View Full Version : Pumping question-donators




mengmommy
06-18-2007, 10:27 AM
How much milk do you pump in a day, how old is your little one? How old is the baby you pump for (if its private donation)? I'm just trying to guage if I'm doing ok/enough.

DD is 10 m and mostly ebf (se shares some food with us, but no real meals yet). The most I've ever gotten is 22oz, but usually its 16ish. I've been pumping for 2 months. The baby I donate to is 1m old. We just went camping though last week and it really screwed up my pumping (as in not being able pump when I needed) and I only got 11ish oz the last few days.




2boyzmama
06-19-2007, 07:32 PM
I don't exclusively pump, but I work full time and pump while I'm gone. My DS is 3.5 months old, and here's how our pumping schedule usually goes:

He sleeps through the night, so I always wake up very leaky. I nurse him on left side and pump right and always get at least 5 ounces, usually 6. Then I double pump at lunch and typically get 8 ounces total, sometimes 9. Then I nurse left and pump right when I get home and usually get another 4, for a daily pumped total of at least 17 ounces in three pumpings.

He gets three bottles while I'm gone, and his usual intake is 10-12 ounces. So I average 5 extra ounces a day, which I freeze. I plan to donate it to the milk bank, but have also spread the word through my local La Leche group that I'll gladly give some to anyone who needs it. I have almost 100 ounces in the freezer right now.

I have no idea if the amount of milk he drinks is typical of a baby his age, he is moderately underweight because of some health problems, but it appears that his slower weight gain isn't at all due to an inadequate supply on my part! I make more than enough milk, and if I were to get more serious about pumping, I could easily build my supply up even more.

I've found that hydration effects my supply pretty quickly...if I notice a drop one day, I just concentrate on drinking more plain water and I see it pick back up almost immediately. Stress is a big supply dropper, so I never sit down to pump unless I know I'm calm. I also often distract myself while I pump by talking on the phone or reading the news...anything to make me less likely to stare at the output to see how much I'm pumping. I also make sure to pump "drip to spray to drip plus about 5 minutes". If you think your supply is dropping a bit, add another 5 minutes, as long as it isn't making your nipples sore.

Good luck!! You're doing a wonderful thing!

:bfs Mama to Ian (3-17-05) and Connor (3-3-07) :nocirc2 :fsling: :2bfbabe: :1bftot:

mtnhighmama
06-19-2007, 09:32 PM
I'm exclusively pumping for my surroson and have been since birth. I'm 3 1/2 weeks postpartum and produce 50-60 oz/day, and he eats around 30 oz. a day.

It looks like most babies between 3 and 6 months eat about 35 oz, give or take of course...