Thank you for reply. I will try that.
Thank you for replying! Will be dropping that 6pm session this week! Hope it goes well like it did to you! 🙂
Hi! Thank you for your helpful reply and tips.
My baby is now 6 months old and we’re traveling on vacation.. I used to pump 3x a day as I was able to breastfeed directly for the rest of the feeds (but used to supplement as my output wasn’t enough for him anyway) but since travelling things have been so hectic I couldn’t keep up taking the supplements and couldn’t pump. My breast do not feel engorged at all.. they feel rather empty. and I only bfeed him at night, once or twice.
This has been going on for around 10 days now. Do you think it’s worth my efforts to resume pumping again? Would I realistically be able to get supply back? I used to take:
2 Fenugreek capsules x3
2 moringa capsules x2
Let There Be Milk goats rue tincture 20ml x2
I think it would be pretty challenging, but possible. If you wanted to try to build your supply back up a decent amount, I would try to get a prescription from domperidone – that along with a consistent pumping schedule would be your best bet. If you are unable or don’t want to do that, I would try the fenugreek again. That dosage sounds good for a start. I would up it in a few days if you don’t smell like maple syrup. Good luck!
Hi! I have been exclusively pumping since my son was 2 years weeks, he’ll be 5 weeks in 2 days. I pump 3-4 oz every 3 hours during 20 min sessions. Will my output increase as he gets older, or is that something I need to do myself to increase? I would love to have a good supply but cut back. Pumping is for 20 min every 3 hours around the clock is exhausting!
I think if you want your supply to increase at 5 weeks I would do something additional like fenugreek or some of the other options. Good luck!
https://exclusivepumping.com/increasing-milk-supply/
Hey there! Right now my 6.5 month old bfs with in or two pumped bottles a day. I am looking to move to pumping exclusively, due to going back to work. I might try to keep one bedtime bf session. My questions are, how often should she be bottle feeding, and how much? How often should I be pumping? Right now it seems like she is eating before and after every nap, so about 6 times a day!
I need to get her and myself onto a schedule for her caregivers.
I would start with pumping whenever you would normally nurse her and see how that works out. You can tweak from there (consolidate pumping sessions and move them around according to your schedule).
As far as amount, I go with trial and error – I would start with giving her the same amount in the bottles that you give her now in her 1-2 bottles a day. If she wants more, then go ahead and give her more, if she doesn’t finish, then you know for next time. There is no one answer for every baby for the trial and error helps you figure yours out! 🙂
Thank you so much for your advice! We now, at 8 months, bf around 4am, and I pump at 8am, 1130am, 430pm, and 930pm. Since we do one bf session, do you think it wise to drop a pump session? And, if so, should my 15-20 minute pumps go to 20-25 minutes each? I end each day with an excess of 4-6oz for the freezer.
Hi Monica! Yes, I think that’s a great plan! Definitely increase the lengths, but I think at 8 months you should be OK at 4 total sessions (including the nursing session) per day.
I’m back! Baby is now 9 months old. I have noticed that, if I miss(forget) a pump, my output for the day ends up the same. She bfs once around 5am, and then I pump at 12pm, 4pm, and 9pm. Would it be a supply killer to drop to 2 pumps at the one bf sesh? Were getting ready to travel and I’m panicking over pumping out of the house…
Hi! You can definitely give it a shot! If you think she gets a good amount when you nurse her there’s a good chance it’ll even out. The only thing I’d say is that once you lose supply at this point, it’s really hard to get back – just something to keep in mind if you’re really nervous about losing supply (if you’re not, go for it!) Good luck and have a great trip!
Hi Amanda,
I’m pump exclusively 6x/day and my little one going to be 12 weeks. My current pump schedule is 12, 6, 10, 2,6, and 9pm. I’m going back to work soon and I’m hoping to reduce my pumping session and change my pumping schedule without affecting my supply. I’m hoping to cut down the 9pm session and get at least 7 hours in between my bedtime and morning session. Once I’m back at work I can only pump during my half an hour
Lunch in between two 6 hours stretch. I’ve had two episodes of mastitis already so I know that I should not just cut down the session cold turkey. I’m planning to wean down the 9pm and push my 12am session to 11 pm so I can get more sleep over a week. Do you think 1 week is enough time to allow my body to adjust? I have tried to go 7 hours without pumping to get more sleep for 2 days and cut down to 5 sessions without weaning and almost got mastitis/clogged ducts again.
Thanks in advance
I think one week should be good. I would take the whole week to make the change. Good luck!
I’m just starting to exclusively pump for my 10 week old. Now he averages about 8 feedings during the day, waking up once at night. What would you recommend for a pumping schedule? Also, I have always just offered one breast per feeding so should I keep with that routine and just pump one side per session? Or should I start pumping both sides at each session? Thank you of your help! Your website has given me so much comfort and lessened my anxiety of pumping.
Hi! At 10 weeks I think I would aim for 6 sessions a day. Maybe space them out throughout the day and not pump at night? You can do whatever works best for your schedule. And you should pump both sides per session. Good luck!
Hi Amanda,
The longest I have gone without pumping at night is 6.5 hours. My last pump is usually at 12 am and I would have to pump at the latest 6:30 am. I would wake up with super engorged and hard breasts. It is very uncomfortable. What can I do to not pump at night and get at least 7 hours of sleep. Thanks
I would stretch the time out slowly so your body can get used to going a bit longer. You currently go six hours, right? Do you wake up uncomfortable with that, or is it only when you stretch to 6.5?
When I go 6 hours without pumping, I would still wake up very engorged and uncomfortable. I’m trying to stretch it out to 6.5 hours right now but not sure how it would be if I go 7-8 hours without pumping. How do you do it?
The two things I would say to do are 1) COMPLETELY empty the last pump before you go to bed and 2) super gradually move it back. Move it back by 5 minutes at a time if you have to.
Another thing you could try to putting cabbage leaves in your bra to help you stretch out the time. I wouldn’t overdo this, though, because it can affect your milk supply. You could do it halfway through the night, when you have about an hour to go, whatever you find works.
Hi Amanda
My wife is expressing 150ml twice daily at work, for as long as I Know. Our baby girl is 5 months old now. Baby was OK and slept through nights as my wife breast fed baby on demand after work, and slept fed baby at night. Baby went through a rough night the previous night, and last night I bottle fed baby 40ml as she was pushing mommies breast away and was restless in falling of to sleep. I bottle fed baby with 40ml expressed milk and baby slept well with one feed from mommy during the night
I requested my wife to express less so as to bring some breast milk home to feed baby naturally. I asked my wife “How many ml does she express at one specific time at work?” the answer was “150ml twice at work. Then I asked her “Does baby drink 150ml at once?” and the answer was “No” so I felt as though she is expressing too much at once changing the natural production of milk supply. Never had the chance to explain to her that maybe Expressing smaller quantities more frequently like the amount baby drinks would be better and logical to reproduce the natural effect to her breasts and that Baby will have enough milk and bonding time with her at home. After reading your site I think I have a valid thought as you emphasize schedules on your site. Another logical thought is that my wife has trained her breasts for a longer period to fill up, so it could be possible that after the last express at 14h50 at work baby will push mommies Boob away or have a slow flow rate of milk when baby suckles at lets say 16h30 to about 19h00 as Milk production is now following her expressing Schedule.
