Follow steps 1–6 of using an electric pump. Express for 10–15 minutes total or until your milk flow is reduced to drops. Some mothers find that expressing both breasts by hand for a minute or so after using the pump helps to get a few extra mls and help maintain their milk supply.
Therefore, a lot of extra pumping in addition to nursing could lead a nursing mom to have an oversupply. For women who are nursing, having a large oversupply can cause problems with overactive letdown and foremilk/hindmilk imbalance.
The average pump session lasts 25-40 minutes.
This time-span norm is in part due to the notion that more prolonged pumping will damage breast tissue, the fact that some pumps have built-in timers that stop the pump at 30 minutes, and because babies tend to eat for about 30 minutes between both breasts.
During the early stages of exclusively pumping, avoid going more than 5-6 hours between sessions. While it can get exhausting, pumping 1-2 times per night will ensure that you have a sufficient milk supply for your baby. If you're a working mom, aim to pump every 3-4 hours per 8 hour work period.
Ultimately, if your baby has reached its birth weight and you're pumping enough milk during the day, it's okay to sleep eight hours without pumping at night. Keep in mind there is an adjustment period for your body as it begins to acclimate to the decrease in overnight milk removal.
Avoid going longer than 5-6 hours without pumping during the first few months. When pumping during the night, milk yield tends to be better if you pump when you naturally wake (to go to the bathroom or because your breasts are uncomfortably full) than if you set an alarm to wake for pumping.
Will My Milk Supply Go Down? Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure. Anything can happen when you drop a pumping session – your supply might drop, it might stay the same, or it might even increase due to the extra sleep you're getting.
If the breasts do not get emptied completely or often enough, the body begins to produce less milk. Some mothers say the milk never stops flowing while they pump. Typically, you should not pump longer than 30 minutes, even if the milk is still flowing.
Increase pumping frequency
Pumping more often can help stimulate breasts to produce more milk. Moms can try pumping both breasts for 15 minutes every two hours for 48-72 hours. Then moms can return to their normal pumping routine. Pumping for longer than 30 minutes may not be beneficial.
Both breastfeeding and pumping are excellent ways to feed a baby breast milk. Breast milk is the natural food for infants, and pumping can offer benefits that are similar, although not identical, to providing breast milk directly from the breast.
The 120 minute rule is that, generally speaking, when you are exclusively pumping, you want to spend at least 120 minutes (2 hours) per day pumping. How many sessions you would spread that 120 minutes across depends on how old your baby is. With a newborn baby, you might want to do eight 15 minute sessions.
At the other end of the spectrum, increasing the milk supply too much through pumping can lead to engorgement, blocked milk ducts, and increased risk of breast inflammation, or infection (mastitis).
Many moms assume that having a pump with a higher suction strength will automatically mean that they will be able to pump more milk, but in fact, pumping at too high of a setting can actually inhibit your milk production.
Many women find that pumping for about two minutes after the last drop of milk is an effective way to stimulate more milk, however, avoid pumping for longer than 20 - 30 minutes at a time. If you need more milk, pump more frequently, rather than longer.
Pumping every two hours throughout the day should also help to increase your milk supply. It is recommended to pump at least every three hours during the day. What is this? If you are exclusively pumping, you should pump as frequently as your newborn feeds throughout the day in order to establish a full milk supply.
All breast pumps can have unpleasant side effects: Some women, for example, find that their nipples become sore and irritated. Here it is helpful to try out several types of pump with different attachments. Some women find expressing milk stressful and awkward, or they may have problems operating the pump.
Something I recommend to moms is the 5-5-5 rule. Try and use milk within five hours at room temperature, five days in the fridge, and by five months in the freezer.
You're not getting let down. If your breasts feel like they're full but you're not able to get the milk flowing out when you pump, it could be that you're not achieving let down. The let down reflex releases your milk from the milk ducts. This only occurs when you're either breastfeeding or pumping.
Aim to spend 15 to 20 minutes hooked up to the pump to net a good amount of breast milk (some women will need 30 minutes or more with the pump, especially in the early days). Pump until the milk starts slowing down and your breasts feel well-drained. Be sure to clean the breast flanges after every use.
Trying not to go more than 4 hours without pumping/nursing is a general breastfeeding rule while breastmilk is being established. It's best to wait until after the first 12 weeks to start eliminating pumping sessions.
Double-pumping is exactly what it sounds like: using a breast pump that allows you to express milk from both breasts at the same time.
Some women's breast milk supply dries up in a few days. Others will still express a few drops of milk months later. Most women who have breastfed or pumped and begin to wean will see their milk supply drop in two to three weeks, though this can vary depending on your baby's age and the amount of milk you were making.
Pump between breastfeeding, either 30-60 minutes after nursing or at least one hour before breastfeeding. This should leave plenty of milk for your baby at your next feeding. If your baby wants to breastfeed right after breast pumping, let them!