How often are you actually pumping?!

You’re not alone!! Ive been pumping for 12 weeks.. yes I try to pump every 3 hours. My supply suffers when I go more than 3 hours so try to power pump for a couple days when that happens. It’s all for the babe 🙏🏻 You got this! One day at a time.

I exclusively breastfed until my baby was 4.5 months old and then the teeth and biting started so I switched to pumping during the day and breastfeeding 2x/night. I literally set an alarm during the day to go off every 2 hours and pumped for 10-15 minutes. I would wake up before she woke up to pump for 20 minutes to get the supply going for the day. It was a lot!! As much as it was, it felt worth it to me. I told myself that I was lucky that I had the supply and to embrace it. There are also things that can be done to make pumping more efficient.

I feel you! I tried pumping for 3 weeks but honestly gave up! Cause my baby went to nicu and I couldn’t see him for a bit, so after that I tried pumping and I wasn’t finding the time to do it the way I wanted. So I exclusively formula feed now. I was having to choose between napping, getting stuff done around the house or pumping or taking care of my baby it was so tiring for me.

But I heard that yes you have to do 2-3 hours that’s what my lactation consultant told me Like that you basically want to pump 6-8 times a day. I personally found that way too tedious 😩

2-3 hours is realistic as you are attempting to mimic your newborn baby feeding. You make the most milk between 02:00-06:00 so great if you’re pumping between those hours at least.

I pumped every 3 hours in the day and 5 overnight to begin with. Now I pump every 4 hours through the day and 5-7 overnight I'm 6 months pp now

I pump for half an hour once in the morning and once at night and supplement with formula. I'm too busy to be doing anything else as I'm also caring for my mum quite a lot

@Shazia yeah this is where I’m at haha I’m so tempted to throw in the towel sometimes. I’m already supplementing because I don’t produce enough so it’s getting hard to continue. I have to basically focus all day and not miss a single pump to even get close to what he eats and it’s not really worth being chained to the house :/ it’s jsut so hard. Every 2-3 hours just seems so unrealistic sometimes when i also have to actually feed him and put him down plus cleaning/laundry/etc. My husband also keeps encouraging me to leave the house and not be sitting on the couch all day and “waste my leave” but it’s so complicated to leave the house and pack everything and do all the things!!!

@Cari oh wow yeah I’m finding that 10-15 mins isn’t cutting it for me, it seems like i could get away with doing only 10-15 at first and get everything i need buuut now it seems like it takes me closer to 30-40 to get empty and get 2-4 oz. My supply seems like it’s decreasing. But with having to wash pump parts each time and keep up with the house, watch my toddler in the mornings and take her to school if my husband can’t it just seems impossible to actually pump more than like every 4ish hours. I’m just finding hard to keep continuing. Especially with my supply decreasing. It seems i either have to pick between raising my supply and focusing on it all day but ruin my mental health OR be more relaxed about pumping and then my supply decreases.

I do 4-5 hours 🤷🏽‍♀️

You don’t need to wash parts every time just pump them in a fridge. Also get a wearable pump. I used to focus on pumping very often to increase supply, sometimes I’d pump after 1 h or less. But I still was going out, I’d just pump right before leaving and then after coming back, or pump in a car on a way back. Now I’m not that focused and again I do whenever I can but I noticed 3-4h might even give me better output combined for the day, also power pumping helps increasing supply. I went from not having enough and supplementing to literally freezing some milk now almost 5 months pp

I say this with love, everyone is not built to breastfeed. Do what you need to be the version of you your baby needs I'm not sure what you're trying to leave the house for for longer than 3hrs lol My son is 8 months 8 months straight of 2 to 3 hours around the clock 🙃😵‍💫 Some days I'm good some I'm delirious lol I feel like I'm more so built for it because I naturally have alot of energy and don't require alot of sleep 6hrs I'm good now I only get 2hr increments so it takes almost a 12hr cycle but me being naturally energeticI'm good

I pump 6 times a day for 30 minutes. I found that at 8 times a day at 15 minutes or 6 times at 30 minutes game me the same. I found the best way to get out of the house is to be a little flexible. I usually pump during the day at 10am, 2pm and 4pm. If I want to go out at say 1pm I would shift one pump to say 10am, 12pm and 4pm. That way I have some time I can just feel normal outside. I know if I go 6 hours without pumping I am uncomfortable so try to not go over 5. You are going to want to wear something for leaks though.

