For those who pump..... - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

baby#2 · 06-15-2006, 11:40 AM

How much milk can you express with a manual pump at a time??? At first I could only get about an ounce from each breast. Now I am able to get 2 from my right breast but still only 1 from my left. Even this doesn't sound like it's very much. I couldn't b/f my first and I pumped then too but only got an ounce and a half from both breast together every 3 hours.
How much can you get and how do you do it????
I would like to store some away for emergencies and date nights but I can't seem to get that much. My little man is 7 weeks old today and drinks a lot as he is very big. (13 or 14 lbs now). I don't know how much he eats at a feed anyway.
I am so confused

Any insight would be helpful.....

debating · 06-15-2006, 12:13 PM

If you're getting 2 ounces a time (one from each breast) you're doing good!! Breast feeding full time and pumping to start a freezer stash is hard. You're esstentially going to end up increasing your supply because you're pumping more then your baby needs, so it can take a few weeks to get going.

I always store my milk in the freezer in 2 ounce bags. I made a goal to store 2 ounces day. It doesn't seem like much, but it add up. I have a whole shelf now EBM. I'm not sure how much, but I would guess about 40 ounces.

It also depends on your pump. I had luck with the Avent manual pump, but when I needed a bigger one for my supply issues I got the madela double electric. I can get about 3 ounces in 15 minutes with that one. I haven't tried their manual pump, yet.

I do know that if you pump at the same time every day that your body will adjust and make enough milk for that session, even if you breastfeed first. I ALWAYS pump after her first feed of the morning and before I got to bed. I get about 2 ounces each time. I put 2 ounces in the freezer and make a 2 ounce bottle incase I go out the next day and she stays with hubby. I think over time my body has adjusted to the added demand at those times and compensates, because before pumping in the evening was not very fruitful.

Just keep in mind that if you're gung-ho about pumping and you stop you may end up with an over supply because you're baby may not need that much. It works out good though, because if you can squeeze in a pumping session per day you'll end up with a good stash. I wish I had started sooner. It's comforting to know I have a days worth in there incase anything happens.

skeetersquirt · 06-15-2006, 01:08 PM

I have not had any luck with the "manual" pump. i use my electric pump and I get about 4 ounces from each breast every 3 hours...I am strictly pumping and bottle feeding. also use a hospital grade Medula doble pump.I get about 8 ounces a pump. I have about 54 ounces in the fridge now..I am an over producer.

I think if you are getting that much AFTER breastfeedng you are doing great!

Gayle0000 · 06-15-2006, 02:43 PM

I don't use a manual pump...I have the Medela Single Electric.

When I first started pumping (DD was 3 weeks old), I think it took about a couple weeks of pumping and figuring out a pumping schedule for my body to start making more and figuring out when the best time was for me to pump.

I feed DD off 1 breast at a time (I don't switch sides halfway into a feed) and have been doing it this way since DD was about 5 days old (she 9 mo now). When DD started to sleep really well thru the night, that's when both breasts would be full in the morning...and that's when my freezer stash was serious business. I'd feed DD off 1 breast and pump the other. I could pump 6-7 oz off 1 breast every single morning consistently as long as there was no growth spurt going on, I was eating & drinking well, and not stressed out. The 1 pumping session off 1 breast in the morning was the only pumping I did in a day.

Basically, I took advantage of DD sleeping all night and pumping like a madman...it was not fun to pump that much extra milk off myself...but I got such a good stash that I decided to keep the momentum going and pump as much as I could so I wouldn't have to pump much in the future.

I'd take pumping days off by feeding DD a little off 1 breast to take the pressure off for a while...and feeding her off the other as her meal.

At one point, I had 250 oz of EBM in my freezer (no kidding!). That was 3 months ago (when DD was 6 months old). I haven't pumped in 3 months now because of all the hard-core pumping I did...mostly in months 3, 4, and 5. I have so much frozen EBM, I don't think I'll need to pump again before DD is weaned.

I guess my recommendation is to try out different routines that fit into your day and keep going with what is convenient and comfortable; otherwise, you might come to hate pumping real quick.

I'm really happy with the way I did it. I made a ton of milk over a few months time...it was kind of gruelling at the time...but I can look back and it seems like time has flown by...and it's over now. I can leave DD with my H pretty often...or I can take DD to the mall or wherever and bottle feed her in public (I won't BF in public), and I won't have to pump again unless there's a special circumstance.

That's how I did/do it.

baby#2 · 06-15-2006, 03:19 PM

Wow! 6 or 7 ounces each breast?! That's amazing. My ds is 7 weeks today and I just had him weighed at the Doctor's this afternoon. He's a whoppin' 13lbs 12 ozs!!!

My Doc said he is a very big baby for a b/f baby. He said I must have plenty of high calorie/fatty milk.
Anyway, I have two more quick questions in regards to this topic.
1. How do/did you store your milk in the freezer (I saw bags that were $15.00 for 25 pre-sterilizer baggies!!!??? CND$) There's got to be a cheaper way to store it.
2. How about EBM in the fridge? How long is it good for? If I pumped at 12:00pm one day could I feed it to him the next afternoon? (24hrs).

Thanks girls.