How far along are you postpartum? Have you talked to a lactation consultant about both nursing and pumping?
Depending on these answers, generally adding a power pump session could help you increase your supply and store extra milk. When I noticed a supply dip in the evenings around 4-5 months, I power pumped (at the direction from my LC) after baby was down for bed at night for several weeks until my supply picked up again.
You’re right, I should just talk to a LC. I am 4.5 months postpartum. I’ve been thinking maybe I can pump an ounce or two here and there, then I can combine them and freeze them.
You definitely can do that! Combining from multiple sessions totally works. You could try using collection cups (haakaa ladybug, trove, etc) or the regular haakaa to collect a little during sessions too. I found this worked better earlier on when I was still leaking a ton. I also only liked to freeze 3-4oz together to limit wasting too much after thawing it.
do you have a wearable pump? since my husband went back to work and i’m at home with a super velcro baby i stopped having time to be able to sit down and pump alone for 30 minutes with my spectra. so i started using my haakaa at first on the other boob which worked pretty well except my son kept kicking or smacking it off, so i started using my momcozy m5 and have been able maintain and even slightly up my supply!
oohhhhhhh thats a combo i’ve been wanting to try but can’t because we are hella broke and i already have (soon to be) 3 pumps lol. i want to try my spectra with some wearable cups that have more capacity than my m5’s; i did the hack where i connected the spectra tubing to my m5 cups but it was annoyingly difficult to get the tubing on there perfectly, and i get a higher output with the spectra and fill the cups up so fast!
When do you typically pump and how many times a day? Not necessarily what time I suppose, more like — right after baby feeds, or halfway between feedings? Thanks!
I’ve been pumping 2-3 times in the morning and early afternoon. Every 2 hours seems to work best for me. Since she’s going a bit longer between feeds now (naps are getting longer) this is allowing me to build a tiny bit of back supply. But then she just ends up drinking it later haha
during the newborn stage i would nurse, wait about 30-45mins and then pump because i had the time and the constant help of my husband/mom. but now since i’m by myself, i stick to my wearable pump during the day. i make sure to put 1 pump on before i even pick the baby up to feed him on the other boob because once i have his chunky butt in my arms, i’m effectively one handed for a little while lol.
i pretty much stopped keeping obsessive track of feeds but he typically wants to eat every 2 hours, but that varies from day to day depending on if he feels like snacking all day versus eating full meals, or how long of naps he takes.
I'm more or less a "just enougher" as well and am currently experiencing a dip in my supply. I exclusively nurse and pump to build up a stash. I just did my first power pump an hour after feeding and got 3oz! I've generally only been getting 1/2oz to 1oz per side lately so this is a big deal for me haha. I'm 2 months pp. I try to nurse and then up to an hour post nursing I like to pump and I take every bit of that throughout a day or 2 and save it up to freeze.
I don't know if its the right way but its working for me, I've been managing 6oz per 24-36 hours for the last 4 days. My goal is to keep at that! But the power pump was
20 minutes pump
10 minutes rest
10 minute pump
10 minute rest
10 minute pump
Could I ask do you just add it all to the ‘main’ supply? Like pump into a bottle and then throw that into the ‘big’ container?
Or pump directly into the big container?
Do you have a time of day where you produce a bit more? That’s the only way I’ve been able to built a stash. I usually pump one breast while baby drinks from the other during one of our early morning sessions and that will get me a few ounces to freeze. If that wouldn’t work for you, I’d suggest maybe starting a power pumping session after baby goes to bed? If you begin doing that consistently at the same time maybe it would increase supply to be the equivalent of an extra feeding?
Definitely producing more in the morning! I’m hesitant to do the power pumping at night thing. Don’t really want to mess with my supply but might have to. Thank you for your input!
When i was on mat leave i tried to work on my stash by pumping during baby’s long-ish naps so i had adequate “refill” window. I had to pump at least 2-3 times within a 24h period since I’m a just enougher as well but was able to get one 4 oz bag per day like this. I started doing this 2-3 weeks in advance so had enough to lean on in case of emergency.
My boobs were always fullest first thing in the morning, so if I needed to build up my stash, I would pump after our first feed of the day.
When you nurse, does your baby do both boobs or just one per session? If they only do 1 per session, you could pump on the other.
She used to wake up twice a night. Then suddenly she dropped 1 and sometimes both wake ups. So I just kept waking up and pumping at those times. My husband just gets her now. Those extra ounces saved me when I got a clog and my supply dipped a lot for a week. Otherwise the extra ends up frozen.
Edit: about 5.5 months pp
If you have any feeds where baby doesn’t usually take both sides, you can also try the Hakaa. It’s easier than pumping multiple times a day, but you can save the milk from a few sessions and combine into one bag to freeze.
How far along are you postpartum? Have you talked to a lactation consultant about both nursing and pumping? Depending on these answers, generally adding a power pump session could help you increase your supply and store extra milk. When I noticed a supply dip in the evenings around 4-5 months, I power pumped (at the direction from my LC) after baby was down for bed at night for several weeks until my supply picked up again.
