Breastfeeding:Exclusively Pumping

What do I need to pump exclusively?

Many women want to provide breastmilk to their baby but, for a variety of reasons, are unable to actually breastfeed. Although you may have planned on nursing your baby rather than pumping, you should be proud of yourself for providing your baby with the very best nutrition. Exclusively pumping breastmilk for your baby still provides all of the vitamins, minerals and immunities as it would if you were actually nursing your baby from the breast.

It is important to select a quality breast pump that will keep up with the daily demands of pumping. It is best to find a hospital-grade pump that will allow you to pump both breasts at once. The breast pump is going to be a critical piece of equipment that can ensure your baby gets all of the breastmilk they need to develop and grow properly.

If possible, begin pumping within the first six hours after delivery of your baby. If you do not have a quality breast pump, ask the hospital staff if they have any for rent or sale. Try to pump atleast 8-10 times in a day. Ideally you should be pumping every 2-3 hours, just as a newborn infant would nurse. You should not go any longer than 5 hours without pumping, especially in the early weeks. Before the actual milk comes in, aim to pump each breast for 10-15 minutes. Once the milk comes in, you should aim to pump for approximately 20-30 minutes per breast. You should be able to pump approximately 25-35 ounces of milk a day. The more often you pump, the more milk your body will make. However, the less often you pump, the less milk your body will make.

Common Problems:

Breast Tenderness & Engorgement: Pump more often to drain the breast completely. Full breasts can become sore, engorged and even infected if not cared for properly.
Slow Milk Production: Decrease the amount of time between pumping sessions. If you are pumping every 4 hours, begin pumping every 3. If you are pumping every 3 hours, try to pump every 2 hours to increase milk production. Make sure that you are using a quality pump that can handle the demands of daily pumping.
Too Much Milk: Increase the amount of time in between pumping sessions or decrease the amount of time spent pumping at each session. Having too much milk is better than not having enough, Excess milk can be stored, or frozen, for later use.

A Fussy Baby: Because what you eat and drink is passed through the breastmilk, pay close attention to your diet. Avoid spicy and greasy foods that can cause your baby to have gas. You may notice other foods that cause your baby to be fussy. Eliminate these foods from your diet so they are not passed through the milk.

Comments: Breastfeeding - Exclusively-Pumping

Comments 26 to 49 of about 98.
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NatashaMc - 104 days ago.
brandyq - I'm sorry I'm too jealous to comment! Just kidding! Sort of. How far will your freezer stash get you? I have goals for pumping, first it was three months, now six (I'm at five). If I can make it there I'll probably go for eight months. Supplies dipping so I don't know. Anyway, I also heard there are benefits to the mom (decreased risk of certain cancers I think) but only if you go for at least six months

brandyq - 106 days ago.
Hey everyone. I am thinking about stopping the whole pumping thing. Bailey is almost 10 weeks old and we still have milk frozen in the freezer....litterally the 7. cubic feet freezer is packed full of milk. I also have had an infection (yeast) since I started pumping when she was born....I am not 100% I want to stop though...any advice if I do or advice for me in general??

NatashaMc - 109 days ago.
lilli- that is so funny, when I first started pumping, I would pump every two hours with this noisy mini electric. I swear it did sound like it was saying something! I'm glad I can't remember what it sounded like, not something I really want to relive!

lilli1317 - 110 days ago.
I tried pumping more often to increase my supply but found myself taking 4 pumps just to get one bottle. Finally I gave up and decided I would just pump as often as he would eat normally (at 10 months every 5-6 hours) and I got the same amount of milk in half the pumps. Been pretty consistent for about a month. He is 11 months in a couple of days so the end is in sight. What a battle though!! PUMP PUMP PUMP. I swear, my pump talks to me I am with it so often.

mamalala - 127 days ago.
natasha-- my lactacian consultant told me the best thing you can do for your supply is stick to a schedule.. whether you pump every 2 hours or 4, always pump that far apart.. and always for 20 minute even if you only getmilk for the first 10.. the repeated stimulation even after youve emptied your breasts is supposed to stimulate production.. The herbal suppliment Fenugreek has helped me alot too.. I have tried just about everything with the help of my consultant so if you need some advice on boosting supply just ask!

