Pumping mamas - I need some advice

How much you pump is no reflection on how much milk you produce if you are breastfeeding so try not to worry. The most I ever pumped was 3oz at a time. You can always check your flange size? As that can change as your breast change. Medela are medical grade so a lot of people find them the best pumps but you could try another pump. Also how much are you expecting her to drink? And how old is she? If it’s just 2 hrs BF before you leave and when you get back if all else fails xx

Your body makes how much it’s used to your baby drinking. You would have to keep pumping more to get more milk. My baby would have about 3/4 oz per 2 hours at about that age. So maybe give them about 6/8oz. I also started to give my baby cooled down boiled water and that age in the milk bottle and she drinks so much water so they have that option to give some water aswell as milk if you cant get more. Xx

That's very normal. At the beginning your body will often over-produce and then your supply regulates to your baby's needs. If you've not built up a small stash it will be quite tricky to suddenly expect to pump an extra days worth of feeds. Depending on how much you get over the weekend you might find that you need to supplement a feed or two with formula temporarily on Monday, but make sure you're pumping any feeds your baby would normally have and freeze these to become your new stash. Then on the next KIT day you'll use that milk, and anything you pump on that day becomes the new "stash" When I went back to work, there was a lot of figuring out but I'm pretty sure I used to give nursery 3-4 bags of 3.5oz. All babies are different though, your baby might like to feed a lot in one go, or "snack" through the day, plus it depends how they're getting on with weaning and vary with what they eat that day

Breast fed babies only need 1 to 1.5oz per hour going to 3 hours My babies 6 months and has 5oz every 3 to 4 hours unless asleep and then she can go up to nearly 7 hours on that

You should be pumping the amount of times baby is having bottle otherwise you won’t make enough x

I also heard that the bag measurements aren’t as accurate as on the bottle.

My EBF baby usually had 3-4oz and never more than 5oz in a session, breast milk changes in composition so EBF babies don’t need extra milk. You should pump at the same frequency your baby feeds. Your breasts have a maximum capacity (everyone is different) so going longer between pumps doesn’t always equal more milk!! Also 2-4 oz from both boobs combined is normal so if you got 3oz from just one, you’re doing great! ♥️

You have to have a consistent pumping schedule. Bring your pump and milk bags and ice packs everywhere. I suggest getting a lunch box. I pump at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and sometimes 9pm and at night I breastfeed at least once. Drinking a body amour daily really helped me too, if you want a huge boost add more coconut water to the body amour...I can't stand drinking coconut water by itself

The recommendation is 1oz for every hour that you’re gone. Breastfed babies don’t drink much. Your supply would’ve been high in the beginning and then regulated to baby’s demands. My babies never have more than 3oz per bottle. Formula fed babies drink more as they grow but breastfed babies tend to drink the same amount for a long time.

As others have said a breastfed baby won’t take any more milk at 6 months than they did at 2 months it’s just a different composition. Also, a hard breast is harder to get milk from so better to pump when you are soft if you can. It’s often recommended to pump in the morning about half an hour after baby’s first feed as we often produce more in the morning for some reason.

This is normal. I only pump 3-4oz. Don’t get to upset. Baby doesn’t need that much breast milk. If it was formula it would be diff but BM is high in fat and protein.

@Lara prolactin is highest at night so you usually can get the most out of a pump session between midnight and early morning.