How to succeed at pumping without really trying (ok, with a lot of trying!)

Recently several new mom friends have asked me for advice on how to pump enough milk for their babies. So, I decided it was time to write about how I’ve done it, both so I can remember for the next child and so it may be helpful for other moms.

I didn’t set out trying to become the pumping guru. I just wanted to nurse my son till at least age one, and as a full-time working mom I knew that would necessarily involve some quality time with a breast pump. How has it worked out for me? Well, 7 ½ months in, my son is still exclusively breastfed except for one solid meal a day. He hasn’t touched a drop of formula since my milk came in on his 3rd day of life. I pump enough that not only do I meet his daily needs, but I have over 300 ounces of frozen milk stored for him. And that’s not counting the 400+ ounces I’ve pumped and donated to a milk bank. So, in my book that’s a success.  And now, in the words of Hans and Franz, I'm ready to pump...YOU UP!

Disclaimers
I must point out that I had many things work in my favor. First, Daniel was a full term baby and has always been quite healthy. Second, he started sleeping through the night very early, going 5-6 hours by one month old and allowing me to build up my stash. Third, he spent his first 5 days in the NICU, which turned out to be a breastfeeding blessing in disguise because it enabled me to have 3 sessions with lactation consultants and led me to start pumping earlier and for him to get bottles sooner than planned. I had intended to nurse exclusively for the first few weeks to avoid nipple confusion, but since he seemed to take to nursing well in spite of the bottles we decided to give him one or two bottles a night from the get-go.


Finally, and most importantly, my husband helped out a lot in the evenings while Daniel was a newborn. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, a supportive husband makes a world of difference, and mine has always been very supportive of breastfeeding and happy to do what he can to help. While Daniel doesn’t need night-time parenting much anymore, Kevin is still a great hands-on dad and Daniel and I are both very lucky. Once I started back to work, having a supportive office and supportive boss has been very important too.


That said, here’s what I’ve done, from the newborn days to the early months back at work to my current strategy:


The early weeks
In the newborn days, I nursed for every feeding during the day, but Kevin took 2 feedings in a row at night by bottle so I had about 6 hours of “off-duty” time every night. I’d pump right before going to bed and then wake up 3 hours later to pump again, so I was pumping at least as much as Daniel was eating in his 2 bottles and usually a little extra. Waking up to pump was faster than feeding him, changing him, and getting him back to sleep, so I got some rest, and about one night a week I’d just pump before bed and sleep through, since I had enough stored up to cover that extra bottle he’d take. Kevin had some long nights and sleepy days at work, but he never complained. Neither of us was especially well-rested, but neither of us was exhausted either, thanks to our team approach.


Initially I was just pumping slightly more than he needed but once he started sleeping 5-6 hours at a stretch, I continued to get up for that mid-night pump session to build up my stash. After about 2 months I quit waking up to pump but I still pump right before going to bed, more for comfort than supply at this point.


Back to work
I started back when Daniel was 12 weeks old. For my first 2 ½ months back, Kevin was home on paternity leave, which was great for all of us. I was typically working from 7:30-4 every day, and my feeding and pumping schedule looked like this:


5:00am nurse Daniel
6:45 pump while brushing teeth, etc., yielding 1-4oz total
10 pump at work, yielding 3-4 oz per side
2pm pump at work, yielding 3-4oz per side
4:30 nurse Daniel
7 nurse Daniel
10 pump while getting ready for bed, yielding 2-6oz total


Daniel’s daytime feedings consolidated into 2 7oz bottles, one mid-morning, one early afternoon. My work pump sessions cover his daytime needs, the home pump sessions were to pad the stash and maintain supply. After awhile I started pumping for a local mother’s milk bank on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and for Daniel on Tuesday and Thursday so I can use some of our frozen stash.


Current schedule
Once January rolled around Kevin went back to work and his mother started keeping Daniel during the day. And I started a compressed work schedule working 8-530 most days and getting every other Monday off to spend home with Daniel. My current schedule looks like this:


6am nurse Daniel
7 pump while getting ready
11 pump at work
3pm pump at work
630 feed solids
730 nurse Daniel
10 pump while getting ready for bed


Tips to maximize supply
A few things that have helped me, and may help others:

• Invest in a good double automatic pump. I’ve got the Medela Pump in Style Advanced Metro and it’s more than paid for itself. A cheap manual pump like the Medela Harmony is a good back-up or occasional use pump but for heavy pumping the PISA is a must.
• Get or make a pumping bra that holds the bottles so you can pump hands-free. I made one by cutting holes in an old sports bra. Being able to pump while brushing teeth, putting on makeup, etc, is a great time-saver.
• When you pump at work, rinse the pump parts with water between sessions then steam clean them at home. The Medela cleaning bags work but the Dr. Brown’s bottle sterilizer holds more and can be reused indefinitely.
• If you have an iPhone, invest in the Milk Maid app. It keeps track of pumping times and amounts and lets you track moving it from one location to another and from bottles to bags for freezing.
• Drink LOTS of water. Milk is made up mostly of water and while mornings are many women’s most productive pump time, I find I get more in the afternoons at work, probably because I drink so much water or tea throughout the day.