NatashaMc - 127 days ago.
heather - I pump every three to four hours and not at all at night. The last couple days I've been pumping more hoping to bring it up but I don't think it's helping. I'm definitely going to try a different shield though. campimama - It's funny that you say that about a 'phantom period' 'cause I've been so moody the past few days and last month as well I was wondering if my hormones were going back to normal but just no AF yet. I haven't really been eating properly lately either. Thanks so much for the support it's exactly what I needed!

campimama - 128 days ago.
Natasha- If you are noticing a dip once a month it could be a 'phantom period'....unless you have your AF back already. Expect dips in supply around that time of month, even if AF hasn't come back. Up your water and calorie intake and try eating oatmeal for breakfast. Also, drinking a beer can give a nice boost (non-alcoholic or regular, either works). Anything with malt in it. Brewer's Yeast is good too. There are lots of things you can do to give yourself a boost. You are doing such a great job. Keep up the good work!

heather12 - 128 days ago.
NatashaMc how often are you pumping and how long? If you are exclusively pumping keeping a regular schedule is key. After Aliyah was 12 weeks old I pumped every 4 hrs for 20 minutes and none at night. Before that though I was pumping every 3 hrs for 20 minutes even through th night. You want to make sure your milk is well established. I went through several breast shields before I found the right size. Even one that was to big and I wasn't able to pump as much breastmilk with the bigger shield. So maybe you should try the smaller size. It wouldn't hurt. It is so easy to get discourged when you are an e pumper. But just remember that you are giving your little baby the best and it is so worth it. Stay positive and good luck!

NatashaMc - 128 days ago.
I must have the wrong size shield as well 'cause this happens to me too. It doesn't really hurt me to pump though so I just ignored it. I wonder if I got a size, would it be down, if I would get more milk then? I started fenugreek and thought I saw an increase but than it went back down. Just pumped and got three ounces total. I'm getting really discouraged again! I think about quitting once a month, maybe I need some encouragement. I asked my husband for some encouragement and he was like 'good job', not quite what I meant!! :D

heather12 - 128 days ago.
Yes you have the wrong size nipple shield. I started out with the wrong size too. Even after I did get the right size my nipples still hurt right at first then the pain would go away about 5 minutes into it. Also it is very normal to get more milk out of one breast than the other. I could pump 3 to 4 oz more out of my right breast.

mamalala - 129 days ago.
thanks so much.. im going to call them in the morning i think-- its starting to be painful when i nurse aswell, so i need to take care of this.. Thanks for the help!

luvbeingamom - 129 days ago.
mama - it def sounds like the wrong size nipple shield. If you have medela, they can help you figure out the correct size for you if you just call the 800 help line. Also, for the 4 months i pumped at work, i would always get a LOT more from one breast vs the other. good luck to you.

mamalala - 129 days ago.
When I pump my nipples are very very sore and after they have a circular indentation around them from where my breast attatched to the pump.. I dont know if maybe im usin the wrong size plastic things?? (sorry i dont know the correct terminology) Anyone have any ideas?? Also, one of my breast produces significantly less milk than the other-- Right now I am producing about and ounce and a half from my left, and about a half of an ounce from the right-- normal?? this significant of a difference??

ellae - 133 days ago.
Brandy- I agree, if you use an electric pump turn down the vacuum, if you have a manual pump try using a little Lanolin or Cocoa butter on your nipples, almost to lube them up . Once I started doing that prior to using my manual pump my nipples looked and felt much better and were less sore.

