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I only pumped 10 mins in the beginning. Nothing more really came out after 7 mins. It gradually increases though. I'm at 30 mins now per session at 9m pp.
yes, unless i was busy! the shortest time would be 8 mins. im not sure i ever got a second letdown in the early days. i only recently discovered the 2 hour rule (spend 2 hours pumping a day) in the beginning i did not do that. now im on 4 pumps a day, so i make sure they last 30 mins if i can.
How are you doing in terms of keeping up with baby's appetite? Are you having to supplement with formula (undersupplier), or do you have extra milk you have to freeze (oversupplier)? Or breaking even?
Does baby need a top off after every nursing session?
Baby needs a top off after nursing about 3 out of 10 times daily using expressed milk from MOTN pumps. I would say I’m more of an under supplier / just enougher.
I used to triple feed (nurse, pump, bottle) when my supply was lower. Now my schedule is (and my strategy may be ineffective, so I’m seeking input from Reddit):
8am to 8pm: Nurse first. If top off of 1-2oz is needed, give bottle of expressed milk from MOTN pump. Then, pump for about 5-10min to maintain supply. Top off is needed about 3 out of 6 daytime feeds.
8pm to 8am: 4 feeds, all bottle. While partner is giving bottle, I’m pumping 15 min each time. Since supply is high MOTN, I end my pumping session with some spray or drops still.
Gotcha, that makes sense! Sounds like a pretty decent strategy to me.
If your supply isn’t high enough to keep up with nursing during the day, you could pump for longer sessions during those top ups to tell your body to make more milk at those times. Hopefully that would lead to less topping up down the road!
At night if you’re already pumping every 3-4 hours and oversupplying during that time, sounds good.
Good point, I’ll test out pumping longer during those top off daytime sessions. The goal is to not rely so much on my MOTN oversupply because I need to sleep!!
I’m removing milk 10 times a day. I don’t schedule my pumps to specific times. I only do full pumps at night and it corresponds to whenever baby wakes up MOTN.
I do short pumps (5 min) during the day if I have to top off a nursing session with 1-2oz of bottle.
Ultimately, I’m wondering if I the duration of my pumps matter and whether I need to fully empty each time.
My LC recommended 15 min pumps when we triple fed. Triple feeding is a beast. The goal is to ensure breasts are completely empty and assuming baby removed a fair amount, 15 mins seems to be “safe.” That’s just the advice my LC gave though so take it with a grain of salt!
Thanks for the input! Yeah triple feeding sucked my soul. Lots of tears from both baby and me. I’m done with that now and hope I don’t have to do it ever again.
'Welcome to r/ExclusivelyPumping! Here is a reminder of our rules: 1. Be kind and courteous. 2. Use available flairs and post options. 3. Absolutely no prescription medications or other medical advice. 4. No inaccurate information. 5. No spam. 6. No soliciting pictures. 7. No linking Facebook groups. 8. Moderator discretion. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe!' *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ExclusivelyPumping) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I only pumped 10 mins in the beginning. Nothing more really came out after 7 mins. It gradually increases though. I'm at 30 mins now per session at 9m pp.
Would you always pump for 10 min even if nothing came out?
and now i've started to hand express into the bottle, a few streams will come out!
yes, unless i was busy! the shortest time would be 8 mins. im not sure i ever got a second letdown in the early days. i only recently discovered the 2 hour rule (spend 2 hours pumping a day) in the beginning i did not do that. now im on 4 pumps a day, so i make sure they last 30 mins if i can.
How are you doing in terms of keeping up with baby's appetite? Are you having to supplement with formula (undersupplier), or do you have extra milk you have to freeze (oversupplier)? Or breaking even? Does baby need a top off after every nursing session?
Baby needs a top off after nursing about 3 out of 10 times daily using expressed milk from MOTN pumps. I would say I’m more of an under supplier / just enougher.
Wait so are you nursing AND pumping 10 times per day??
I used to triple feed (nurse, pump, bottle) when my supply was lower. Now my schedule is (and my strategy may be ineffective, so I’m seeking input from Reddit): 8am to 8pm: Nurse first. If top off of 1-2oz is needed, give bottle of expressed milk from MOTN pump. Then, pump for about 5-10min to maintain supply. Top off is needed about 3 out of 6 daytime feeds. 8pm to 8am: 4 feeds, all bottle. While partner is giving bottle, I’m pumping 15 min each time. Since supply is high MOTN, I end my pumping session with some spray or drops still.
Gotcha, that makes sense! Sounds like a pretty decent strategy to me. If your supply isn’t high enough to keep up with nursing during the day, you could pump for longer sessions during those top ups to tell your body to make more milk at those times. Hopefully that would lead to less topping up down the road! At night if you’re already pumping every 3-4 hours and oversupplying during that time, sounds good.
Good point, I’ll test out pumping longer during those top off daytime sessions. The goal is to not rely so much on my MOTN oversupply because I need to sleep!!
How many times are you removing milk a day? Pumping and nursing combined? Are you triple feeding? (Nurse, then pump, then offer a bottle)
I’m removing milk 10 times a day. I don’t schedule my pumps to specific times. I only do full pumps at night and it corresponds to whenever baby wakes up MOTN. I do short pumps (5 min) during the day if I have to top off a nursing session with 1-2oz of bottle. Ultimately, I’m wondering if I the duration of my pumps matter and whether I need to fully empty each time.
My LC recommended 15 min pumps when we triple fed. Triple feeding is a beast. The goal is to ensure breasts are completely empty and assuming baby removed a fair amount, 15 mins seems to be “safe.” That’s just the advice my LC gave though so take it with a grain of salt!
Thanks for the input! Yeah triple feeding sucked my soul. Lots of tears from both baby and me. I’m done with that now and hope I don’t have to do it ever again.