With DD I breastfed and was never able to pump enough to last more than 1-2 feedings. I see and hear of women who have freezer stashes!
Please, teach me your ways. How do you build a stash, especially within the first 6 months?
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I pumped as often as i could but never more than once a day while i was on maternity leave. One bag of breastmilk a day makes for a big stash! I always pumped around 30 mins after she ate so my breasts had time to refill before her next meal.
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when i was having supply issues the first few weeks, i got in the habit of pumping after almost every nursing session. some of it was used to feed LO with a bottle, but most of it ended up being in a freezer stash. i started cutting down on the pumping because of an oversupply and letdown that LO couldn't handle.
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I did exactly what Jojogirl did. I always pumped after the first feeding of the day since milk production is highest in the mornings. Pumping while EBF made me have an oversupply, and while that was annoying it allowed me to end up with a huge stash within the first 3 months!
I usually only pumped once a day, but every once in awhile I'd pump twice a day.
Eta: I also started pumping right away... the 2nd week we were home.
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I didn't need a stash but I was paranoid so I started pumping in between feeds, when she went down at night, or after she nursed. I was never able to pump more than 4-6oz combined and that was when I went a longer period between pumps/nursing sessions. I would sometimes only get 1oz per session in the beginning so I would just put them in the fridge and combine them at night. I never had more than 80oz in my stash and stopped pumping altogether around 5 months, unless she was away from me.
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I EBF and I pumped like a crazy person the first 6-8 weeks....7-9 times a day. With a double electric, manual. It was hard with a toddler around....
I cut back to 2-3 (when the baby is sleeping) times a day but I still produce a lot of milk. I've pumped almost 23 gallons on maternity leave...I still supplement my toddler with breastmilk.
My baby started daycare today so I'm back to pumping more...
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I pumped in the mornings when I was really full (too full for him to empty both sides). Then I switched to pumping at night a few hours after he went to bed, once he started going to bed earlier. I have only pumped 1x a day and didn't pump until he was 3 month old or so. And I still have a pretty big stash. 5 oz a day adds up!
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I pumped 4 times a day while on maternity leave! In the beginning, I only got a few drops out, but by the end, I was getting about 1 ounce per pumping session, so I'd get 4 ounces a day.
I didn't start pumping until about 4 weeks into my leave, so after my supply was fairly established. I never had an oversupply. I also pumped about 1 hour after the start of a feed (and ~2 hours before the start of the next one).
I had about 60-70oz in my stash when I returned to work at 12 weeks.
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I had an oversupply due to overpumping-- my milk hadn't come in by the time we left the hospital, so my nurse told me to pump for 15 minutes after each feeding-- so that was around 2 hours of pumping a day (feedings every 2-3 hours)! They never told me when to stop that, even after I had asked and my milk had come in, so I did that for about the first 6 weeks or so. After that, I reduced my pumping sessions to 3-4x/day and would pump about 20 oz. per day.
Try to pump after a few nursing sessions or maybe schedule a session to pump only?
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@edelweiss: That's so awesome that you went from having a low supply to an oversupply!
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I always pumped about 2 feedings' worth every pumping session. And when baby dropped a feeding I pumped during that time anyway, so that would be 2 feedings' worth for "free". Then when they started solids, again, I still kept pumping even though their milk intake went down. Only when I was satisfied with the size of my stash did I cut down on pumping.
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@HabesBabe: that happened to me too! i just kept going, pumping at least 8x/day, and then all of the sudden i was like, wait a minute, my boobs are getting out of control.
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I pumped after she went to bed whenever I felt like pumping, so every few days or so. I slowly built up a stash five ounces at a time. She's not had to have any of it but its there for emergencies.
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@allison: yes, although it was a ton of work! pumping in the middle of the night after nursing was not fun. your routine sounds much more sane.
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@edelweiss: OMGahhhh it was horrible! Like you, I suddenly had an epiphany and was like, "WHY AM I STILL DOING THIS?!" Not to mention, LO had green poop from a foremilk imbalance, so I had to reduce my pumping due to that, too.
Good news was that I ended up with an awesome (1,000 oz.+) stash after 6 months!
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I pumped once a day in the beginning which caused a huge oversupply that I am still trying to get under control!! I only pump maybe once a week now, although I could pump once in the morning because I wake up with both sides engorged and she only eats from one side. Anyways, I have about 120 oz in the freezer (she's 4.5 months), but she isn't taking a bottle, so that number just keeps going up!!
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I only pumped like once a week, usually on the weekends. R wanted to be held all the time, and I had to hold her for naps, so I never got a chance unless DH was home.
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I went away overnight when DS was 5 weeks old and stashed all the milk I pumped during that trip; since I didn't have enough on hand already he drank formula that weekend.
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I pumped after most feedings to help build up my supply. I almost never pumped in the middle of the night though- I had to draw the line somewhere.
Pretty early I started feeding 15 minutes per side, then had my husband give a small bottle of formula while I pumped. It felt like I started over again in no time flat, but it really helped my supply and sanity that I gave him a cut off and he didn't stay constantly attached to boob for marathon sessions. I'm going to do the same thing next time if I can.