NatashaMc - 133 days ago.
Brandyq - I think if you turned down the vacuum on your pump it would help with the sore purple nipples. I did this and it helped but I do still get this sometimes. Try massaging, pushing towards your nipple to help with the blocked duct, also hot towels work well. Hope this helps!

brandyq - 134 days ago.
I just found this forum I have been posting on the breastfeeding forum. I pump (sometimes bf before pumping) and I have been going for almost 6 weeks now. I have started having problems over the past couple weeks. My nipples are so tender now and turning purple when I pump. I also think I have a clogged duct...I have a huge knot in one breast and it started producing less milk...it hurts so bad...any ideas?

ellae - 145 days ago.
Lilli- Not a huge at first, probably an extra ounce per breast per pumping. I took it for about a week. It says to take 2 to 4 of them 3 or 4 times a day. I took 1 of them 4 times a day and it worked for me. Since then I have never really had an issue. As soon as your sweat and urine smell of maple syrup youll know its kicking in!

lilli1317 - 146 days ago.
ellae - How much increase in supply did you see? I started taking it but I dont think I am taking enough because I dont smell like maple syrup and I havent noticed a change.

lilli1317 - 146 days ago.
My son is 9 1/2 months and I pretty much exclusively pump. I usually nurse in the morning before work but he only does it because of routine now, he doesnt seem to need it. And thats the only chance I have! So I pump every 3 hours throughout the day and wake up once in the middle of the night to do it. He drinks about 15oz BM throughout the day and I pump about 2-3oz every 3 hours. So I keep up with him, just barely. Pumping is so exhausted especially nearing the home stretch of one year but its so worth it to never have used formula!

ellae - 146 days ago.
Natasha- ive tryed fenugreek, it says that once your sweat smells of maple syrup that its working!!! I noticed an immediate increase in my supply ( probably 3 months ago) not sure if it really worked or if me believeing it did helped me relax. Since then I never really had an issue with my supply, I can pump between 34 to 44 oz a day. I exclusively breast fed until my son was 3 months old, and since returning to work I am exclusively pumping and bottle feeding expressed milk only. If i could recommend one thing to a new breastfeeding mother who is debating on exclusively pumping, is to breast feed as along as possiable before choosing to switch and to make sure your supply is established successfully before the switch!

NatashaMc - 146 days ago.
Thanks! I pump every three to four hours (at first pumped every two hours), I have skipped a pump here and there when I've been out. I don't pump at night anymore, maybe I should do that for a few nights again. When I skipped a pump it didn't seem to effect my supply, maybe it just caught up with me! I've been thinking of trying fenugreek and blessed thistle, has anyone tried them?

babyofdeployment08 - 147 days ago.
NatashaMC~ how often are you pumping? I pumped every 3 hours and would get about 12ozs at a time. The more often you pump the more milk you will make. Congrats on still pumping! i got to 3 months and decided to go longer. I went until 7 months. It was getting so tiring so I had to stop. Good luck!

NatashaMc - 148 days ago.
Hi! This is great I've been really needing to chat with moms who exclusively pump. I've been pumping from the start, my LO is three and a half months. We struggled to latch on and finally after seeing tons of lc's decided to pump exclusively. It was so hard at first , got only a half ounce off each breast at first, I actually took domperidone to increase my supply. Anyway it was horrible at first and said I would only go three months but here I am still pumping. I get 30 oz a day which is kind of frustrating because my LO wants more than that so I started to add formula last week :( oh well. Sorry this is really long but I did want to know how much other's are producing? Heather - u produced 11oz per pump! I'm so jealous. Alright that's it for now!

Heather12 - 154 days ago.
Aliyah will be 1 on July 1st. I have already started weaning off the pump and supplement with whole milk. This has been the hardest thing ever to do. With four kids and a full time job I don't know how I did it. I would have waited till she was 1 but I have been traveling alot for work and just decided to go ahead and start now. Good luck to all the mommies who are pumping. If you ever need any advice I will be happy to help. This forum has been so helpful to me over the past year and don't think that I would have made it if it weren't for the great advice that I got from here.

Heather12 - 170 days ago.
If your are nursing at all it could be thrush.