I am a technical person and feel it maybe works like this but have room to be corrected.
Advise needed Concerned Dad!
Hi! So these schedules are more for women who are exclusively pumping (and not nursing at all). Having said that, I think your wife should NOT express smaller quantities, like you suggested. The reason for this is that if she does this, her overall milk supply will drop, and once it drops, it’s difficult to get back. It sounds like what she’s doing is working so I would not try to fine tune it. Good luck!
Hi Amanda
Super grateful for this website.
I’m just over 4 months PP and pumping 5 times per day.
I see from your schedule that you went from 5 -4 pumps from 6 months. My question is, looking back, do you think you could have dropped to 4 pumps before 6 months? I dropped from 6 -5 and make the same amount, sometimes more. I have a freezer full and bub still doesn’t get through what I pump per day in those 5 pumps. I’m wondering if I could drop to 4 pumps now or wait a bit longer to be on the safe side as I’m in this for the long haul.
Hi Katie! Great question. I really am not sure – supply is soooo tricky. It’s so individual for each person and what works for one person might not work for another. It sounds like you have an awesome supply, so it might be worth a shot? Definitely make sure that you up the length of the remaining sessions and if you notice a drop in supply after dropping the fifth session, consider adding it back sooner rather than later. Good luck!
Hi Amanda,
I’m exclusively pumping and supplementing with formula and I currently pump 20-21 ounces a day at 20-25 min for six sessions. I’m using a medals symphony pump. My baby is 10 weeks old and I’m looking to keep my supply up but reduce my number of pumping sessions down to five a day. I’m also taking fenugreek supplements and eating oatmeal. What ar your thoughts on how I can keep my supply up and make this work? Thank you!
Hi! I think that if you make each of your remaining 5 sessions 4.5 minutes longer (25 minutes / 6 pumping sessions), you should be in good shape. Good luck!
hi! i currently have a 3 week old turming four soon. we tried nursing for 2.5 weeks but my baby pinches my nipple and leaves a crease and it hurts really bad everytime we nurse thats why i decided to exclusively pump. right now she’s 8 oz. and ive been pumping 8 times a day for 20 minutes with a yield f only 2.5 oz. im really frustrated cause of my poor yield. my baby eats a lot! my yield is not enough for her. thats why i tap it off with a an ounce formula. how do iincrease my milk supply pumping wise! ive been eating A LOT already, drinking tons of water, taking fenugreek, thistle, oatmeal and drinking tea. im a lil desperate;( i need your advise.
Hi Richelle! Do you mean you get 2.5 oz per pumping session? Just wanted to clarify.
What is your dose of fenugreek and do you smell like maple syrup?
Yes,I only get 2.5 oz per pumping. Sometimes just 2 oz. I pump 8 times a day. She usually wants around 3.5 oz per feeding that’s why I’m tapping her off with a lil formula. I’ve only been exclusively pumping for a few days. When does an increase in my milk supply kick in? Should I add one more pumping session?
Nope,I don’t I smell like maple yet. What is the max intake for fenugreek?
Thanks a lot! I’m really worried. I wanna give my daughter breastmilk
I think 8 times a day is good. How long is each pumping session?
16 610 capsules is the max according to kellymom:
https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/fenugreek/
I usually go 20 to 30 minutes… Does milk increase on a week timeframe or my milk supply is likely to run around this volume? Thanks for the reply!;) I really appreciate it…
Great! I think it will probably be in the same range as you’re making now but it’s possible you could bump it up some with the fenugreek, possibly enough to stop supplementing. If you can’t, though, it’s okay! You are doing awesome.
Hi! My baby is 4 weeks old and I am at about 19 ounces/day (we are supplementing with formula). I’m eating oatmeal and taking fenugreek and over the last 2 weeks, I’ve increased my supply from 8-9 ounces to 19. I probably do 20 minutes per session, sometimes a little longer if I go 4-5 hours between a pump (I typically do the majority of pumps every 2-3 hours). With another older child and a busy schedule, it’s hard to do 8 pumps/day. Do you think doing 7 pumps will allow me to build and establish my supply? Will it permanently damage my supply if I try to do 7 pumps for a few days and see how that affects my supply? (I am currently doing 8 pumps/day, but for the last 2 days have only done 7 and it’s been about the same production).
Thank you!
Hi! I think you should be okay at 7 sessions. Maybe bump them each up by a few minutes to 22 minutes? That’s great that you have seen such a great increase!!!
I don’t see let down anymore! I have a 3 month old and I mostly exclusively pump and lately I haven’t seen any let down during my pumping sessions. My milk production amount has dropped too! Help!
Hi Kia! Has anything changed? Have you gotten your period back, or changed your pumping schedule, or anything?
I had my period once at 6 weeks and since haven’t had it again. I haven’t been able to keep up my nightly pumping sessions due to fatigue. Have been going 6-7 hrs without pumping. Could it have to do with pump parts? Since I pump 8-9 times/ day x 3 months now!
Replacing pump parts is a good idea. I’m sorry – this much be so frustrating!
Hi,
I have been following your advice from day one of switching to exclusively pumping and now have reached the 3 month mark and my infant is just starting to sleep through the night. Up to now I have been pumping at night. How do I go about moving the night pump to the morning without getting super engorged. They felt like bricks this morning and were painful. Thanks!
Hi Holly! I would slowly move the night session back – maybe by an hour each night – so that your body can get used to the change. It will adapt. 🙂
Hi there – My baby is 3 weeks old and I have been exclusively pumping since his birth. My question is about the length of time to pump – my breasts stop having output between the 7-10 minute mark. I massage during that time and continue to massage and pump through 20 minutes, but very little milk is produced between the 10-20 minute period. Thoughts? I’d really like to increase my supply.
Thanks.
Hi Alison! Maybe try stopping your pump after the output stops and wait for a few minutes. Then restart it in letdown mode. You might be able to get another letdown in the 20 minutes this way. Hope that helps!
What was the lengths of your 4, 3 and 2 pumping sessions? 30 minutes….longer?
30, 45, 45 (but the last should have been a full hour probably – it killed my supply)
Hi Amanda, I breast feed now and want to EP but I can’t do more than 6 sessions per day. I’m 4 wpp now and go back to work at 6 weeks. How many weeks should I wait before attempting a 6 session EP schedule? When I randomly pump now I get 4-5 oz per breast. Every 2-3 days I have to pump because I get engorged.
Maybe try it the week before you go back to work? Make sure you do 20 minute sessions. Good luck!
I currently have a 14 week old who eats 6x per day and I am pimping 8x per day for 20 minutes each. Id like to drop to 6-7 sessions a day to be more on her schedule, but fear dropping a session or two will lead to a drop im volume. She is eatimg approx. 30 oz and I pump around 33-34oz on my 8x a day schedule. Any advice how to maintain supply with dropping a session? If I am currently pumping 20 minutes at 8 sessions, what would I increase to if I dropped a session?
Current schedule is : 2am, 6am, 8am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm 10pm
Daughter’s schedule: 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm 10pm
Thanks.
I think you can definitely drop down to 6-7 sessions at 14 weeks. It sounds like your total pumping time in a day is 160 minutes? I think if you could make each remaining session about 23 minutes you should be okay. 160 minutes is a lot. Hope that helps!
