Figuring out exactly when to pump and when to nurse can be pretty complicated for a new mom. After I had Olive, I didn’t want to pump too close to a feeding to make sure that I’d have enough milk when she nursed, so I’d either pump only on one side, or pump both sides after she nursed. I also wanted to pump as often as possible to increase my milk supply, so it was a lot of trial and error just figuring out when I could squeeze in a pumping session. The frequency with which you pump is also going to vary depending on how much milk you produce, how many bottles you need per day, how much of a stash you’re trying to build up, how much time you have, etc.
Bottle feeding daily is important for us because Olive is not a fan of the bottle, so even going a couple of days without giving her one is asking for a screaming fight. Now that I’ve been in a set pumping, freezing, and defrosting rhythm for awhile, I thought I’d share what works for me.
My milk eventually takes on a blue tint when it’s been sitting there for a little while.
Pumping Schedule
I pump 4-5 times a day at approximately 9am, 12pm, 3pm, and 5:30pm. Depending on whether or not Olive wakes up after she goes down for the night at 6:30pm and I need to nurse her, I might pump once more around 11pm. I currently produce enough for Olive to have 4, 4oz bottles each day, which is less than what I produced with Charlie, but it’s probably because I’m more tired this time around.
Lately Olive has increased her intake to 5oz/bottle, so I’ve had to dip into my small frozen stash. Starting from tomorrow I need to add an additional pumping session to produce 20 oz/day, which means I’ll now be pumping 5-6 times a day at 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5:30pm, and possibly again around 11pm. It’s a pretty grueling schedule and I can’t wait to quit!
In order to save time on washing parts, I store my pump parts in the fridge after I use them, and reuse the same set throughout the entire day. If I didn’t do that, I’d have to have multiple pumping sets or wash them after each use. Reusing one set definitely saves me a lot of time.
Nursing
Any time Olive wakes up between 6:30pm – 8:00am, I’ll usually nurse her one side, and rarely on both sides. Her sleep is completely unpredictable lately, and she can wake up twice, or she can wake up 10 times. When she starts sleeping through the night, I’ll definitely have to pump just before bedtime, but I’m not going to wake up in the middle of the night to pump!
From Friday night to Monday morning, I nurse exclusively and don’t pump at all. Even though I could probably squeeze a session in after Olive goes to sleep, I’m so wiped from being with two kids all day, the last thing I want to do is pump.
Freezing and Defrosting Milk
Every Friday evening, I freeze any leftover milk from that day. Come Sunday evening, I defrost two bags of my oldest frozen milk in the fridge for the next day. I do this because I want to cycle through my frozen milk before it gets too old. Breastmilk also gets fattier as your baby gets older to meet their nutritional needs, so I want to use up my oldest, least nutritionally dense milk first. Luckily I don’t have a problem with excess lipase, which can cause your milk to take on a soapy taste, so I’ve never had a problem with Charlie or Olive drinking defrosted milk. But because my defrosted milk is usually 3 months old, I mix it with half fresh milk so that Olive is still getting some of my current day nutritionally appropriate milk in a bottle.
As of now, I have exactly 18 bags of frozen milk in 4 oz portions, or 72 oz total. It was so much work just to build up that much, one bag at a time, but it’d only take Olive 3 days to go through it all if she were exclusively bottle fed!
How often do you pump, and how do you cycle through your frozen milk?
Pumping & Increasing Milk Supply part 9 of 11
1. Increasing Your Milk Supply by Checklists2. Pumping Up the Volume by Mrs. Bee
3. My Pumping System by mrs. wagon
4. Don't Pay for a Breast Pump Until You Read This by Mrs. Tricycle
5. More milk, more milk, more milk! by Mrs. Hopscotch
6. Building up a Breastmilk Freezer Stash by mrs. wagon
7. Exclusive Pumping vs. Breastfeeding by Mrs. Bee
8. How To Clean a Medela Pump by Mrs. Bee
9. My Pumping, Freezing, and Defrosting Strategy by Mrs. Bee
10. Project Milk by Mrs. Bee
11. Feeding and Storing Expressed Breastmilk by Checklists
nectarine / 2504 posts
What breast pump do you use? How many brands did you try before you settled on your current machine? Did you ever rent a pump from the hospital?
