How much milk do you pump per day?

[LuvMyBoys]

Hello everyone!

I have been exclusively expressing since LO was 3 weeks old. I am able to pump anywhere from 8 to 10 oz (250-300 mL) per pump session, or 40 oz 1200 mL per 24 hours. Currently, LO only takes 24-28 oz per day (about 4 oz per feeding, 6-7 times a day) so I am freezing the rest. As she grows, will I need more? I have googled a bit and the sites say that bf babies don't increase the amount they eat as they grow, but this seems odd to me. Is it true?

In the last couple of days, she seems to want about 6 oz after her nap and during the night. Is this a growth spurt? I am wondering if I should start trying to increase my supply.

How much milk will I need?

 

[Tilliepink]

I pump ~55-60oz in 24 hrs and DD takes ~24-28oz in 24hrs. Shes has been taking 4 oz every 3 hrs t/o the day with one night feed since about 4 week and she will be 12 weeks tomorrow and has not yet needed to increase the amount so im not sure if its true or not but for now it has been for us.

 

[EpdTTC]

I'm so jealous! I'm lucky if I pump 500 ml in 24 hours. LO is 4 wks old. She was born premature and I've been struggling with my supply since the beginning.

 

[Vanilla77]

I only get 600 ml per day and also had problems with my supply. My baby was premature too so I wonder if that's got something to do with it.

For those that manage to pump a lot what pump are you using? How often do you pump and for how long.

Thanks

 

[Tilliepink]

I use the avent manual, takes me about 10 mins to get anywhere from 5-8oz. And I pump every 3 hours during the day and onces during the night.

 

[Vanilla77]

Thanks tilliepink. I use the medela swing and it takes me a good 30-40 minutes to get 4 oz. I currently pump every 4 hours. Might try to do it every 3 hrs to see if speed or quantity improves!

 

[Tilliepink]

IMO a manual is better for quantity, sure it gets hard on the hand but I have an electric and sometimes use it at the same time as my manual on the other side and in 10 mins I will get 5oz with my manual and only 2oz with my electric.

 

[LuvMyBoys]

I use the Medela Pump In Style, which is a double electric pump.

 

[madge]

My LO is 17 weeks now and I have exclusively expressed since birth. She has been having between 120-200mls x6 times a day for months now and is still content with that amount and she is gaining weight beautifully. I express x4 times a day and get 1800mls in total a day. I worked really hard at the beginning to ensure I had a good supply (spent literally weeks of my life pumping non-stop!!!) and because of this I now have way to much milk but I have been scared to reduce the amount just in case I reduce too much!!! I have donated 15 litres so far to the local milk bank and I have literally freezer full of milk for when I stop pumping!!! Back to work soon, so I will be reducing the amount of pumping sessions to make life practical again.

Just to give you heads up.... we have just been through the 4 month sleep regression but about a week before she upped her feeds by about 10oz a day without warning. She is now back to previous amounts, but I would make sure you have a stash just in case your LO does the same

 

[amygwen]

My LO is 9 months so I don't pump as much anymore, but I also BF during the nights so when I do pump I get about 6 oz per session (3 sessions/day). OP, you are doing so well! That's great you're able to pump that much so early on!!

 

[TigerLady]

It's true that LO won't need much more as they get older. For expressed milk feeds my LOs started off at about 2-3 oz per feed, went up to 3-4 oz per feed at around 4 months and stayed there after that. They would/will do an ocassional 5 oz feed, but that is usually only during growth spurts and when they are very hungry. My DS dropped all bottle feeds around 10 months old and was still only taking 3-4 oz at a time.

 

[Tilliepink]

It's true that LO won't need much more as they get older. For expressed milk feeds my LOs started off at about 2-3 oz per feed, went up to 3-4 oz per feed at around 4 months and stayed there after that. They would/will do an ocassional 5 oz feed, but that is usually only during growth spurts and when they are very hungry. My DS dropped all bottle feeds around 10 months old and was still only taking 3-4 oz at a time.

So why do FF babies steady increase the amount?

 

[LuvMyBoys]

My LO is 9 months so I don't pump as much anymore, but I also BF during the nights so when I do pump I get about 6 oz per session (3 sessions/day). OP, you are doing so well! That's great you're able to pump that much so early on!!

Thank you! I am just lucky, I guess.

 

[lynnikins]

breastmilk changes in calorie content to suit the age of your baby so you dont need to produce more and more where they can only put so much into formula so the amount needs to increase to cope with the childs nutritional requirements,
when exclusively expressing i was getting 58oz a day and EJ was drinking 48oz a day so i always ran a bit of an oversupply but it came in handy for nights off or when i was out and couldnt express or something else happend to interupt my routine and my stash dissappeared thankfully was bf again by this point so it wasnt too much of a bother i just had to be more prepared to express well in advance of needing that expressed bottle