When Do I Pump Between Feedings?

Here are a few strategies that have worked for myself or my sister:
- while you are nursing you baby on one side pump the other. I was never able to do this very successfully, but my baby was already 6 months old when I started pumping for real and she played with the pump too much. My sister had great success doing this though.
- I always got the most if I pumped in the morning, right after the first feeding.
- just randomly pump when you expect her to sleep for a longer stretch. You might not get a lot, but you will stimulate your supply. The same goes for pumping right after she finishes feeding.

Most babies will through a growths spurt around 4 weeks, during which they might nurse almost nonstop to upregulate your supply. Don't be too hard on yourself if you can't pump much during that time, it will pass after a day or a few.

And yes, you can just add small amounts to what's already frozen, you may want to cool it down in the fridge first though, to prevent thawing what's already solid. I usually collected small amounts in the fridge until I had 2 or three ounces (my daughter never ate more than that in one setting by bottle) and then popped it in the freezer.
Good luck!

What I did with my first was sometimes pump on one side at the first morning feeding. You are usually pretty engorged so baby can probably deal with eating off of only one breast at that time. I also used to get up a few hrs before my baby and pump. Whatever you do, your body will learn what the demand is and adjust. So if you get up early, you will probably start to make more milk at that time the longer you do it. It is a hassle but I think you can do it!!

I always pumped right after I was done feeding the baby.. it's all supply and demand. this way your body will produce more milk 'thinking' that it has too.. Also you don't want to pump an hour after b/c what if she wants more.. then you wont have more to give... Plus i always pumped throughout the day put the milk into the fridge and then divided it in to 2-4 oz baggies to freeze. Sometimes you'll get 3 oz of milk sometimes 1 oz.. this way you can make i guess 'even' servings for your baby.. it's kinda all trial & error until you get some kind of schedule down.. Good Luck :)

Congrats on your new baby! At around 8 weeks, my baby started sleeping from 8 p.m. til about 3 or 4 a.m., so I would pump before I went to bed, around 11 p.m. Also, check out this video (only a few minutes long) on how to maximize your supply when you pump. It shows you how to hand express when you no longer get milk with the pump. I can always get about a half ounce more by hand-expressing after my breasts seem empty using the pump. http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.... Enjoy the baby!

I would recommend pumping immediately after you a finish feeding. It might increase your milk supply but will still give you enough time to replenish before the next feeding.

At this point, I would just try to pump whenever you have a free moment. Your milk supply will adjust to keep up with the demands of your baby and pumping. I am also a teacher, and before I went back to work I started pumping every night before I went to bed. I would store whatever I got then, usually it wasn't enough to freeze, so I would save it in the fridge and then add to it the next day. I froze 4 oz at a time. After pumping at night for a while, I also started having excess milk in the mornings (I could tell I wasn't empty after my son nursed) so I would pump right after morning feedings. I think this pumping and storing before I went to work was helpful in preparing myself and also in keeping my supply up once I started. Good luck!

I breastfed my daughter for 14.5 months on demand, and I usually pumped right after the nursing. I would nurse my daughter on one side, then pump the other. That way, both are emptied at the same time so if she needs to eat 1.5 hours later, you will have milk. Also, I would always pump both sides in the morning. Most women have more milk in the mornings, because their babies don't eat as much at night. I would nurse my daughter, then pump both sides. The side she ate off of obviously produced less than the other, but there was still always extra milk.

You can combine milk and freeze it, too. I was always told that if you pumped two times within 24 hours that you could combine the milk. Personally 24 hours made me nervous, but I would pump within 8 hours of the last time and combine those and my daughter never got sick from it. This is probably obvious, but just make sure the milk to produce first stays nice and cold before you combine and freeze it with milk you produce later.

I hope this helps. Good luck!!

When I had my son I would punp in the morning before he nursed (id get a lot more this way... about 20-25 oz) then nurse him then he would nurse every four hours and I'd just pump in between those times. Babys can get milk even when no more is coming when you pump so its ok to pump before you feed them. IF she DOES still seem hungry if you pump first you can always give her some of what you just pumped but usually they get enough. what I did as far as freezing it was I waited till I had 9 oz (or however much you want to do per bag) in a bottle THEN froze it. If after pumping I only had 6 oz I'd keep it in the fridge until the next pumping. It wasn't ever longer than overnight but it stays good in the fridge for a few days. Good Luck!

I always pumped right after I nursed while I was on maternity leave. When I went back to work he woke up earlier than I needed to go to work so I would nurse him, lay him back down, and then pump an hr or so later right before I left for work. If I didn't pump enough, I would save it in the fridge til I had enough to fill a freezer bag. However, I always heard that the milk should be the same temperature before you combine it and freeze it. So I would keep my two little bottles in the fridge and after an hour or two I would then combine the milk and freeze it.

I breastfed my son for 13 months and worked full time, I fed him on one side and pumped the other and depending on how much he ate I pumped the side he was feeding off of. I didn't wait 30, 40 or an hour after i did it RIGHT after that way you're already in the process you don't have to stop what your doing and remember. Also when my son took naps/bedtime as soon as he layed down and I knew he was a sleep I pumped again and saved it. When I went back to work, I took the pump with me and a couple of bottles (the large NOT small) and pumped about every 2 hours depending on what I was doing and put it in the refrigerator and until i clocked out and that way I had extra when he wasn't around.

My LC told me the best wat to get milk stored up fast and to increase supply was to pump first. Pump first thing in the morning and the get ready for a good sit down nursing. When you pump first you get more milk easier, but then the baby has to work a little more to get the milk to start flowing again. It really worked for me because I wasn't a good pumper. Good luck.

You might be able to feed your baby before you leave for work, and then pump once at 10:00 and once at 1:00/1:30 and then be ready to feed the baby again whenever you get home. You can combine the two amounts anyway you want. You can leave your Friday pumpings in the refrigerator until they are needed on Monday, but if you're not going to use it within 72 hours, freeze it.

Perhaps you've already had this answered by now, but you should feed him and then immediately pump. Not only will this completely empty your breasts, it will help with your milk supply. Best wishes!

Pick a time of day if you can and pump at that time everyday. There may not be much milk at first but your body will adjust abd will assume the baby is feeding everyday at this time and produce the milk accordingly. That is one way. The other way is to pump after your first feeding of the day. You have the most milk in the am after sleeping all night and after you nurse, pump. Again your body will ajust to your needs and increase your supply of milk. After a feeding is a good time because you wont risk pumping the milk your baby needs in an hour. Good luck!