Hellobee Boards

@ElbieKay: It really all depends on your body. For the first 6 months or so, I was able to pump just twice a day at work with minimal issues. But when my supply started to dip, I ended up having to add in sessions to get the amount I needed and keep up my supply.

You could always try it! But if you get uncomfortably full before you're scheduled to pump or you find your supply doesn't seem to be staying up, you might want to go back to three pump sessions, though maybe you can do three shorter sessions!

I was never able to drop pumping sessions without damaging my supply, but it's different for every person. There's no way to know unless you try it. I had to pump every day before work, 3x at work, and again after E went to bed. I froze anything that was extra.

Months 4-6 I pumped 3x at work and produced about 20oz total at work. Months 7-10 I pumped 2x at work and pumped about 15-16 oz total at work. I pumped once Month 11 (8 oz) and none at all Month 12 to prepare myself to wean. I found that if I pumped twice instead of three times the earlier months, my pump sessions were longer because I was so engorged, it just took longer to fully empty out.

I also wouldn't drop any sessions.

I pumped twice a day starting at 12 weeks. From 6-12 weeks I pumped twice a day and nursed once, and a had a pretty big surplus from that time. I continued to pump a surplus pumping twice a day until six months or so. From 6 to 8 months I was pumping just enough to break even. After 8 months I have been pumping at a deficit, but my stash should be enough to make it to a year with no problems unless something drastic happens (I am at 9.5 months now). I feel like if I actually run out of milk, I will deal with it then. For example, I would go up to three pumps per day. I never had clogged ducts or mastitis.

As tempting as it is, I would wait a little while before dropping sessions. At 12 weeks, your supply is still regulating.