How often do you have to pump?

Question

I plan on breastfeeding but I'm also going to pump for a couple reasons. When I go back to work, which is who knows when but probably around the time my little one is 6 months, how often will I need to pump? I'm sure it's different for everyone but I'm just curious. Say I had a 5 hour shift, would I need to pump at work? Kind of lost and trying to figure out what would be best

Answer

You pump at the same time your son usually drinks. At 6 month my son could go 5 hours without drinking, he was eating already a bit, and drank water. Therefore it wasn’t necessary to pump a lot during a 8 hour shift. When I was breastfeeding 8 months I didn’t pump at all during the two days that I worked.. but it really depends on how it influences your production, and how uncomfortable your breast are.

Answer

I started pumping exclusively when my son was 6 months and pumped 5 times a day. Once when I woke up, once mid morning, once at lunch, once mid afternoon, and once before bed. I was able to continue pumping enough until he was 13 months old.

Answer

I pumped every 2 to 3 hours. I also pumped after nursing in the beginning to build up my supply.

Answer

Have you thought about taking a breastfeeding class? The one my hospital offered was one of the best “prep” things I did while I was pregnant. My instructor recommended not pumping (unless you needed to for some reason) until about two weeks before you went back to work, and then only add in one pump a day. If you start pumping before your milk regulates (4-6 weeks), you could end up with an oversupply. I added in one pump session at around 8 or 10 weeks which I did a few hours after he went down down the night since he was sleeping about 6-8 hours. Just doing that I’ve gotten more milk than I need in my freezer—I only do it because my boobs feel like they’ll explode during the night if i don’t. I had to go into the office for an all day meeting yesterday (I usually work from home) and pumped about every 3 hours.

Answer

I was pumping in between every feeding at the beginning. once I wasnt engorged anymore I didn't pump I just exclusively bf.

Answer

i pumped every 2-3 hours and kept that routine until my son was 7mo i had a deep freezer full of storage breastmilk bags so he had enough when i started working

Answer

I pump on the opposite side that my son is eating from and when I worked I pumped every 2 hours or I would get so full that it felt like my boobs would explode and I would pretty much drown my son when I got home and tried to feed him 😬😂

Answer

Generally baby feeds from the breast every 2 hours. While you're away from baby you'll want to keep that routine so you don't miss a "feed" and lose supply. Keep in mind that when you start workimg again you'll only need 1-1.5 ounces per hour that baby is away from mom. Plus a little more as back up in case of emergencies. Baby should be pace fed (I'll leave a graphic about it) to avoid over feeding and you'll replace what baby ate that day with what you pump while away. A lot of women think they need a huge stash before going back to work but that is not necessary and can cause stress and make women think they have a low supply when they can't make it happen.

Answer

I had to pump every 3 hours to keep up my supply at work since pumping doesn't produce as much as a baby breastfeeding does.

How often do you have to pump?

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