Hi there! I have a 14 week old. I currently pump 5x per day (producing 24-25oz, exact amount my daughter eats) and can keep that up but would love to drop to 4 sessions a day, it’s hard with an active toddler to do 5. Do you think this is doable or not advisable? I do have some freezer stash.
Hi Christina! I can imagine that is a lot with a toddler! So, it’s really hard to tell with supply – there is no way to know what will happen until you do it. Your supply could go up, down, or stay the same. It’s just a question of your risk tolerance for losing supply/supplementing with formula and how overwhelmed you are. I wish I could give you a better answer!
Hi Amanda,
We’re almost to 6 months and I’m still at 6ppd for at least 25 mins. I tried to drop to 5ppd a couple months back but noticed a supply drop and was already just barely making enough for LO. He eats about 32opd and I pump about 30opd, so I have to pull a freezer bag roughly every other day to keep up as it is. I’m going to try and drop one again soon because I need to get some of my life/family time back. Am I just doomed to a supply drop from dropping to 5ppd since that was my previous experience already? Currently pumping 5:30, 8:30, 11:30, 2:30, 5:30, 8:30 and I’d LOVE to drop the 5:30pm pump but not exactly sure how to rearrange everything to make that work?
Thank you so much!
Hi Kelsey! That’s great that you’ve made it to 6 months! Soooo – I don’t think you’re necessarily doomed, but it’s impossible to predict what will happen when you drop a session – it could go down, stay the same, or go up. Hopefully you’ll at least stay the same! If you drop the 5:30pm I would just move the 2:30 back a bit – to 3:30 or 4 should be fine. Or you can rearrange everything but I think that’s all you would really need to do if you like the rest of your schedule. Good luck!
Help! So my son is 5 weeks old and I am currently pumping about 8x a day after every feeding. It is taking over my life where I feel like I am constantly watching the clock at when he needs to eat and when I can pump (if he lets me put him down). I usually pump anywhere from 4-6 oz depending on how long after he eats that I get to pump. I never really got on a time schedule it was just whenever I got a second before he ate again. I really would like to stop pumping as quick as possible. Tonight I skipped after one feeding and was SO engorged that I pumped almost 8oz the next session just to feel relief! I usually pump about 10-15min each time. What is the best way to go about stopping as quick as possible without getting so engorged?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Hayley! I would follow this plan:
https://exclusivepumping.com/weaning-from-the-pump/
Let me know if you have any questions! Also – for engorgement cabbage leaves are a good option! Maybe try taking Sudafed, too?
Is it a bad idea to start cutting back time on all my pumping sessions to try and wein faster? I was originally pumping about 15 minutes. The past day I switched all of them to 10 minutes and skipped one of my pump sessions. Can I keep lowering my pumping time on each session?
I think it’s better to drop the time on one session at a time, because if you do all of them at once you never empty and it increases the risk of clogged ducts/mastitis.
Hi my lo is 7 months and I’m really trying to figure out what I can do to increase my milk supply. He takes about 20oz a day, but I’m only pumping maybe 15oz. I pump roughly 15-20 mins each session and I am taking fenugreek 2 3 times a day. I’m going on a trip in September and want to make sure my freezer supply is enough for me to go, but the closer it gets the more nervous I get about it because my milk seems to be dropping. Please help.
Hi Tenivia! How many sessions do you have per day? Do you smell like maple syrup at all from the fenugreek?
Your site has been incredibly helpful…and often times made me feel hopeful about exclusive pumping. Thank you!
Question: When you decreased your pumping anywhere from 2-5x/day, did you still use the 120min rule? For example, if you pumped 3x/day, did you pump for 40min with each session? I’m just wondering how the 120min suggestion applies.
Hi! It applies until you want to start weaning/decreasing your supply. So if your baby is eating solids and needs less milk, you may not stick to it; but if you want to try to keep it the same, you should stick to 120 minutes.
I may be overthinking this, however, if I run behind on my schedule and pump at 10am (instead of scheduled 9am), should I also push back the next session to 1pm (instead of 12pm)?
You can if you want but it’s not necessary. 🙂 Just make sure you get the time in!
I just returned to work 1 week ago. Towards the end of my first week back at work, there was a dramatic decrease in my milk production. I figured that it was due to work and general stress (and often feeling rushed when pumping at work). My breasts were incredibly engorged and painful and even after pumping, I was still only able to pump about 1oz from both breasts. I eventually changed out the Medela tubes and still no major changes. And then the portable charger (with double AA batteries) died on me. Then I naturally used the 9-volt plug-in battery charger. I finally emptied my breasts with 3-4oz. I can’t believe that I spent several days thinking that my milk production had decreased and being in such discomfort. Sadly, I didn’t pump often throughout the day (for 1-2 days) because I thought my production was near disappearing. Since discovering the real problem (batter charger), I can’t help but feel as if I messed up my supply/demand. I noticed that within the last 24hrs, I can got for 6hr stretches before needing to pump again. Would you recommend that I go back to my old schedule? Or has my supply/demand been compromised?
Hi Cyrena! So sorry that happened! Since it’s only been a week, I would try going to back to your old schedule and see what happens! It’s possible the damage is done, but I think it’s worth a try.
When doing the 6 pumps a day and having an 8 hour stretch of not pumping, did that decrease your supply any? I’m worried that it would signal milk is not needed if I go for a long stretch like that.
It didn’t! If you think about it, nursing babies start to sleep through the night and still need the same amount of milk (just during the day), so it makes sense!
If my schedule right now is 7am, 10am, 2pm, 4pm, 7pm, 10:30pm and i want to switch my schedule to 7am, 10am, 2pm, 5:30pm, 9:30pm and 11pm. What do you think the best way to do this is? I am not dropping any sessions, just changing my schedule around. My son is 6 weeks old.
I would just switch over cold turkey one day. This isn’t a major change so just go for it 🙂
Thank you so much!
Hi Amanda,
I have twins that will be 6 months old in about 2 weeks, and I’ve been an EP’er since they were born (preemies with latching issues). Combined they consume about 56oz in a 24 hour period. I’m not one of those women lucky enough to overproduce, so a few weeks ago I had to start supplementing with foumula to keep up with the demand. I always planned on breastfeeding for as long as I could (a year ideally) but things are different since I’m pumping instead. Unfortunately my husband is not very supportive of my pumping and tells me all the time that I should stop, he sees it as inconvenient because I really can’t care for the twins while I’m pumping. I’m not ready to stop yet though! Until very recently I was pumping 5 times a day for 30-35 min each time but I was just having a hard time keeping up that schedule (which included one middle of the night pump). So I dropped down to 4 pumps a day at about 23 min per pump, getting about 32oz in 24 hours which I’m ok with (although I wish it were more…I hate supplementing with formula, but I just can’t keep up with the demand of twins). I would like to drop the middle of the night pump though, without decreasing my supply. Any suggestions that wouldn’t be a huge drain on my time during waking hours?
Thanks for everything you have on this website by the way! There are so few resources out there for exclusively pumping moms and all the information you share is wonderful!