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@keiki_mama: i have a medela in style that i got new for 50% off, otherwise i would have gone with the freestyle.
i did use a medela hospital grade pump for awhile with charlie, but i got the same amount as i did with my double electric (most women are able to get more with a hospital grade pump though).
i also used a hospital pump when olive had to stay an extra 5 days in the hospital and i was able to produce a ton of colostrum with it, but it took quite a while– 5-6 days? — for my milk to come in.
i went with the medela because it was the most popular.
honeydew / 7917 posts
Being an exclusive pumper means lots of pumping sessions for me. My LO ate every 2 hours until he was 7 months old, and I would also pump every 2 hours to keep up with his demand. Of course he wasn’t a great sleeper either, and I would also pump 2 – 3 times in the middle of the night too. Luckily I’m now down to 5 times a day at 10.5 months. I cannot wait until April when I will finally start to wean and put away my pump for good. Plus I will be free of my diet restrictions due to my LO’s allergies (wheat, dairy, and nuts).
blogger / pomegranate / 3201 posts
I’m so nervous about this! How often/when would you advise I pump at first? Once we introduce a bottle at around 3 weeks, I want to give one a day. How often/when should I pump at that point? I’d also like to build up a stash for when I go back to work when he is 4.5 months old, but I’ll be pumping at work as well. Help!
clementine / 889 posts
I had a similar schedule set up. I didn’t pump much while I was on maternity leave (12 weeks). It wasn’t until 9 weeks that I had my pump and parts to get started. Until then I was using a manual pump. Once I returned to work, I pumped first thing in the morning, the nursed DS. I’d then pump at 9, 11, 1 and 3. I’d nurse 2-4 times after I got home, then pump again around 10 or 11pm. Early on I could get 5-8 ounces per session during the day and was able to build a bit of a freezer stash. I pumped on Saturdays and Sundays first thing in the morning and usually once or twice between DS’s feedings.
I bought a mini fridge for my office and just stuffed my parts in the fridge during the day and washed them that night.
The wrench in the system were days when I had to travel with a youth for work. I couldn’t exactly pump while driving with a foster care kid in the van with me. I had to get skilled at quick bathroom pumping sessions in county office buildings and courthouses, while I left the youth with someone. It was awkward going through the security scanners with a pump and I had to explain what it was almost every time to the security guard, generally a 50-70 year old man with grey hair. Thankfully it was at most once a week, so even if my schedule was off, I could bounce back the next day.
clementine / 889 posts
Oh and I used a Hygeia Enjoye Breast pump. I bought it because of great reviews on a few blogs (My Life in Transition, Silver Spoons and Paper Plates, among others) and other sites. I loved that I could adjust the speed and suction independently and that it had an internal rechargeable battery, since I knew I’d be pumping while traveling for work. It also had a 3 year warranty and you were able to return it for a refund for the first month. It is also a closed system pump like a hospital pump, so more than 1 person can use it safely.
However, the first pump I bought had a mechanical problem and had no suction. I had it replaced, and that pump worked well. Their customer service was okay, but not great. It took me complaining on twitter to get a response when I had another problem, which they ultimately resolved, although it took a few more weeks.
pomegranate / 3053 posts
I’ve never nursed or pumped just on one side. I wonder if I should try that with #2 so I can build up a stash so other ppl can help feed him. I’m going to be drowning in breastfeeding everything in a few weeks… So not looking forward to it, especially if I have to struggle like I did with Nicholas. I’m worried I won’t have enough to begin with again… Sounds like you’ve got a good plan to up your supply though!
coconut / 8299 posts
Instead of pumping every 2-3 hours, I just chose to pump every 4 hours and do one night pumping (usually at around 2-3am). I rather have woken up in the middle of the night to pump than to squeeze it in during the day. It worked for me (wasn’t sleeping much anyway!) and I”ll definitely do that again for baby #2.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
I’m currently on maternity leave so I pump every two hours about 8 times a day….about 30-40 ounces a day. I need to figure out a good pumping schedule to follow when I go back to work.
I will try storing the pump parts in the fridge!
guest
I am pumping exclusively for my 10-week old. I don’t produce much in the beginning and after I rented the hospital grade (medela symphony) I can get about up to 28 oz a day 6 – 8 pumping cycle. It’s really just enough for that day consumption so I have to supplement with formula so that I can build up a stash for after I return to work in three weeks. I see the difference between medela symphony and medela Pump in style in terms of output. I try not to sweat about my supply, I’ll just pump as much as I can and supplement as necessary, after all my baby does not mind. I plan to continue pumping until he is six months old. You said Olive only take 4 bottles of 4 oz/day? my baby is taking 3.5 oz/feeding and about 7 – 8 feeding/day.
coffee bean / 30 posts
I exclusively nursed during my maternity leave for the first 8 weeks, and during the remaining 4 which was when my LO started sleeping at night for larger chunks of time, I pumped twice through the night at around 1030 and then again at around 2. When I went back to work, I nursed him on one side while pumping the other in the morning, pumped at work 2 times, nursed him when I got home at around 4 and then again around 7 for bedtime.
cherry / 207 posts
Your post just reminded me that I need to start giving my twins some frozen breastmilk … They rejected it when they were younger so we thought we will try whrn they are older.
