When I had my daughter, my goal was to breastfeed for a year, six months at the least. However, knowing I was going back to work when she was three-months-old, I was naturally pretty paranoid about having enough “supply” and being able to keep up with her demand. I lost precious sleep at night wondering how often I needed to pump, how much I should get each time and how long I should pump. Now that I’ve been back to work for over a month, I have realized that all that worrying was for nothing!

Here is how I do it.

*Keep in mind she’s 4-months-old at the time I am writing this. Her needs will only increase as she grows. I do plan to start solid foods in the next month or so as well, if my supply stays up.

Pumping Schedule (4 month old baby)

2:00 a.m. Breastfeed

5:00 a.m. PUMP (Before I work out): Usually get 3-7 oz. total during a 25 minute session.

9:30 a.m. PUMP at work: Usually get 5-10 oz. total during a 45-60 minute session.

2:30 p.m. PUMP at work: Usually get 4-6 oz. total during a 45-60 minute session.

5:00 p.m. Breastfeed

7:00 p.m. Breastfeed

9:00 p.m. PUMP Before bed: Usually only get 3-5 oz. total during a 30-40 minute session.

Baby’s Eating Schedule (4 month old baby)

(Mostly on-demand, but this is about how it pans out each day.)

2:00 a.m. Starving. Sooooo hungry, but won’t open her eyes. I guess they call this a “dream feed.”

6:30 a.m. Dad gives her a 4 oz. bottle. (I expect this amount to increase and get supplemented with solid foods in coming months.)

8:30 a.m. Daycare gives a 4 oz. bottle.

12:30 p.m. Daycare gives a 4 oz. bottle.

3:30 p.m. Daycare gives a 4 oz. bottle.

5:00 p.m. I breastfeed her “afternoon snack,” as we like to call it.

7:00 p.m. Bedtime feeding. Nurse her to sleep. I know, shame on me. Oh well! Sometimes Most times, I fall asleep, too.

If you do the math you’ll notice that I am pumping MORE than enough for my baby, which means at the end of the week I have a couple of bags of breast milk to stash away in the freezer! (Perfect for those nights I want to go out with my girlfriends and daddy handles bedtime.)

Sometimes I skip my pre-bedtime pump, especially if she eats a lot during her bedtime routine. This usually results in a LOT of milk during my first pumping session the following day. Also, a lot of my mom friends think I’m crazy for pumping for 45-60 minutes at a time during my workday. I don’t mind. I lock my door and get caught up on emails, voicemails and can throw myself into writing or graphic design projects that need to be done. Usually the time flies. I can completely understand though if you think that hour is pure torture! That’s how I feel about my nighttime pumping session. BO-RING!

Side Note: I read somewhere once that a baby can empty 90% of the milk in one breast in seven minutes. SEVEN MINUTES! That’s a hell of a lot quicker than my $300 breast pump. Slacker.

***UPDATE: Baby is now 6 months old and we have made some changes to our routine. Here it is…***

Pumping Schedule (6 month old baby)

2:00 a.m. Breastfeed (she seems to be weaning herself off of this feeding these days.)

5:00 a.m. Breastfeed – only takes about 10 minutes where it used to be more like 30 minutes!

10:30 a.m. PUMP at work: Usually get 5-10 oz. total during a 35 minute session.

3:00 p.m. PUMP at work: Usually get 4-7 oz. total during a 35 minute session.

5:00 p.m. Breastfeed

7:00 p.m. Breastfeed

Baby’s Eating Schedule (6 month old baby)

2:00 a.m. Sometimes she wakes, sometimes she doesn’t. If not, I’m pretty “full” by her next feeding.

5:00 a.m. Breastfeed for about 15 minutes. Usually I take her in our bed and feed her side-lying so I can sleep a bit longer.

7:15 a.m. Breastfeed for about 10 minutes before we head to daycare.

9:30 a.m. Daycare gives a 4 oz. bottle.

12:00 p.m. Daycare feeds solid food. A veggie and oatmeal. She never really dug rice cereal.

2:30 p.m. Daycare gives a 4 oz. bottle.

4:00 p.m. Daycare gives a 4 oz. bottle.

5:00 p.m. I breastfeed her “afternoon snack,” as we like to call it.

6:30 p.m. Dad feeds her solid food. This time she gets a veggie, a fruit and oatmeal. Trying to fill that tummy so she sleeps a little longer. Seems to be working!

7:00 p.m. Bedtime feeding. She doesn’t always fall asleep anymore. Sometimes she’s full before she’s tired. We just rock until she’s ready to lay down in her crib.

***UPDATE: Baby is now 11 months old and we have made some changes to our routine. Here it is…***

Pumping Schedule (11 month old baby)

10:30 a.m. PUMP at work: Usually get 4-6 oz. total during a 45 minute session. She no longer nurses before we leave for daycare.

3:00 p.m. PUMP at work: Usually get 2-4 oz. total during a 45 minute session.

5:00 p.m. Breastfeed (sometimes)

Baby’s Eating Schedule (11 month old baby)

6:30 a.m. Wakes up (after sleeping through the night) and eats breakfast. (Usually a sampling of the following: cereal bar, deli ham, scrambled egg, toast, fruit, yogurt, cheese.)

9:30 Daycare gives morning snack followed by a 4 oz. bottle of formula or breast milk (if available.)

12:00 p.m. Daycare feeds lunch with water in a sippy cup. Examples of foods include spaghetti, chicken strips, sweet potato mash, green beans, fruit cup. Nap time follows.

2:30 p.m. Daycare gives afternoon snack followed by a 4 oz. bottle of formula or breast milk (if available.)

6:00 p.m. Supper with mom and dad. She eats what we eat…for the most part. Obviously things like steak are too difficult to chew and fajitas can be too spicy.

**I will say that my production has slowed significantly, even though I’ve begun using fenugreek and extended the length of pumping sessions. She does not seem to be as interested in nursing either, so the weaning process has begun. A little shy of our 12 month goal, but everyone seems to be OK with that! (BTW, I decided to go cold turkey on formula. Never mixed it with breast milk. She didn’t even care. We use Enfamil’s Enfagrow Toddler, in case you’re curious.)

What about you? How much, often and long do you pump for? Have you ever increased pumping to boost milk production? If you’re a formula-feeder, what brands do you prefer?