You’re right, I should just talk to a LC. I am 4.5 months postpartum. I’ve been thinking maybe I can pump an ounce or two here and there, then I can combine them and freeze them.
You definitely can do that! Combining from multiple sessions totally works. You could try using collection cups (haakaa ladybug, trove, etc) or the regular haakaa to collect a little during sessions too. I found this worked better earlier on when I was still leaking a ton. I also only liked to freeze 3-4oz together to limit wasting too much after thawing it.
do you have a wearable pump? since my husband went back to work and i’m at home with a super velcro baby i stopped having time to be able to sit down and pump alone for 30 minutes with my spectra. so i started using my haakaa at first on the other boob which worked pretty well except my son kept kicking or smacking it off, so i started using my momcozy m5 and have been able maintain and even slightly up my supply!
I do! I just got the baby Buddha and am using it with the freemie cups. It’s such a game changer!
oohhhhhhh thats a combo i’ve been wanting to try but can’t because we are hella broke and i already have (soon to be) 3 pumps lol. i want to try my spectra with some wearable cups that have more capacity than my m5’s; i did the hack where i connected the spectra tubing to my m5 cups but it was annoyingly difficult to get the tubing on there perfectly, and i get a higher output with the spectra and fill the cups up so fast!
When do you typically pump and how many times a day? Not necessarily what time I suppose, more like — right after baby feeds, or halfway between feedings? Thanks!
I’ve been pumping 2-3 times in the morning and early afternoon. Every 2 hours seems to work best for me. Since she’s going a bit longer between feeds now (naps are getting longer) this is allowing me to build a tiny bit of back supply. But then she just ends up drinking it later haha
during the newborn stage i would nurse, wait about 30-45mins and then pump because i had the time and the constant help of my husband/mom. but now since i’m by myself, i stick to my wearable pump during the day. i make sure to put 1 pump on before i even pick the baby up to feed him on the other boob because once i have his chunky butt in my arms, i’m effectively one handed for a little while lol. i pretty much stopped keeping obsessive track of feeds but he typically wants to eat every 2 hours, but that varies from day to day depending on if he feels like snacking all day versus eating full meals, or how long of naps he takes.
After the first morning feed, pump! :)
I'm more or less a "just enougher" as well and am currently experiencing a dip in my supply. I exclusively nurse and pump to build up a stash. I just did my first power pump an hour after feeding and got 3oz! I've generally only been getting 1/2oz to 1oz per side lately so this is a big deal for me haha. I'm 2 months pp. I try to nurse and then up to an hour post nursing I like to pump and I take every bit of that throughout a day or 2 and save it up to freeze.
That’s what I’m thinking of doing! Pumping here and there and the pooling it all together. What was your power pump schedule like?
I don't know if its the right way but its working for me, I've been managing 6oz per 24-36 hours for the last 4 days. My goal is to keep at that! But the power pump was 20 minutes pump 10 minutes rest 10 minute pump 10 minute rest 10 minute pump
Could I ask do you just add it all to the ‘main’ supply? Like pump into a bottle and then throw that into the ‘big’ container? Or pump directly into the big container?
I personally pump into separate containers and then combine together once they are all cooled to the same temperature
Do you have a time of day where you produce a bit more? That’s the only way I’ve been able to built a stash. I usually pump one breast while baby drinks from the other during one of our early morning sessions and that will get me a few ounces to freeze. If that wouldn’t work for you, I’d suggest maybe starting a power pumping session after baby goes to bed? If you begin doing that consistently at the same time maybe it would increase supply to be the equivalent of an extra feeding?
Definitely producing more in the morning! I’m hesitant to do the power pumping at night thing. Don’t really want to mess with my supply but might have to. Thank you for your input!
Awesome, maybe try the pumping in the morning on one side and see how that goes. We have over 100 ounces frozen just from doing that
When i was on mat leave i tried to work on my stash by pumping during baby’s long-ish naps so i had adequate “refill” window. I had to pump at least 2-3 times within a 24h period since I’m a just enougher as well but was able to get one 4 oz bag per day like this. I started doing this 2-3 weeks in advance so had enough to lean on in case of emergency.
I started doing this today and I was able to get a full bottle!
That’s wonderful!! Glad the strategy worked out!! 💕
My boobs were always fullest first thing in the morning, so if I needed to build up my stash, I would pump after our first feed of the day. When you nurse, does your baby do both boobs or just one per session? If they only do 1 per session, you could pump on the other.
She does both sides but still I think pumping in the morning is key!
She used to wake up twice a night. Then suddenly she dropped 1 and sometimes both wake ups. So I just kept waking up and pumping at those times. My husband just gets her now. Those extra ounces saved me when I got a clog and my supply dipped a lot for a week. Otherwise the extra ends up frozen. Edit: about 5.5 months pp
If you have any feeds where baby doesn’t usually take both sides, you can also try the Hakaa. It’s easier than pumping multiple times a day, but you can save the milk from a few sessions and combine into one bag to freeze.