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Mine is probably not a popular idea, but I let DH give LO a bottle of formula while I pumped. I got barely any at the beginning, but then started building up enough of a stash that I can replace her morning formula bottle with a bottle from my stash. I think I've got about 70oz in there right now. It worked for me.
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I started pumping at 3 weeks. At first I'd just pump once a day (sort of randomly). Eventually I pumped twice a day while on maternity leave. LO would only feed on one side per time, so in the mornings I'd feed on one side, then pump on the other side. At night, after LO went to bed, right before I went to bed, I'd pump again.
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I added in a pumping session right before I went to bed.
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I EBF but DH does bedtime every night and he gives DD a 4 oz. bottle of expressed milk. I pump 2x/day (once right before bed and once after DD's first feed in the morning). Whatever excess I get goes in the freezer. I don't have a huge stash (about 120 oz at the moment), but definitely more than enough considering I'm SAH for a year (fellow Canadian
).
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@Bookish: what was the point of doing that (giving formula while pumping)? I guess I just don't understand why you would do that instead of just bfing?
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I am in awe.
After your baby breastfed, how many oz were you able to pump afterwards?
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@allison: Well, the poster asked how I built a stash, and that's how I did! It gave DH a chance to feed the baby while I pumped, and like I said, at the beginning I didn't pump enough to be able to feed her what I pumped, so we did a formula feed. It worked well for us.
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I started pumping the day after we got home from the hospital. I was able to pump more frequently in the earlier weeks due to a sleeping baby! Earlier months I pumped in the morning. Now that she STTN, I usually pump after baby's gone to sleep and I'm still awake. I aim for once a day, though it usually only happens about 4-5 days/week. DD's 6 months now and we have yet to touch anything I've frozen. I took out our earliest bag to defrost TODAY since it will go bad if we don't use it!
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At first I would pump only in the mornings after her morning feed.. I used to get ~6 oz.. But I would also leak everywhere. So, I transitioned to pumping in the morning instead of breastfeeding and I would get ~10-12 oz. After 1 month I realized that bottle feeding was the way to go for us since I could pump twice the amount in 1 pump session and DD couldn't handle my over active letdown. I have been EPing ever since and my freezer stash topped out at ~1250 oz., but now it's at about ~1000 oz.
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I pumped an extra btl a day sometimes two casually while I was on maternity leave for 3 months. I have a small stash now of about 100 oz?...
Next time, I'm going to pump from day 1 of milk coming in and cycle it throughout leave and build more!
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I use a method that @lawbee posted. Between 6 am and 8 am, I pump the side that DS didn't eat. Then during his first nap after that, I pump both sides. I rarely pump again each day. It has worked really well... I have over 100 oz.
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I had the same question. I just feel like my supply is appepriate for my baby right now, so I don't want to mess with it too much. I was trying to pump a few days a week, after her morning feeding while she went down for a nap, but I'd get stressed trying I shower, pump, wash parts before she woke up. And I would get less than three ounces every time. So I'm taking a slight break from it. I'm not going back to work and I have a few bags in the freezer for an emergency. I'm going away for a day in oct though so I need to build up enough for that.
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I pump after the 4am feeding session. It sucks but it's when I get the most milk!
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I was able to save a lot when he started sleeping through the night longer. I'd still get up in the middle of the night (2am, 5am) to pump. I built up my stash super quickly like that.
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@banana: so you get up twice during the night when you don't have to? I value my sleep too much I think.
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@banana: Those are the best hours for me!
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@Rubies: In the morning I am super engorged and only feed her on one side. So I pump the other side and lately have been getting about 6 oz (on mornings when she's STTN). At night, she still cluster feeds a little before bed and before DH gives her her bottle, so for the pumping session after that I usually only get 2 oz. It means that on a good day though I end up with 4 oz to freeze, which is what we give her for one feed.
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@Foodnerd81: @autumnlove: I know! It's crazy but that was the only way I was able to save up my milk because I was only able to produce just enough for his feedings! And I was really determined to BF him for at least 12 months. I literally set my alarm, pumped, put the bottles in the fridge and went back to sleep. I'd rather sacrifice my sleep for a few months, build up a nice stash and quit pumping all together earlier. I was able to stop pumping at 9 months and just feed my son frozen BM until he was 12 months. So I thought it was worth it.
I was able to save up 3 months worth of milk in 4 months because I pumped almost one whole day's worth of milk in those 2 sessions. For some reason, I produced tons more milk in the middle of the night.
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@banana: Geez, you are one dedicated mama! I only got up in the middle of the night when DD was 1 week old in the NICU.. Once she came home I would feed her in the middle of the night, but I have never pumped in the middle of the night. Kudos to you!!
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@grizz:
This is what I do. Sometimes I'll get enough from just pumping the one side so I don't do a second session.
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@LaineysMom: Aw thanks! I think my motivation was because I didn't want to pump anymore and figured this was the fastest way to quit pumping (I hated pumping!). It was also really exciting (if that's the right word) to see my freezer stash grow and grow. I don't think I could do that again though. It was the "first child" motivation. I wasn't able to do that for my 2nd.
).
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