I produce about 42oz a day but they are only drinking about 33oz so I am slowly but surely building up a stash.
The past 2.5 weeks when my Melody was home sick, I could only find time to pump 4x a day. Thankfully my supply hasn’t dropped … I am worried that it will and also about clogged ducts, my persistent nightmare with Melody. Yet I am enjoying having one less pump a day ….. Hope that you can increase your supply mrsbee!
coffee bean / 35 posts
I never thought about storing the pump parts in the fridge and just recently bought 2 extra sets. What a great idea! Thanks!
cherry / 133 posts
You have such a smart system. I like the idea of freezing on Friday and defrosting on Monday and cycling through the old milk. And putting the pump parts in the fridge, genius!
honeydew / 7968 posts
ugh. no one teaches you these things, you know? i took a breastfeeding class and i asked her when i should pump because i don’t even know if i’ll have enough for 2! she said 1. everyone makes enough for their babies. nature wouldn’t let you be able to carry a baby and not feed it. 2. she said to pump like 5 min each breast after the babies’ feedings. it’ll only get a little at a time. i don’t know about that though. sounds like i’d get nothing! lol.
cherry / 230 posts
I’m using a hospital pump still at 6 weeks but my milk never really came in, so Cameron gets breast once in a while, but it’s mostly formula. I do pump about every 3 hours, but I get about 1 oz between both breasts so he only gets about 1 breastmilk bottle a day. I have 5 or 6 3-4 oz freezer bags though, because I knew I needed a stash before the pump goes back next week. So right now that’s my main priority is my freezer stash.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@mrs. tictactoe: there is no one answer for when you should pump. keep in mind that in the beginning when your milk supply is being established, you’re not going to be able to pump that much. but pumping in addition to breastfeeding in those early days will really boost your milk supply! just try to squeeze it in when you can after a feeding. it’ll be hard at first since your baby needs to feed so often, but then your baby will start sleeping longer stretches and you’ll start getting more milk in each session. i was actually able to freeze a lot when i was pumping frequently to boost my supply in the early months. most of what i have frozen is from those days.
you have a long maternity leave, so you should be able to build up a decent stash in that time. i would pump early and often!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@tequiero21: i totally had to learn everything after having charlie, and i continued to learn more after having olive. no one teaches you about this… which is why i’m writing a book on it!
@CameronsMomma: i wasn’t able to produce that much in the beginning per session, but it definitely increased past the 6 week mark. Could you pump every two hours and add supplements? That really makes a big difference, especially in these early days when your supply is being established.
grape / 90 posts
I’m reading this while drinking Mother’s Milk tea.
At this stage, it varies: PB wakes up around 7am. Sometimes I have time to nurse him in the morning, sometimes I pump before I leave, and that’s his first bottle of the day. I pump twice during the day when I’m at work: usually around 11am and 3pm. My mother gave me a Medela Pump in Style that I just keep at the office – it’s the backpack version, which I think looks discreet. I lock it in a cabinet overnight. I have another old double electric pump that my sister gave me that I keep at home (yes, you’re not supposed to share, but she’s my sister and I know she kept everything very clean).
When I get home, I pop the milk (usually about 16-18oz) in the fridge before I let myself play with PB or anything – that’s his milk for the next day. We get about 7 seconds to play and then it’s bath/bedtime routine, which includes nursing around 6:30pm.
Then I pump around 10pm before I head to bed, myself. Lately, I’ve just been putting 5 oz of that straight in the freezer, because PB isn’t waking up as much at night any more. He does usually get up once around 4am, by which time I have PLENTY of milk for him, so we just nurse.
I finally have an OK freezer stash – about 40 oz – but it seems like every time we think we have plenty, he goes through a growth spurt and we blow through the freezer stash… so I haven’t had to think about rotating it yet!
Kudos to you for all that pumping, Bee. That’s amazing.
grape / 90 posts
Oh – and I’m intrigued by putting pump parts in the fridge – for how long can you do that before you need to clean them? Washing pump parts is my least favorite part of this whole deal…
blogger / pomegranate / 3201 posts
@Mrs. Bee: Ok, thanks for your help!
grapefruit / 4681 posts
@yin: I could have written that myself and our LO’s are both 10.5 months! I’m not an exclusive pumper (yet) and our allergy restrictions are different/longer, but it’s grueling! I actually just got off the phone the a rental company for a hospital pump…here we go lol.
@mrs. tictactoe: What works for me is whenever LO gets a bottle I also pump at that time. I also pump whenever I felt “full” because I wanted to keep my supply building. A lot of people find the best time to pump with the most output is between 1a-5a (I know getting up is not fun). I also pump right before I go to bed which is usually a few hours after DS goes down.
@Mrs. Bee: When you pump at those times are you only pumping and Olive gets a bottle? Or are you nursing in between there too? Are you still planning on exclusively pumping once you wean Olive?
