XP Talk to me about pumping.

[Ashley&Scott]

Here's my schedule:

7am-feed DS
9:45am - pump (I get the most this session)
12pm- pump
2:45pm-pump
5pm- feed DS

Are you pumping during his 2/3am feeding session?

[vanillacourage]

The books I've read (Womanly Art, etc) say 1-5am is the pumping witching hour. That's usually when I'm bringing DS back to bed to nurse and go back to sleep as quickly as possible, so not only is my milk going directly to him but I'm not staying awake any longer than necessary.

[slug*bug]

May 23, 2012 13:51:07 GMT -5 @246baje said:

Ideally when I go back to work I'd like to feed him around 5 am if he is awake, pump, then pump at work at 8 and 11 am.

This was basically my schedule with DS: he would wake at 5-5:30, nurse and immediately go back down for a 'nap' unti 7:30. I would stay up, pump, then shower/get dressed and be ready to nurse him again when he woke up before DC.

Adding a second baby (and one that didn't STTN like DS did...sigh), I just couldn't squeeze in the 5:30 AM session, though I definitely had higher output in the AM, so it (techically) would've been the most beneficial, but I just tried to make my first pumping session a priority, even if it happened at 8:30 or 9, which was more the norm this time around.

I wouldn't worry too much about trying to regulate your supply as far as time of day (unless, as VC mentioned, you really want to hit it hard and start setting an alarm for the middle of the night when pumping is supposedly most productive...what little rest I was getting was more valuable to my entire family than a few extra ozs. here and there, so I didn't go that route, but it works for some moms.)

You may notice a difference in pumping output once you're back to work: it was very tough for me to gauge how much I was really able to pump (and at which times of day) while on ML. I was with the baby and feeding on demand, so there was a certain inconsistency in my pumping output simply due to the baby feeding more often at certain times of the day and/or I'd have less time to pump while at home.

Obviously the more often you can pump, the better, but like I say, ideal or not, I had to prioritize my rest over pumping at the biologically 'optimal' time.

[Deleted]

i would plan to pump 3 x at work if you can, and skip the 5 am one. as for how things are going now, i wouldn't worry about it. some people get more in the early morning, you get more in the late morning. our bodies all work differently.