Hi Krista! I’m so impressed that you are eping for twins with a not-very-supportive spouse (and have been doing it for 5.5 months)!!! That’s amazing. Soooooo one suggestion I thought of – your babies are about old enough to sit in high chairs. Do you have them yet? What I would try is, when you start solids, put them both in their high chairs, get the purees ready, hook yourself up to pump with a hands-free bra, and then feed them while you pump (alternate spoonfuls). It will take forever – definitely the 20 minutes it will take you to pump. Just accept that it will be messy and that you can clean it all up when you’re done pumping. That way you can care for them while you pump. If they are old enough to play with toys, you could also bring a giant basket of toys and put them in their chairs, give them one toy at a time. They’ll play with it for a minute then drop it on the floor, then you give them another toy. When you’re done pumping, you just pick everything up off the floor. Anyway, that’s what I would do to maximize pumping time! Hope that helps!
Thanks for the suggestions and for your kind words! EPing for twins is no joke, its been really hard, but I kept up with it and was able to feed them only breast milk up until about 5 months without even dipping into my freezer stash.
We will be starting on “solids” very soon so I will definitely try out your suggestions. I experimented the last 2 nights with dropping the MOTN pump, and overall I produced 6oz less for the day. I’m going to try it one more night and if I’m still getting less I’ll add back in that pump and keep it until I can fit in more time during the day (like at feeding time). I’ll let you know how it goes! Thanks again!
Hi Amanda,
Im was exclusively pumping. I do not really have a scheduled time as to when i pump but try to get in at least 7 pumps a day. She has been sleeping through the night from midnight to 6 am. Would it ruin my supply if i dont get up for my motn? My second question is would it be alright to cut down to 6 pumps a day at 20 to 30 minutes a pump? I was wondering if that would be ok since she has been finally latching on to my breast? Only thing is She Only feed for about 10 minutes per breast so not that long. Im worried that she is not emptying my breasr enough? Sorry! First time mom and so many questions! Ha ha thanks in advance
Hi Jade! I think all of that will be fine. How old is your baby? If after 6-8 weeks, I would go for it. I think 6 sessions for 20-30 minutes would be fine even if she weren’t latching. Good luck!
Hi Amanda, my lo is 1 month old and I’ve been nursing him since he was born. I’ve been tandem pumping (using Haakaa silicon pump) and collecting a bit of milk throughout the day for my DH to bottlefeed him at night (1 feeding around 3oz ) so I can get some rest.
I’ve been considering to switch to exclusive pumping. How would you suggest I start making the transition? I tried pumping (been using the Haakaa silicone pump) after nursing but I only get a very little amount each time.. he still nurses 10-12 times a day and I’ve been very exhausted..
Should I Supplement with formula for the first few feeds/days before I can pump a good amount?
Hi Elaine! I would just switch at one feeding from nursing to pumping and bottle feeding during that time. You’d want to use formula for sure at that first feed. Then, if you pump enough at that first session, you can feed it to your baby at the next, and so on. If not, you can use formula until you have enough for a feeding.
Hi,
I am now pumping exclusively and not sure how long I should be pumping for. Baby is 8 weeks old and I currently have to supplement with formula.
I have been pumping every 2-2.5 hours during the day, usually seven or eight times a day. (I try to sleep at night when baby sleeps and only pump if he wakes up to feed). After about 10 minutes pumping there is no milk flowing. Do I continue to pump or stop?
I’ve also just started taking fenugreek, at how many days should I increase the dosage from 2 pills 3x a day to more? Today is day 4 and my supply today seems to have dropped, not increased. I am also taking Dom peridone which is working for me.
Hi Amanda! I would keep pumping for 5-7 more minutes as you might get another letdown.
I think you could increase it now. (Disclaimer: not a doctor) Good luck!
Hi Amanda! My son is 5 months old and I have been exclusively pumping him since he was 4 weeks old. Initially, I had oversupply where I was pumping 40oz a day and he was only eating 25-28oz. During my 6 week PP checkup, my doctor put me on combination birth control which caused my supply to drop dramatically. I ended up stopping the pill after 3 months because during growth spurts I wouldn’t make enough and had to supplement. Since stopping the pill, my supply has increased to about 38oz a day and my son eats around 30oz. I currently pump 6x a day (6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm). I would LOVE to pump only 5x a day so that I only pump twice at work, but I am worried about having supply problems again. Do you think I will be ok to go to 5 pump sessions a day? Should I do it over the course of a week? How quickly will I know if my supply has dropped and can I get it back? And thanks for your website! It has been a lifesaver for me!
Hi Beth! I think that will be okay. Just make sure to increase the length of your remaining sessions so that your total time pumping in a day stays the same.
I would say if you see a drop two days in a row, to put the dropped session back in.
Hi, when you dropped down to 2 times per day, were you pumping an hour at a time? Do you always pump for two hours each day or just in the beginning?
Hi Dani! I did not because I was weaning, and I did lose supply when I dropped down. The two hour rule is for if you’d like to keep your supply the same.
Hi Amanda,
First of all, thank you so much for your website! I wouldn’t be able to do it without you. I exclusively breastfed my first 2 children and I’m currently doing the same for my 3rd. He is 1 week old and I’m pumping 7 times a day for 17 minutes as of now. I ave about good enough milk supply to where I can freeze a couple oz a day. Because of that I’m wondering if it would be too early or ok to drop it to 6 times a day for 20 Minutes. I’m trying honking it might be too early as he’s only a week old and it might start decreasing my milk supply but I’m not really sure. Thanks!
Congrats on your brand new baby! So exciting. So the only way to find out what will happen, unfortunately, is to try it – so it’s all about how you feel about the supply risk and how annoyed you are with pumping 7 times a day. I would say it’s worth a shot if you don’t mind supplementing with formula. If you feel strongly about only giving breast milk, I’d probably wait until 6 weeks. Sorry I don’t have a clear answer!
Hi!
My baby is going to be 4 months next week and I have noticed that the past week or so my supply has dropped. I have been exclusively pumping since my little guy was 1 month.it took a long time until my milk fully kicked in and was able to start a freezer stash at 2 months. I normally am pumping every 2 hours in a 24 period so I was pumping around 9 times a day five or take. I just felt so overwhelmed pumping all the time and tired that I decided to decease my pumping sessions well now I’m regretting that. I no longer have the felling of full breast, it takes me over an hour and half just to get a combined 6oz at times. I’ve been pumping maybe 3 times a day… and the most I get is around 14oz for the whole day in a 24hr period. I am having to pull from my freezer stash, but my baby is eating around 6-8oz a feeding. How do I get my supply back up? Should I start going back to pumping as much as I use too? I do not take any supplements
Hi Jessica! Congrats on your baby! I think if you feel strongly about getting your supply back up I would go on a 6 ppd schedule of at least 120 minutes a day, and I would probably try taking fenugreek to kick-start things.
I’m not on a set schedule but I do pump every two hours for 20 minutes, and stop around 2 a.m. and then I will sleep until I’m awakened which can be 2-4 hours(my partner lets me sleep), I’ll also nap but sometimes this makes me pump after 3 hours a couple sessions a day. Will sleeping or waiting this amount of time reduce my supply? My baby is 3.5 weeks old and I take 630 mg of Fenugreek twice daily.