2-3 hours. I got a cordless/handless pump so it goes where I go and it’s not a problem to pump

I thought it was just me!! Pumping is so annoying to be because of the part washing and needing to have a block of time to sit for 30 minutes which felt unrealistic lol I switched to the mom cozy portable pump and it made a HUGE difference for me because I could still move around and it has less pieces to wash. I also started using the pump wipes to wipe in between pumping and then wash at the end of the day, which also reduces the stress of having to wash a bunch of pieces. 😭 not sure if this is recommended but with the mom cozy portable pump I even pumped in the car for 30 minute drives and then when reaching my destination put my milk into a lunch box with an ice pack 😃 that helped me have a little more time out on my own every now and then. But you’re doing a great job, mama! Take it day by day. Sometimes I would get less milk when pumping but I found out that babies are able to express more milk than a pump so sometimes the pump isn’t the best gauge of your supply!

Yes my baby is 4 months and I have been pumping every 2-3 hours since he was 3 weeks. It took some time to figure out how to manage it. I set alarms each day based on when his last nursing time is. He only nurses over nights. Regarding the pump parts, I wash every time and pull apart everything once a day. I use a mobile pump and a product called ceres chill to pump while out. I've pumped every where, driving, at restaurants, at stores, just put my mobile pump on and if I don't have a loose shirt I put my breast feeding cover on so I don't look ridiculous with these big pumps on 😅 I know the feeling of needing to switch up the schedule and get out but also feeling stressed. Try going for a walk first and do that every other day for as long as you want. Then try going some where like the park or the store for quick trips until you build up your confidence in taking baby with you and needing to pump outside the home. It takes times to figure out your new schedule and routine and your life basically.

@Amanda do you wash the pump parts every time you pump? Or how do you wash them if you were on the go?

The best tip I received from a friend is that you can keep all your pumping parts in the fridge and then only have to wash them every 24 hrs. That made pumping a lot easier for me. Even when we traveled I kept my pumps in a cooler with ice and same when I returned to work. If it weren't for that I don't think I would have continued pumping. Give yourself some grace because it's not easy. My husband didn't get it until he took over and is now at home with the baby! The first day he said ok, yes it's hard, and he never had to breastfeed!!

@Priscilla yeah, I guess I would never really leave the house for more than like 3 hours. HAHA! Like I don’t have too much to even do these days - the longest I had the option to go is my husband’s family, toddler plus my dad all went an hour away to apple picking one weekend and last min i got too nervous with the logistics of being away from the house for like 5-6 hours (plus i had a clogged duct and it freaking hurt lol). I think it’s more the logistics of it scares me to not be in the comfort of my home plus it’s more the time it takes me to get ready to actually leave then i have to pump and feed in like an hour or two again. I also wish i was like you that i don’t require sleep. Even before kids i needed 8-9 hours to function. I can’t really go nonstop on incremented sleep. Plus i have bad insomnia so sometimes it might take me 1-2 hours to fall asleep and then once i fall asleep i have to get up so i don’t have much energy so when my husband says go leave the house I’m like 😴😵‍💫🤷🏽‍♀️

@Jennifer okay i might start doing this too…i kept hearing conflicting things on if it was okay to do that but my mental health might need to. Washing it every time or even if i switch pumps and need to be plugged into the spectra is just a lot ! The cooler is a good idea. I think it’s always thinking of the logistics of leaving the house that scares me lol! Yeah i feel like my husband doesn’t really get it either. He’s helpful with the baby and will take him on errands sometimes and bring formula with him so when he says for me to do the same and leave the house to get out it’s just not the same for him. He doesn’t have to worry about the pump schedule and timing of everything. He also tells me to stop worrying about pumping on a schedule but again doesn’t fully 100% understand the decrease supply of it. :/