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Schmei: i wash the pump parts at the end of the day.
@anbanan15: i don’t nurse in the daytime. i pump at my desk while working!
i wouldn’t mind pumping if it was just once or twice a day. i am hoping to wean olive by 1 and then still pumping once or twice a day. but by then who knows how much milk i’d still have? given her boob addiction, i might nurse beyond one year. i can’t believe we’re already almost halfway there!
coffee bean / 27 posts
ugh, pumping.. right now I’m back at work so I nurse one side in the morning while usually pumping the other. That goes in the freezer (usually 5oz). Then while at work I pump at 10, 12ish and 3ish. I get the most in the morning at my 10 oclock session- usually around 12 oz. My goal for the end of the day is 20 oz, because that’s what my little guy is eating while I’m gone- seems like a lot to me, but if I’m able to produce it, that’s what matters most right now I guess.
I was pumping quite a bit during my maternity leave because I sort of got addicted to feeding the freezer. I think I have around 450 oz? You’ve got me realizing that I need to start using that!
Thanks sooo much for the advice on storing pump parts in the fridge during the day- you just saved me a ton of time:)
honeydew / 7488 posts
I thought I would just add a little about the lipase issue you mentioned, @Mrs. Bee. I have the high lipase issue, which makes my milk taste like spit-up after less than one day in the fridge. The lipase is basically an enzyme that breaks down the milk fat, and if you have excess lipase, it basically starts getting “digested” faster than normal. Some people with this issue have soapy or metallic tasting milk, but mine tastes like spit-up. I discovered this after tasting day-old milk from the fridge early on after E was born. I really didn’t want to go through the effort of scalding the milk, so what I do now is bag the expressed milk immediately and put it in the freezer. Many people on the internet with this issue have said that their frozen milk tastes rancid. However, for me, I have found that my frozen milk tastes just fine as long as it’s not too old. Which makes sense, since freezing slows down the breakdown of fat (but doesn’t stop it). So I have a two week supply of milk that I’m cycling through in the freezer, and I taste it once a week on the weekend, and it’s always been fine. But I think if I had a bigger stash that was over a month old, I might find that it has gone bad. It isn’t ideal for me to only send frozen bmilk to day care since it loses some of it’s good properties, but I figure it’s ok since he still nurses at least 2x a day with me. This was a very confusing issue for me, so hope this helps someone.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@t_monstah: that is really good to know. i can’t imagine what a pain it must be for women who scald their milk when pumping alone is so much work!
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
@Mrs. Bee: Reading through old pumping posts! I’ll have to try storing pump parts in the fridge. Do you rinse them at all during the day? What do you store the parts in?
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Andrea: i do rinse them during the day. i just run the horns through hot water but i don’t dissemble them. then i just keep them in a tupperware container in the fridge.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
@Mrs. Bee: does keeping it in the fridge do something to keep it sterile? what if i just rinse in hot water and put it on a drying mat to reuse? i thought that having wet items in the fridge can breed bacteria?
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Andrea: i just kept the pump parts in the fridgge because they weren’t totally clean and still had some milk in them, but yah they don’t dry so maybe just leaving them out is best.
guest
I am currently getting ready to head back to work. I have almost 200 oz stored currently, is that too much? I’m still breast feeding exclusively but when I go back 3days a week will be bottle days. I’m do nervousness I’m going to run out. What’s everyone’s advice on amount to have on hand.
guest
Thanks for your post! I like to read what other moms are doing and what’s been successful for them. My daughter is 8 weeks old and I’ve been back to work for two weeks unfortunately. I started pumping at about3 weeks. I would pump both sides after I nursed around 1-3 whenever LO woke up to feed. I was able to get about 7 ounces each morning and that went straight in the freezer, my supply ended up bein about 70 oz before returning to work. Now I still pump after a feeding in the morning(unless she sleeps through the night then I don’t worry about it). I feed her right before having to drop her off for the day(she normally eats about 12-15 oz while I’m at work) and then pump around 9:30, 12ish and 3ish. Then I only nurse when I’m home with her. My freezer stash has gotten pretty large which I’m grateful for. Between pumping a I use the Medela quick wipes and then at the end of the day I wash all the parts. I will also sterilize every other day
guest
Ok, maybe I am crazy. I have a 2 month old and after struggling to get hi. To breastfeed after an enducement and emergency c-section I have been excusively pumping. After needing to supplement with a friends milk in the beginning, my milk came in …. A lot. At 2 months old I have almost a whole stand up freezer door filled. Each bag ranging from 4.5-8 oz, probably 100 -150 bags ! What am I supposed to do with it all ? I have to keep pumping, but I will run out of room. Plus I want to keep that nutritional cream at the proper age. Help.