I think that’s totally fine. Are you taking fenugreek to increase supply? That dose is probably not enough. If you aren’t actively trying to increase supply, you probably don’t need to take it. More info here:
https://exclusivepumping.com/fenugreek-for-increasing-milk-supply/
Hi I’ve been pumping 10 times a day for 20 mins a session getting around 27oz every 24hours meaning I have some to store away too. my baby is now 5 weeks old I would like to cut down the number of sessions what would you recommend ? Thank you
Hi! At 5 weeks pp, I think you’d be totally fine to go to 6-7 sessions a day.
Hi im expressing with some formula. I have a 4week old baby and i use to get enough milk now i feel like I’m getting less. I can get 4oz in a sitting. I express 4 times a day for 1hour minimum. Im now trying fenugreek. Am i doing anything wrong. We had a very rough start with breast feeding as he was badly tt.
I think I would try pumping more often for less time at 4 weeks – like 6 times a day for 30 minutes maybe? Are you pumping in the middle of the night at all? It might not be a bad idea to have one middle of the night session at 4 weeks – I think you could drop it around 8-10 if you wanted. What is your dose of fenugreek? Do you smell like maple syrup at all?
Hi,
I am currently pumping 5 times a day (6 am, 10 am, 3pm, 7pm and 11pm). I have about 900ml-1l every day. However my baby girl is 1 month old and she only takes half of the milk (I monitor everyday). So I have about 400ml to store everyday. However as we live in a small appartment, the freezer is small and actually it’s full now. Moreover I find the 7pm difficult to manage and I get lowest amount of milk. Should I drop the 7pm session? If yes, how long should I pump for the other sessions (30 minutes each to maintain 120 mins total?). I found it hard to stick to the pump 30 minutes. I have handfree bra but my child has reflux and easy to spit up so I need to held her up right to feed and cannot feed her while pumping. Should I drop the session now and add back later if my baby’s demand increase? Any advice?
Many thanks
Hi! Yes, I think that sounds good. The longer you can wait before making the change, the better it will be for your supply long-term, but I understand if you are going crazy and can’t wait any longer. You could do another session at another time that may not make sense (like at noon) but when your baby is sleeping if that is easier, too. Good luck!
Hi, my baby is 3 months old and I had been pumping 8 times a day 3 hourly interval since week 1 till week 12. I dropped one night pump to 7 pumps per day at week 12 and my supply dropped from about 1000ml to about 950ml. I am going back to work next week and would like to drop one afternoon pump to 6 pumps per day at 4 hourly interval. May I know whether do i need to stick to 4 hourly interval? What if i have to drag some pumps to 5 hours apart sometimes (still maintaining 6 pumps per day), will this affect my supply?
Hi! I think that should be fine. Supply is super variable from woman to woman, so I can’t guarantee you won’t lose any supply if you don’t stick to a 4 hour interval, but I don’t think there will be any dramatic changes.
My LO is 6 months. I’m pumping now 5 times since back in end of August till now but I think I may reduce to 4 times pump 25 minutes per session. She eats 30oz (6oz per day). I pump currently 30 to 36oz.
My LO started with solids last week. For her nutrition I know that Breastmilk is the main meals and the solids is just an add on until her solid meals increase. She eats 2 to 4oz of solids a day. (Sweet potatoes and green peas she started great and now started apple sauce). She eats twice a day in solids. So I give her BM always first and then I wait like a half hour to an hour and I give her solids. I believe according to what I read when she turns 7 months I can feed her three times.
So can I drop a session based on this to 4 pumps a day or should i continue to pump 5 times a day until 8 months?
The freezer stash I have always rotated and I have a month and half of milk in my freezer at the end of the month.
Your thoughts ? and also if I do drop to 4 pumps, can you advise how long will it be 25 minutes or 20 minutes?
Btw your blog and breakdown is so helpful.
Hi! I think you’d be fine to drop to 4 sessions a day at this point. They should probably be 30 minutes each. Good luck!
My baby is 5 weeks old and I’m currently pumping 9-10 times per day and making approx 40 oz. I will have to go back to work at 8 weeks. Do you think it would be ok to drop to a 6-7 pumping schedule? Is that too much of a drop? If my supply does drop, do you recommend increasing the schedule again or do you give it a day or two to see if it normalizes? Thanks for all your info! So helpful!!!
Hi! I think that’s fine if you do it gradually. If you do see a drop, I would give it a day or two and then add the session back. Good luck!
Hi Amanda
I have a 9 week old daughter whom I have been feeding pumped breast milk I usually do exclusive pumping, 7 sessions each 20 mins and I am able to get 42-45oz milk per day at this point. I am going back to work from the first week of Dec and she will be going to daycare. I am wondering if I can drop my sessions to 6 and pump a little longer. Do you think my milk supply will be affected if I do 6 sessions instead of 7 now? I am hoping to feed her breast milk atleast for a year. Kindly let me know your thoughts on this.
At 9 weeks I think that should be fine. (No guarantees that your supply won’t drop, but odds are it won’t if you increase the length of the other sessions.) Good luck!
So I dropped to 8 sessions which made me lose approx 2 oz on Thurs and 4-6oz on Friday from what I’m typically able to freeze each day. I’m worried that I’ll continue to drop and not be able to support her, however I know there is no way I could continue to pump that much at work. Would this be concerning to you? I already take the MothersLove supplement three times/day. Thanks again for your help.
Hi Megan – yeah, that would make me a little nervous. It should level out, but I understand where you’re coming from. How long are your sessions? Did you increase the time of the remaining 8 sessions so that the total amount of time that you pumped in a day stayed the same?
I usually pumped 15-20 min and yesterday I did 30 min each and my first morning session was about 40. I was hoping it would level out bc it was going so good, but I have to be realistic about a work schedule too. Maybe adding a power pumping session for a few days? I could keep that up once I go back to work too.
That sounds like a good idea!
Hi I have an almost 4 week old and have been EP-ing since birth related to latch issue. At first, I did pump every 2-3 hrs. Then my milk came in and I could pump every 2-4 hours. For the past 2 wks I pump every 3-6 hours, about 5-6 pumps lasting 15 min per day. I pump almost 40 oz which is way more than baby can eat. So I have a freezer stash started. I try and go every six hours at night. Should I change anything? I don’t want any more supply. Thanks!
I think what you’re doing is fine. I would not drop a session yet – I would wait until the 8-12 week mark. Your supply is still establishing itself at this point and dropping a session could have a pretty big impact. Just as an example, I went from 35-40oz a day to 24oz a day overnight at 3-4 weeks postpartum because I had been missing sessions. So I wouldn’t do that yet. But absolutely, when you get to 8-12 weeks, you can drop the overnight session. Good luck!
Hi Amanda,
Thank you so much for your blog. I have a four month old.
I have been EPing since his birth, with some nursing. He was born at 35 weeks with a 2 week say in the NICU, so we had a hard time establishing breastfeeding, but I still try to get him on the breast everyday. Some days are better than others and he does not empty the breast, so I have always pumped as well. I pump 7 times a day regardless if my son’s breastfeeding. He usually only takes the breast 1-2 times a day.
I’ve just discovered your blog. As I mentioned, I had been pumping 7 times a day for 15 minutes (the LC at the hospital told me to do 15 minutes, probably not understanding this would be come my primary method of feeding my son), which does not add up to 120 minutes. I have been doing this for months and produced about 23-30 Oz a day.