@Christine at home id immediately rinse/wash them. On the go if it’s only been 2 hours then that’s within the 4hr breastmilk timeline, otherwise I’d find a place to wash or they even make pump cleaning wipes you can buy at target to clean on the go

@Alyssa okay maybe i need to do the pump wipes…then you don’t have to wash it?? Yeah it’s the only washing and drying it every time that annoys that crap out of me. I mean it doesn’t take that long obviously as a single task but it’s the feeding/changing him, then having to pump and clean/dry it that takes me back to basically having to restart the cycle of it all. Yeah I’m not BFing directly too often because baby just isn’t efficient at the breast right now. He would take much longer to finish a feeding and just be on me all day lol I’m hoping that’ll change one day and he can drink faster haha!

@Christine yeah the wipes are great!! Haha I feel so seen right now 😂😂 it is SO annoying lol it just feels like one additional task on the full pile to then go wash pumping parts for some reason 🙃🙃 here’s the wipes I get from target https://www.target.com/p/dapple-breast-pump-cleaning-wipes-fragrance-free-25ct/-/A-78295499 And yeah gradually they get faster! It’s so crazy lol I was worried that my baby was weening at first because the feeding time was decreasing but then her pediatrician shared that with me about their feeding efficiency! So cool how they learn and adapt as time goes on.

It depends. You technically need to pump as often as the baby would feed, which if it’s a new born, every 2-3 hours is right on. Welcome to motherhood. 😅

I totally get where you’re coming from with this! If you’re attempting to breast feed as well but baby doesn’t take a full feed that way then the entire day can be derailed with the pumping if breastfeeding takes slightly too long. I am 7 weeks pp now doing it 6ish times a day 15 mins double pump. Overnight I am down to once though now. So it could be like say 930pm before I try get some sleep while partner does the late feed, then I pump at 2.30/3am, again at 7/8am, 11/12, 3/4, 6/7.. but it’s hard. Like if I’m going out I have to wash, sterilise and bag the parts up to do it in the car or whatever . Baby’s demand overtakes my supply now even though I’m expressing like 25oz a day (tracking on an app) so we also do formula. That middle of the night feed takes forever if I express after changing, feeding, winding and sitting with him . It’s exhausting. But the breast milk is apparently best between 2-4am and the first morning pump between 6-9am. That’s when I get most anyway :)

I’ve seen others saying they don’t wash and sterilise each time. My hands free pump says that’s fine to do and I was told breast milk contains antibodies and doesn’t have risk of infection like formula so that’s probably ok. But my baby was premature and immune system is delicate so I wash and sterilise every single time. I’m not sure I’ll be doing it until he’s 1 though! It is exhausting and you have to make the best choices for you x

@Lauren I always put the parts in a ziplock bag and placed it in the fridge for the day. That way I only had to sterilize at night. Refrigerating them keeps them sterile enough to use all day.

@Cari do you rinse them off/wash them first?

@Alyssa perfect! I just got them on amazon haha! Yeah I’m hoping he gets more efficient very soon! It def seems like BF might be easier in a few months

@Cari i just tried this this morning!! Curious too if you rinse them. I didn’t rinse at all and just put in the bag haha hopefully that’s ok. Pumped 3 times this morning already :) first two times was back to back tho cause i feel like i never empty the first time buuut it made it a little easier !

No, don’t rinse them. If you’re using an electric pump (which is way more effective than any modern portable pump) then just keep everything together and put in the bag. I promise that once you do it for a few days you’ll notice a big difference for you. It is so much easier!

@Lauren I sterilized only in the evening and literally kept each side fully assembled with no rinsing (no water) and put them in the ziploc bag and in the fridge. It made life so much easier and does absolutely nothing to the milk and safe for baby.

@Heather 🌻 yeah ugh! It sucks cause even if i pump every feed it seems like I still never make what he eats so it feels like I’m losing either way haha.

@Cari Was it u comfortable to use cold parts?

@Kristen just for maybe a few seconds when I would first start but it didn’t come close to outweighing the convenience aspect.

Thanks @Cari . I have the Medela freestyle pump so that would be much easier to do!

@Lauren curious, is that considered a hands-free pump?