Pumping Moms: do you track your pumping?

[cat13]

I've been back at work and pumping since October and I have a ton of mini-sticky notes stuck to my fridge with my notes on how much milk I pumped, what time, and how much DS ate that day. I know I am pumping as much or more than DS eats, so I'm not worried about that anymore. Is there still a reason to keep track of this? Do you? If you do/did, how did you do it? It would be perfect if there was some kind of pumping app.

[LunaLady]

I had to exclusively pump for my NICU baby and definitely kept track. I tracked every ounce I pumped and every ounce he ate. It gave me peace of mind to know that I was making enough milk for him. My husband helped me put together a spread sheet so I could keep track of everything. He's breastfeeding now and so I don't keep track anymore - but on the days when I was soooo worried about my supply it was such a relief to just look at my chart and know I was doing okay. 

[Bokonon]

I never did, even when I was exclusively pumping for DS in the NICU.  

I can't think of a benefit to tracking pumping yields, to be honest.  You probably know about how much you pump and will notice if you suddenly aren't producing as much, even without the exact numbers.

[vanessapdx]

There's an app for that! Granted, it's for all around baby-feeding, but it's awesome. Tracks time and side of breastfeeding, any bottle feeds, any expressions. There's a function in the app where you can see your average time spent nursing, average amount pumped, etc, for the day, week, and month. And perfect for my neurotic self....all that data is available to email to yourself and insert into a spreadsheet! I swear I don't work for the people who made it, I just really, really love the app! It's called iBaby Feed, and I got it from iTunes. 

All that said....my lovely old hippie of a mother (who breastfed me 'til age two and half, and my siblings nearly as long) was *quick* to poo-poo it, stating "Geez, you don't need an app, just do it!" I'll admit, the addiction to information is probably unnecessary, but I figure if it helps me continue to BF confidently.....it's not that bad!

~V

(no idea how to make the cool signature block thingies)

[cat13]

Originally Posted by LunaLady 

I had to exclusively pump for my NICU baby and definitely kept track. I tracked every ounce I pumped and every ounce he ate. It gave me peace of mind to know that I was making enough milk for him. My husband helped me put together a spread sheet so I could keep track of everything. He's breastfeeding now and so I don't keep track anymore - but on the days when I was soooo worried about my supply it was such a relief to just look at my chart and know I was doing okay. 

I can only imagine that having a NICU baby highlights how precious every ounce really is! 

Originally Posted by Bokonon 

I never did, even when I was exclusively pumping for DS in the NICU.  

I can't think of a benefit to tracking pumping yields, to be honest.  You probably know about how much you pump and will notice if you suddenly aren't producing as much, even without the exact numbers.

Yeah, I'm kinda feeling this way too. 

Originally Posted by vanessapdx 

There's an app for that! Granted, it's for all around baby-feeding, but it's awesome. Tracks time and side of breastfeeding, any bottle feeds, any expressions. There's a function in the app where you can see your average time spent nursing, average amount pumped, etc, for the day, week, and month. And perfect for my neurotic self....all that data is available to email to yourself and insert into a spreadsheet! I swear I don't work for the people who made it, I just really, really love the app! It's called iBaby Feed, and I got it from iTunes. 

All that said....my lovely old hippie of a mother (who breastfed me 'til age two and half, and my siblings nearly as long) was *quick* to poo-poo it, stating "Geez, you don't need an app, just do it!" I'll admit, the addiction to information is probably unnecessary, but I figure if it helps me continue to BF confidently.....it's not that bad!

~V

(no idea how to make the cool signature block thingies)

I knew there had to be an app. I agree that whatever tools help you be more confident are great to use! 

I think you have to have a certain amount of posts before you can make a signature. Welcome to MDC!

[kitchensqueen]

I only did it while my son was in the NICU, and then the first month he was home and my supply was all over the place. Now, I know roughly how much he eats in a day versus output so I don't bother to write it all down. As it stands, I pump about ten ounces over what he needs each day so it just goes in the freezer.