Pumping question

[sixtwelve09]

New to this so please forgive my ignorance, but...i pump every two hours and get 2 ounces. If i pumped every four hours would i get 4 ounces?

 

[purplecupcake]

At first probably, but as time went on it could become less as the frequency of your expression dictates volume, not time in-between.

 

[AK89]

I'm confused.. so if I only get 2oz from a pumping session now will I only ever get 2oz? I thought I read somewhere that as time goes by you get more and more out of one.. I basically wanna start pumping now and introduce one bottle a day in 2-3 weeks so I was just gonna pump once a day until then and store up.. but does that mean I'm only gonna be able to save up half a feed's worth a day..??

 

[noon_child]

At first probably, but as time went on it could become less as the frequency of your expression dictates volume, not time in-between.

I'm confused.. so if I only get 2oz from a pumping session now will I only ever get 2oz? I thought I read somewhere that as time goes by you get more and more out of one.. I basically wanna start pumping now and introduce one bottle a day in 2-3 weeks so I was just gonna pump once a day until then and store up.. but does that mean I'm only gonna be able to save up half a feed's worth a day..??

Your breasts get used to making on demand. They are not 'supposed' to store milk, just make it as needed so like purple cupcake says, if they were used to producing 2oz every 2 hrs and you missed one session then you might get 4oz the next session because your breasts will make what they expected to be taken. However there is a hormone in breastmilk that feedsback a message "I'm still here. The milk hasn't been drunk yet" to the milk producing cells. The longer that hormone acts on the breasts the less milk your breasts will start producing. So while bf is being established, the longer between feeds/pumps the less you'll get in the long run.

There are some stickies about exclusive pumping in this forum that might help you. I think you have to pump for a time after there is no milk coming out in order to increase supply (like a baby having a growth spurt would keep sucking in a desperate attempt to get more milk out and increase your supply).

However breastfed babies don't increase the volume of their feeds in the same way that formula fed babies do. Once supply has regulated (around 12 weeks) the composition of a feed may change but the volume stays around the same. So you won't need to give LO 8oz bottles or anything!

 

[purplecupcake]

You produce as much as your baby needs. This is why they comfort suck during growth spurts - they send the message to produce more. The more your baby suckles, the more milk is produced. Same goes for pumping. If you pump for 30 minutes you will produce more than if you pump for 10 minutes. The breast is never completely empty, it is constantly producing.

 

[AK89]

So you recommend pumping for longer then?

 

[Pink Sarah]

So you recommend pumping for longer then?

I can answer this question for you AK I exclusive pumped last time as ds1 was prem.

Yes pump for longer but increase the time gradually by only a couple of mins every few days so you do not become sore as it can be quite hard on your nipples at first.

 

[MoominJ]

The longer and more frequently the better ��