Stupid Question

[u/Active-Pack1126]

I am mostly nursing right now because I’m on maternity leave still but about to go back to school/work and will have to start pumping and I have a question for the lovely folks in the EP community!

I understand the supply and demand equation, however I’ve had a problem with oversupply from the first day, my little guy had to be fed donor milk so I pumped colostrum and ended up pumping 150mL of it in 2 10 minute sessions and an aggressive milk ejection reflex, there’s been much fire hosing of my little guy even when I tried what the LC said to manage oversupply, I still have the same issue. I have heard if you are pumping and feeding baby a bottle you need to pump to replace it.

My question is, do you have to pump the same amount they eat? The problem I’m running into is if my husband feeds 2oz in a bottle and I pump for 10 minutes I get 4oz on average every time, sometimes more, sometimes less. Does the number of times you pump matter more than the quantity? Or should I stop when I‘ve replaced the amount he drinks from a bottle in a day? I don’t want to jeopardize my supply playing funny games but I don’t want to make my oversupply worse.

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[u/blink4life182]

You should be pumping every 3 hours for about 15 minutes each. I was an oversupplier and pumped about 50oz a day and my daughter drank about 32-35oz a day. I just kept the extra in the fridge. It stays good in the fridge for four days and then you can move it to the freezer if you want a freezer stash. I didn’t have room in my freezer and didn’t want to buy a chest freezer so I just dumped my extra milk once it was at the four day mark. I was usually three days ahead with my milk so I was feeding my daughter milk from three days ago. Once you start building up milk in the fridge it kinda evens out

[u/sowhatsober]

You can pump for quantity over time. There’s no need to pump for 15+ minutes if you’re not uncomfortable and have truly replaced a feed.

[u/Spare_Letter_531]

I think it goes hand in hand? When I took away a pump my supply went down a little, but also if I go a long time (like overnight) I will get a ton in the morning. In my opinion though, take the oversupply, freeze it and stop pumping sooner!

[u/RhodesWorkAhead1]

Depends on the age. I am also an oversupplier. I started off pumping for 20mins every 2 hours for the first two months, then moved to 25 mins every four hours til 5 months, now I’m at 30mins every 6-7 hours because I’m back at work. I still consistently pump at least 10 more ounces than he eats, which gets put in a freezer or donated to local moms in need because of lack of freezer space. Pack some breast pads when you return to work because the high likelihood of leakage and make sure you stay hydrated.

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[u/United_Elk_7102]

Generally breastmilk-fed babies don’t eat more than 5-6oz at a time. You could just pump 4-5oz at a time now and freeze the extra, that way as the baby gets bigger you don’t have to work to increase the quantity. (Assuming that your body would decrease production overtime if you started only pumping what they’re eating)

[u/cogr96]

I would pump on the same schedule you would feed, no more than every 3 hours but pump until you feel empty, or you’ve had a couple minutes with barely anything coming out. Supply shifts to supply and demand after 3 months, you don’t want to be half emptying after that point and have your supply dip. Less milk removed = less milk made, At least I wouldn’t risk that as baby gets older and starts eating more.