I have two questions:
1) Is it possible to drop down to 6 pumps at 20 minutes? How would pumping more total time affect my supply – as s I would be be going from 105 minutes to 120 minutes a day
2) On your sample schedule you have the 4 hour breaks between pumps at the beginning and end of the day. Is there a rationale to this? I would prefer to have the 4 hour breaks during the day when my husband is at work.
THANK YOU again Amanda for this wonderful resource. There is very little support for
EPers — and most LCs don’t advise on pumping.
Hi Lisa! Yes, going down to 6 sessions at 20 minutes each sounds like a good idea. I would guess your supply would stay about the same or go up a bit, but there is no way to know for sure until you try it.
There is no rationale – that is just what worked for me. Totally fine to vary it up to what works for you. Good luck!
Thank you Amanda!
Hi Amanda,
Is there a difference in output between double pumping and pumping one side at a time? I have a Medela Freestyle but I find it troublesome to hook up the hands free bustier every time for both pumps. Plus it’s easier for me to use one hand to massage while holding the pump with other without the bustier in the way. I’m also confused about the flange sizes. The pump came with 24mm and 27mm flanges and I’ve been using the 27mm because my nipples would rub against the sides on the 24mm and cause pain. But with the 27mm most of my areola also gets pulled inside the flange tube. Then I started to rub a bit of nipple cream before using the flange and tried the 24mm again. This mostly took away the pain but a lot of my areola still gets pulled inside. My nipples always look stretched and mis-shappened after pumping.
My baby is nearly 4 weeks old and has been taking 3oz at each feeding since week 2. I can get about 1 – 1.5oz from right breast and 2-3 oz from the left, averaging about 3oz total each time (I pump 4x at night, and let baby latch during day). This amount has been pretty consistent and I haven’t been able to increase production even with fenugreek from GNC (2 capsules of 610mg capsules 3 times a day). I don’t see a difference in amount whether pumping for 20 min or 30 min. She feeds every 2 hours or so, so I’ve been supplementing formula at night. I’ve been having her feed from the breast during the day but it really messes up my pumping schedule since I have no idea how much she takes and she hasn’t been able to empty the breast each time (and supplement with milk pumped during the night). She always falls asleep right after latching on. And there’s some nipple confusion problem from the bottle feedings as well. I think exclusive pumping might be a more feasible option at this point. I’m going to go ahead and get your book to read, but in the mean time, would you kindly recommend a pumping schedule for me? I would love to be able to get a longer stretch of sleep, it’s desperately needed 🙁
Thanks so much!
Hi Christine!
The only difference between double pumping and single pumping is that single pumping takes twice as long – if it works for you despite that then by all means go for it. 🙂
About the flanges – you could try Pumpin Pals and see if that helps with the discomfort? The stretched/misshapen thing is totally normal, that’s just going to happen. Everything will go back to normal when you’re done pumping.
Re: the fenugreek, did you smell like maple syrup at all?
For a schedule, I would do 7-8 sessions a day and give yourself a 5 hour stretch at night. When that is depends on how your baby sleeps and/or if you partner (if you have one) can take the baby during any of the wake-ups. Basically pick a 5 hours stretch (or as long as you can) where your baby will either most likely sleep through it or, if they don’t, you aren’t in charge, even if that means you go to bed at 7 or 8 pm for awhile. It won’t last forever, just for a few weeks until baby starts sleeping longer.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you any other questions.
Hi i have a two month old that lets me sleep at least 3-4 hrs at night what would be a good pumpin schedule for me? And how many minutes are ideal to pump for??
Hi! I would do every 3-4 hours whenever he or she wakes up at night, and then during the day whenever is a good time for you, aiming for a total of 7-8 sessions a day. I would make each session 15-20 minutes. Good luck!
Hi! My daughter is 12 weeks old. I currently pump 6 times a day: once in the middle of the night (2-3am), when I wake up 8:30am, three times during the day (anywhere from 3-4 hours apart) and once before bed (8:30-9pm). She is sleeping through the night so I get up just to pump because I get the most volume at that time (5-6oz) and first thing in the morning (5oz). I would like to decrease my pumps to five a day. Can I give up the middle of the night pump without decreasing my supply? How long is the longest I should go between pumps? Thank you!!
I also forgot to mention that I only pump between 23-25oz a day. And she is eating about 24oz. So I really don’t want my supply to go down since I’m barely keeping up with her. Thanks again!
Hi Lauren! Yes, I think at 12 weeks you should be able to do that. I would probably move the 8:30am up if you can (and/or the 8:30pm back if you can) and would aim for about 8 hours between sessions at this point. You might want to ease into that if you’re prone to clogs, otherwise you can try going cold turkey. Make sure to increase the length of your remaining sessions in order to maximize the chances that you won’t lose supply. I would plan on the making the morning one longer for sure because it will take you longer to empty. (Anything can happen when you drop sessions and there is no way to know until you try what will happen with you – it can go up, go down, or stay the same. But keeping your total pumping time in a day the same is a good way to guard against losing supply.) Good luck!
Thanks! I plan on EPing until my baby is 6 months. When do you think I could drop to 4 ppd? 3 ppd? Etc.?
I think you could maybe do 4 in a month and 3 the month before you want to start weaning? I’m totally just guessing though, everyone’s different! Good luck!
First of all, thank you so much for all the information! Thanks to your website I’ve been pumping successfully 4 times a day for my 6 month old. Right now my schedule ever since he was 4 months has been 8am (I nurse him first, then do a full pump), 12pm, 4pm and 10pm. I pump for about 35 minutes each. I get about 27 ounces total with 5 ounces leftover to freeze per day. My 12pm and 4pm pump each give me 4 to 5 ounces max and I’m wondering if I drop the 12pm if my supply will drop drastically if I go down to 3 pumps? I know everyone is different but do you have any thoughts or suggestions? Thank you!
Hi! My big worry at 3ppd at 6 months would just be long-term supply. So if you’re shooting for pumping for a year and not giving formula, I don’t think I would drop to 3. Your period could come back, other hormonal changes, etc. If your goal is, say, 8 months, or you don’t mind formula, I would say go for it. It just depends on what you are thinking about doing and how risk-averse you are. (I am very risk-averse, which probably clouds my advice, so consider that too!)
Thanks for your thoughts! I’d like to make it to a year so I’m going to be risk-averse too 🙂 sticking with my 4 a day plan! Thank you for all the help!
Hey! Thanks for your posts… They have been super helping during my breastfeeding journey.
My baby is currently 11 weeks old. I’m started pumping 8 times a day, then 7 and now 6 times for the last 2 weeks. I’m pumping about 55-60 oz per day. Obviously way more then my little one needs and I’ve completely filled my deep freezer already. I did drop my 3am pump this week and am pumping last at 11pm then at 6am. How long should I stay at 6 pumps before going to 5? Even though I’m producing so much I’m afraid of losing it! I always hear that you should pump 8-12 times for the first 12 weeks but that seems so excessive at this stage. I am only pumping but I do put my daughter to the breast for comfort ?
Hi! I think you can go down to 5 now, though then I would stay there for a few months. Make sure to increase the length of each session so that your total pumping time in a day stays the same. Good luck!
