Pumping moms, what schedule do you have?

[Elilly]

Do you pump at the same time that DC would eat? Or do you pump every 3 hours or so? I get less than DS eats so if I only pumped every 4 hours (when he eats) I would be short. I'm still pumping in the AM on the days that I'm off (I work 3 days per week)to get my freezer stash going but it's only about 150 oz and I hate to steal from it yet. Just curious to see what others are doing. I do not want to add formula to his diet b/c DD has food allergies and DS's risk is higher so I want him to only have BM until at least one year.

[hez]

First: great job on the freezer stash!

At the beginning I pumped about every 3 hours at work-- which worked out to be 3 times a day-- at ~8 or 9, ~11 or 12, ~2 or 3, and then fed DS directly as soon as I got home ~5 or so. Those times varied +/- an hour depending on my meeting schedule each month. Early on I also pumped once at home in the mornings before DS got up. The combination of those 4 sessions let me keep up with DS and build up my stash so I could gradually drop sessions (down to one a couple times a week now).

Don't forget to relax as much as you can during your sessions at work, and keep your fluids up. If I tried to listen to voice mail messages or read through any paperwork, my output would go down. A good magazine, book or movie (especially chick flicks) did wonders for my supply. And the big 32 ounce styrofoam cup I always keep filled with ice water probably helped, too :)

[missmelis01]

Because of my schedule, I can't alwayas pump when DS eats, so I pump on a schedule. Plus, on week-ends, DS gets 3 meals at set times, but I nurse on demand. I just cut down to pumping 2x/day and I pump at 11:00am and 3:00pm. If DS isn't ready to nurse when I get home from work at 6:00, then I pump then, too.

I also can't make up what DS drinks in 1 day, so I pump in the morning before I nurse DS, and also on the week-ends. I have about 70 ounces in the freezer and haven't had to touch it -- YET. A few months back I had 200 ounces in my stash and had to throw almost all of it out, so I'm much more open to using the stash than I used to be. :-)

HTH!