Finding a pumping routine

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First and foremost, you don’t have to pump if you are exclusively breastfeeding your baby on demand. Pumping can be a great tool to build a stash and to boost supply. Here are some helpful tips:

Basic rule – milk supply works on a demand-and-supply system, the more milk is needed the more milk is made.

If you are adding a pump to your routine you are not “emptying” baby’s usual meal but you are telling your body to make more milk.

Your breasts are never empty, whilst you are pumping or breastfeeding you are already making milk, because the more milk is being removed, the more milk is needed.

If you add one pump session a day to your usual feeding routine you will make more milk, the more pumps you add the more milk is made.

It does take a bit of tricking your body to get used to a pump. Many mothers confuse the lack of output during a pumping session as the lack of milk they are producing and they get scared seeing only a small pump amount. If you are just starting to pump whilst breastfeeding you might see small amounts of milk flowing at first. This is completely normal. The pumping output does not represent the overall amount of milk you produce.

If you are starting to pump once a day to build up a stash, I would recommend pumping in the morning before baby’s first feed. Many mamas say their milk production is at the highest in the morning. But finding a time that works for your routine is the key.

After you have pumped you can breastfeed straight away, this might also be better because you will see more milk flowing during your pump session and baby will also get all the milk needed.

It can be daunting introducing pumping to your routine, take your time, massage before and during a pumping session and do NOT panic about the amount you are pumping, a pumping supply needs to build up steady.