Hi there! How many minutes do you pump on a four pump schedule? My supply dropped with five but I hardly get much at my 9pm pump and my baby is almost 7mos old- he has a milk protein allergy so my diet is very limited- we are supplementing with hypoallergenic formula and I’m planning to ween down the pumping… thank you!
Hi! I would do 30 minutes on a 4 pump schedule until you want to start weaning.
Hi! I’ve been following your website since I decided to exclusively pump for my LO. She’s 4 weeks old now and I’ve only been able to get in 6-7 20 min session pumps a day and my daily output is on average 25 oz/day. I’m getting a lot of help right now from grandma and hubby with feeding the LO while I pump or eat or try to sleep, but I’m having trouble balancing out a feeding and pumping schedule for the LO while I’m on my own. She tends to have trouble going down for naps during the day and sometimes I have just enough for me to squeeze in a pump before she wakes up again. I’m worried I won’t be able to keep up the pumping once the help is gone. It’s too difficult for me to feed her while I’m pumping~ all the equipment and tubing gets in the way (AND I’m terrified she’ll yank on something and pull my already sore nipples off!) Any suggestions on how to balance this out???
Hi! Question – are you using a hands-free bra when you pump? Also, have you tried having her sleep on your lap or in a bouncy seat near where you are pumping? (That way, you don’t have to worry her yanking anything.) A few other options – do you think you could pump on just one side while holding her? I have found it easier to baby wrangle sometimes with the range of motion less limited.
Another possible option would the be freemie, where most of the tubing is in your bra? https://exclusivepumping.com/freemie-a-review/
This might also have some ideas:
https://exclusivepumping.com/pump-and-take-care-of-a-baby-at-the-same-time/
Looking for some help! I have been EPing since day one but struggle to get much milk. I pump 5-6 times per day (every 2-3 hrs) and sometimes get only 20 or 30ml combined per session totaling around 300ml per day. My baby is about 10 weeks old and I have had to supplement with formula since the first few weeks. Is there any way I can get more output? I’ve tried fenugreek and the teas and have lactation cookies. My first morning session I can get around 120ml so I know I have the storage. But it gets frustrating when the rest of the sessions throughout the day get so little from 20-30 min. I also go back to work in about 3 weeks. Anything I can do?
Hi KC! What dose of fenugreek were you taking? Did you smell like maple syrup at all?
I did smell like maple syrup but I stopped taking it cause my son was very gassy. I was taking 6 capsules per day, same brand in your photo below.
Also, my left breast produces 90% of the milk. Which is frustrating.
Just now I pumped – 2 hrs since last pump – and got 30ml combined after 20 min. Super frustrating for how time consuming pumping is. My pump times are typically between 8am and 9pm every 2-3 hrs.
Ah, I see. I think that dose was probably not high enough for the maple syrup smell, but if your baby was gassy I wouldn’t increase it anyway.
Have you considered maybe a prescription medication, like domperidone or reglan? It’s a pain to get a prescription and domperidone isn’t easy to get, just throwing it out there.
One thing that is definitely normal is for one side to provide most of the milk. Frustrating but common!
Hi!
Thanks for your awesome blog. It’s been a great resource for me while on my EP’ing journey. I pump every 3-4 hours so I get 6-7 pumps in per day. Two questions:
1. I’m wondering how you go such a long stretch overnight without getting clogged ducts?
2. Also, is it more important to keep the time frame between pumps (3-4 hours) the same or just making sure you get in the correct number of pumps in per day (6-7) so you can have longer stretches throughout the day/night based on sleep and activities you do during the day? So, could my time frame between pumps vary as long as I fit in the correct number of pumps?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Hi Michelle!
For #1, some women are more prone to clogged ducts than others, but the best way to stretch it longer is to do it gradually so that your body gets used to it. Do you find that you get a lot of them?
For #2, just make sure you get them in and they are reasonably well spaced, but totally fine to do 2 hours sometimes and 4 or 5 sometimes. 🙂
Hi Amanda, Your website has been so useful to me, thank you!
Im just starting the 5 pumps in 24hrs routine and I notice you have 3 pumps pretty close together in the morning and then a large gap from 3pm-10pm and then not pumping again until 6am. Is there a reason for these timings? Can i spread it out more as long as I do 5 in a day or is it important to have the 3 very close together ones in the morning and then more spread out later in the day. I just dont want to kill my supply!
Hi Leila! That’s just because that’s what worked for me with my schedule at the time. You can space them differently! 🙂
My Little one is only 6 weeks old. I have just now stayed on a consistent pumping schedule with 9 pumps for about a week. I plan to supply breast milk until she can drink cows milk at a year old. I’m supplementing at night, but hope to cut that’s back to just one formula bottle(maybe even exclusive BM again with a little extra). I want to build a freezer supply that can be alternated and used in the case of an emergency. After I reach my goal of 30oz, I plan to cut out that killer 2AM pump. Then between 10-12weeks cutting back another night pump. From 3-5 months I’ll pump 7 times. From 5-7 months I plan to pump 6. After this point I want to gradually cut back a pump every every two months or so. I noticed that you’re sample schedules didn’t go past 8hours between pumps until after a year. Is there a reason for that? At 5-7 months I was contemplating a night stretch from 9:30PM after my 9 pump to 6AM. Could I start stretching that far or should I keep 8hour stretches as a rule of thumb? I was contemplating even a 8PM pump to a 6AM pump for after 7 months.
Hi Melissa! I think 8PM to 6AM is fine. 🙂 You might want to make the 6AM a slightly longer session because you’ll have more milk to pump. Good luck!
I already pump 20minutes each session. Should I pump 25 when I cut back to that?
I would start with that and see how you feel after a few days. If you are getting letdowns between 20-25 minutes, I would keep that extra 5 minutes. If you’re not getting more milk and feel like it’s not necessary, 20 is fine.
Hi Amanda could you please tell me the quantity of milk you were getting in first month to till end..starts from 8 times session to 1 time session..
Hi! I started at 35oz, dropped to 24oz when my supply regulated (around 3 weeks? a month?), gradually up to 50 oz (I used fenugreek and stuck to my pumping schedule religiously). I believe 50 oz was when I was at 4 pumping sessions per day, and it started declining after that. At 4 sessions I was at about 45oz, 35oz at 3, 20oz at 2 and 10 at 1. Hope this helps!
Hi Amanda thanks for replying..5th month is running for my son now I’m in 5 session per day I’m producing 42oz per day , because of time issue I couldn’t able make 5 sessions I was only able to attend 3 session though I reduce the pumping session I was producing the same.but I heard I shouldn’t reduce it will affect the supply in future now I’m back to 5 sessions per day..I want my supply for 1 year if quantity of milk decreaed that’s ok . If I follow ur schedule is 3 to 6 months (6 sessions ) and 6 to 11 months (4 session) can I keep up for 12 months please suggest
I think that will work!
Thank you so much for this post – it’s hard to find such good info about pumping!
