Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Medical Interventions to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply Your pumping schedule

On this web site (and others) it says to pump 8-12 times a day. How on earth do you do that unless you do it every 2 hours? Here is a typical day for me.

pump:

3 am
7 am
10 am
1 pm
4pm
7 pm
10 pm
total 7 times

sometimes I will pump every 2 hours in the afternoon so I can get to 8 times a day. I guess I could start to get up earlier in the morning to pump? Suggestions? I want to increase my supply. I get any where from 1/2 ounce to 1 ounce (sometimes more but rarely) our son is due in 2 weeks. I take fenugreek, blessed thistle, alfalfa, and one other herb I can't think of. I also take 120 mg of domperidone a day. I have mothers milk tea I bought but I have yet to drink it as I should (3 times a day) and I haven't been good about oat meal lately either.

I think if you can try to get up to 8 times a day, that would be good. A typical newborn will nurse every 2 hours during the day, so that is the schedule you are trying to follow. Mine would nurse every 2-2.5 hours during the day and would go longer stretches at night. The more often you pump, it tells your body you need more milk.

Good luck!
Jennifer

I'd have to pump every 2 hours to do get 8 times a day. Do people normally get up before 7 am in order to get 8 times a day pumping every 3 hours? the protocol says you can go every 3 hours but to try to get 8-12 times a day. i can't for the life of me figure out how that's possible. I'm pumping every 2 hours today. But would prefer not to if I had a choice. once I'm not working it will be easier.

If it is possible pump every 2.5 hours. That will get you to 8 times with the one pump in the middle of the night. If it's not possible then stick with what you are doing.
Jennifer

Hey, how's it going? I hear you about the pumping schedule being difficult. Before baby arrived and I was trying to build my supply I did pump 8+ times a day, typically:
2am
7am
9:30am
12:30pm
3:30pm
6pm
8:30pm
10:30pm

Sometimes I managed to pump even more! It really limited my social life, but was totally worth it. Please post an update!