How much milk were you able to pump when your babe was 6 weeks old?

[Thalia]

I just pumped for the first time with my old pump. I had just fed DD#2, who is 6 weeks old, and was only able to get 1 oz on the side she hadn't fed on. On the other side, I only got a few drops. It's been 3 years since I used my pump, so I'm having trouble remembering how much I was able to pump when DD#1 was 6 weeks, but I feel like it was more.

How much can you/did you pump at 6 weeks?

[mrs_mandolini]

I had a hospital grade pump and baby in the hospital- and got about 2 oz on each side with no nursing beforehand. If you have a grocery-store pump you're probably doing fine.

[mrs_mandolini]

p.s. This varies a TON. Another mom (it was her third child) would come in with at least 10 ounces of milk after her pumping sessions. And my 4 ounces was more than some of the moms could get.

[ktgrok]

none at that age.

[KempsMama]

I have MASSIVE oversupply, and if it's been two hours since DS2 has eaten and I pump both sides I can get 8 ounces without trying. With DS1 it was even worse, one morning I was so engorged and I pumped 12 ounces after feeding him.

I think this varies so much, and I don't think pumping is a good indicator of supply. Your babe is a better indicator.

[PatioGardener]

I had massive over supply and pumped to help out my babe's reflux issues (for comfort as I started block feeding.) I could easily get 6 oz a breast in about 5 min, and would stop pumping well before the milk slowed. It sounds great, but actually it was horrible. Baby had massive reflux and discomfort from the fast let down and over supply. I ended up block feeding in 10 h blocks for months, taking sage, and still leaking all the time.

Remember that typically (that is NOT my case!) your body has learned how much milk your LO needs by 6 weeks, and has to gear up to produce more for the pump. After a couple of days you should be getting more

[konayossie]

I only EVER pumped 2 oz from one side on a very good day. I normally got .5 from my low side, 1-1.5 oz from my "good side." That was using a PIS every 3 hour during the workday.

[eclipse]

with ds1 I was getting maybe an oz. With dd, if I didn't pay attention, I would overflow the bottles from the day my milk came in (so 10+oz - when I went back to work at 10 weeks, I had to pump into 8 oz bottles on each side for my first pump of the day). I was tandem nursing the second time around, so I assume that made a huge difference. With ds2, I didn't pump much, but I usually got around 4 oz total.

[Mama2mc]

Around 9 to 11 oz in the morning session, and 5 to 7 in the evening.

[Peony]

A wonderful, rare day was 1.5 ozs, it almost always was about 1/2 ounce though.

[Spiralshell]

At 6 weeks, almost nothing. (I was feeding a hungry babe every 1.5 - 2 hours around the clock, struggling to keep up.)
Later once I went back to work at 4.5 months, I would pump 1-2 oz on each side, 3X a day.
I'm absolutely amazed at the moms who get 4 or 8 or 10 oz at a shot. If I ever got that much I would think I had died and gone to heaven!

[Parker'smommy]

I can feed an army...lol. Really. And I don't leak or feel letdown. BUT...baby was CHOKING at 6 weeks on my OAL. So, I manually - no pump, just squeezed with my hand- 2 ounces off one breast in about 5 minutes at 6 weeks.

But I don't think that's normal.

[Sharlla]

10-12 oz a day at that point.
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[kanga1622]

I was quite lucky to get 2 oz total in a pumping session at 6 weeks. That was usually when DS would take a morning nap so it would be 1-1.5 hours after he had finished eating.

Heck, now when I am at work I pump 4 times a day (every 2.5 hours) and it takes me 20 minutes of pumping to get 4 oz total each session. I might get 5 oz one session on a really good day.

With all that said, DS is 8 months old and I have well over 300 ounces in my freezer. It was a slow build up to my stash and I was worried before I went back to work (and even for a little while after I started back) that I wouldn't be able to keep up. Now I wonder how we will ever use all this milk because I put more in the freezer every week than I take out.

[Amy@STL]

7 oz from right, 2 oz from left...I remember so clearly
I rented a hospital grade pump though.

I never thought I would fall short, but since 2 months I am. I still pump 4-5 oz each time I pump at work (3 hrs) but its not enough for DS, who is 7 mo now. I am wondering all those mamas who pump less than me - how do you manage?

[WindyCityMom]

I had a massive oversupply, but I could only pump 2oz from each side. I wasn't good at pumping, and I had a medela manual pump.

[OkiMom]

I also have a massive oversupply and pumped more than I could have ever used. By the time I went back to work (started pumping 2 weeks ahead of time) I had enough for a couple of months of feedings. One pumping session in the morning after her morning feeding would give me almost enough for the entire day if not enough for it (I had to change bottles in the middle becuase they were overfilled) She wouldn't take a bottle either but my friend who couldn't breastfeed because of meds she was on was very grateful to have the breastmilk for the first few months of her baby's life. She told me it lasted a little over 2 months.

[kanga1622]

Amy@STL: How much does your LO drink during the day? DS takes 4 bottles with 3 oz each and I'm away from him for approximately 9.5 hours. When he has a day at home with DH, he will often take only 3 bottles during that time. So even though I usually pump 3.5-4 ounces each pumping session (I do 4 a day), I always have extra milk.

[Thalia]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm not at all worried about supply for my babe; she's got lots of wet diapers and is gaining just fine. I'm just trying to figure out how I can pump enough milk to be able to go and exercise at the gym a couple of times a week. I remember pumping more when I went back to work with DD#1, but she was 5 months old at the time. My old pump was fine when I first went back to work with my first, but then it seems to be not working as well (when DD#1 was about 12 months). I ended up renting a hospital grade pump and used it for about 6 more months.

I'm thinking I will go ahead and rent a hospital pump and see if it makes a difference. I was planning to try out the Symphony anyway (I used a Lactina last time).