My question is simple but I wanted to provide some background as I’m in a bit of a special situation:
My daughter is just about 9mo and I’ve been doing a combo of breastfeeding and pumping since pretty early on, as she had a lip and tongue tie and I have vasospasm/Reynaud’s of the nipple. We had her ties revised and I’m now able to nurse twice in the morning, but later in the day is tough even when I know I have plenty of milk. I think my daughter gets frustrated by my slower letdown then plus she’s tired so more fussy. I’ve tried a few times to BF around the clock (5-6 times between 5am and 7pm) but I always end up throbbing in pain.
I’m grateful for a wonderful IBCLC who diagnosed the ties and set us up well to keep my daughter fed and happy and to maintain my supply with pumping for so long…but am looking forward to pumping less.
I’m currently nursing twice in the morning, around 5am and 8am, and have been pumping 3x a day past this for a while (11am / 4pm / 9pm). I’m making about a bottle per day beyond what my daughter needs and I’m getting sick of pumping so would like to drop one of them. Do you think nursing twice in the morning then pumping at 2pm and 9pm is a good schedule? I’m on day 2 trying this out and am somewhat uncomfortable for a few hours before each pump.
Thank you for everything!
Hi Claire! I do think that would work. I think the discomfort will lessen over the next few days as your body adjusts, but if you need to you can pump for a just a few minutes to take the pressure off. The one thing I would recommend is keeping your pumping time the same – so if each of your three pumping sessions were 20 minutes, I would make the two that you have left 30 minutes (if possible, I know this can be hard). That will help keep your supply up. Let me know if you have any questions!
I am 8 weeks post partum and have finally been pumping 28 ounces for the past two weeks pumping 8 times per day. My baby is eating 31 ounces and I need to increase supply still. Power pumping works but my nipples are too tender to do that now. Have I been at 28 ounces long enough to try cutting out one of my two night sessions and still able to work to increase supply? I’m exhausted and desperate for more sleep but still want to be able to increase supply. Thanks for your input!
I think at 8 weeks you should be good with one night session. Obviously no guarantees and anything can happen, but you never know, the extra sleep might help. Good luck!
Thanks! Do I need to add the session to the day time or am I ok to stick to 7 sessions? Sorry it won’t let me reply directly to your response.
I think you could either stick to 7 and add the time from the eighth session to those 7 pumps (so if you were pumping for 8 times a day 15 minutes each, you’d add two minutes to each of the seven remaining sessions) or move the 8th to the day. Either should work. 🙂
I’ve actually been pumping 20 min unless I get an additional let down near the end. Do I still need to increase the time? Sorry for all of the questions and thanks so much for your expertise!
Hi there! Just curious your thoughts on my ability to drop to about 7 ppd at this time. I’m about 6-7 wpp and was originally pumping 8ppd and getting 70-80 ounces pretty consistently. I like in an apartment so I will run out of space to store the extra very soon (already have 1000+ ounces stored). For my sanity and a little extra sleep ovetnight, would you say it’s safe to drop to 7ppd? I mean even if i drop some, I should still have plenty for baby right? Like I shouldn’t drop to only like 30 ounces if I do that ans still pump to empty? Just wondering as I want to start getting on a schedule i may be able to better maintain when i return to work at 9 wpp. Also how long do you think I could space out the over night pumps for sleep without getting a clogged duct?
Thanks for any advice you have!
Hi! Yes, I would go for it, you should be fine. Just add the time from the session you’re dropping back to the other 7. 🙂
For the spacing overnight, how long are you currently going?
Hi there. Question for you about the 6 sessions per day schedule—the idea of going all night without pumping sounds great but do I need to worry about clogged ducts for going that long without pumping? (Ive had them in the past though not entirely clear on the cause.)
Should I ease into a schedule like that? Currently I’m doing 6-7 pumps per day but not going more than 5 hours usually.
Thanks!
Abbey
Hi Abbey! Yes, I would ease into that schedule. This can help with how to do that and minimize the risk of clogged ducts:
https://exclusivepumping.com/drop-middle-of-the-night-pumping-sessions/
Good luck!
Is 4 months to early to drop down to 4 pumps per day? I have an oversupply and am not worried about loosing some of my supply (if that were to happen) but I don’t want it to impact my supply long term.
I am currently at 5 pumps right now but finding it a little hard to manage being back at work.
Hi Jacqueline! It depends on your goals – if you want to go to 6 months then definitely, if you want to go for a year, it’s a judgement call. The big risk is getting your period back earlier and that having an effect on your supply. If you decide to go for it, make sure to up the length of your remaining four sessions! Good luck!
Hi,
Thank you so much for this post. There aren’t a lot of resources for exclusive pumping.
My baby is 3.5 weeks old, and I have been exclusive pumping since day 1. I pump every 3 hours (8 times a day) for 20min. I have been getting about 2.5 – 3 oz total, which used to be fine. Now that baby is eating more, however, I can’t keep up (as supply has not increased) and am having to start supplementing with formula.
I developed mastitis in the right breast and now never get more than about 3/4 of an ounce from that breast.
I am taking fenugreek and “let there be milk” drops and have tried a couple “power pumping” sessions of 10min on 10min off. I have also been trying heat compresses and massage before pumping.
I’m not sure what else (if anything) can be done. Overall, this has been one of the more frustrating things I have ever done. I’m feeling so disappointed and discouraged.
Hi Katherine! You are doing all of the right things! I’m sorry you’re frustrated – you are doing a GREAT job!
What dose of fenugreek are you taking? Oatmeal might also help a bit.
Another thing to think about… It’s worth switching out your rubber/silicone pump parts to see if that helps. I have a Spectra and the duckbill valves it came with were hard to pull off – I was pulling by the triangular part and that wore them out fast. The replacement parts I found on eBay are better – there’s space at the top of the duckbill valve so it’s easier to get your fingers in there to pull it off. There are guides online to let you know how often you should switch them out. I found my supply slowly dropping over time and once I realized it was the pump parts and replaced them it took a while to get back to where I had been. Also, maybe work in an extra pump in the morning when your supply is highest to give it a boost? Good luck!
Hi, with the 6x pump schedule, did you ever get blocked milk ducts from 10pm – 6am gap?
Thank you.
Hi Catherine! I got one blocked duct during my pumping “career” (actually a few more with the babies I nursed than the one I EPed for) and I believe it was later on when I was down to 4 pumps per day. Everyone is different, but that was my experience. Hope that helps!
I’m EPing, and we are at 7 weeks pp. I do 8 pumping sessions a day, but I’ve been getting recurrent plugged ducts. It’s been as bad as 6 different ones in a 48 hour period. I’ve been able to get them out with warm compress hot showers and vigorous massage. However I feel that the only way to prevent or get them out is by having the baby nurse. Will this cause me to have an oversupply? I don’t want that to be an issue. Am I getting them because I’m EPing. I’ve looked at all the other possible causes and can’t pinpoint one that could be the culprit. I’m getting desperate not to get them anymore.
Hi Ann! That sounds awful, so sorry! Have you tried lecithin? It might help. Also totally fine to have the baby nurse to get them out. More ideas:
https://exclusivepumping.com/clogged-ducts/
Will nursing him in addition to EPing cause an oversupply? I don’t want that to be the cause of more clogged ducts.
Hi Ann – are you talking about comfort nursing, or mixing nursing and pumping (not really EPing)? If it’s the former, it shouldn’t be a problem. If the latter, you’d replace the pumping sessions with nursing sessions.