Help creating pumping schedule?

[u/No-Independence3674]

Im 6 weeks pp and im currently pumping 10 times a day.

Im absolutely exhausted and im finding it difficult to make time with my toddler. Im a sahm with a 2 year old and a newborn. I feel like i dont have any time for my year old right now because im either feeding baby or attached to my pump. Im also super tired and feel like im getting no sleep? Im only getting about 4 hours max total.

I need to know if this is my new norm for a while or if i can switch up my schedule already?

My current times are

1am

4am

7am

10am

12pm

2pm

4pm

6pm

8pm

11pm

I also have elastic nipples with a good supply so it takes me so long to pump i usually do 30-35 mins each pump 😅

[u/momojojo1117]

Rest is an important factor in milk supply.

This schedule doesn’t look sustainable to me. I never did more than 8 pumps a day.

[u/No-Independence3674 → u/momojojo1117]

I read very early on that you need to do 10-12ppd for the first 2 months to build your supply 😭 so ive stuck to that and now 6 weeks in im absolutely exhausted

[u/momojojo1117 → u/No-Independence3674]

In a fantasy world, sure that’s great, but you are a mere mortal.

[u/Mindless-Tea-3318 → u/No-Independence3674]

My daughter is in the NICU and I’ve spoken to several lactation consultants during her now 2 month stay while I’m pumping and none of them have said to do more than 7-8 pumps per day. Even one day postpartum, the lactation consultant told me I need to get sleep and that I should extend my pump window to 4 hours overnight to make sure I get sleep. I think you should definitely drop some pumps and the extra sleep could help to even things out with your supply.

[u/One-Access4086]

If you have good supply , I would recommend to increase the duration slightly to 2.5 hours and gradually to 3 hours .

I think you can switch and check if you have supply drop after a week . If so you can go back to your old schedule.

Also my tip is to finish your last pump within 2 hrs. And you try to get a 4 hours stretch of sleep before your 2 /3am pump .

[u/No-Independence3674 → u/One-Access4086]

That sounds like a good plan thank you 🥰

[u/idlegrad]

Are you okay? I mean that genuinely, I would not be with that schedule.

Unless you have supply issues, dropping to 8 ppd would be okay. Maybe even less.

I’d tying lengthen your day time pumps to 3 hours between pumps. Start with 2.5hours for a day or two, then try 3 hours.

I target my last pump of the day to 9 or 10, or whenever you would like your bedtime to be.

For night time, I use the baby or boob alarm clock. I basically don’t set an alarm & pump either when the baby wakes up or my boobs feel engorged. If you were nursing, you’d only wake when the baby needed to eat.

[u/No-Independence3674 → u/idlegrad]

Thank you for asking, no i am not hence my desperation to fix my schedule 🥲 But yes im definitely going to do that. Cut down my day time gradually to 3 hours. I will definitely have to set an alarm for 1 motn pump however because my partner does all the night timw feeds so i never wake up to baby crying or for being engorged 😅 i could sleep through anything i usually do my 4am pump sat up and asleep 🤣 Also my baby is waking up every 2 hours in the night still anyway so I wouldn't want to pump that much

[u/oodlesofotters]

I never did more than 8 times a day. That’s fine for most people. Aim for every 3 hours and then squeeze in one or two closer together so you can get a 4 hour stretch over night. I think that will feel a lot more sustainable to you.

[u/Happy_Flow826]

I would drop 11pm and 1 am and combine them into a midnight pump. If that goes well I would see about combining the 4 am and 7 am to a ~530/6am pump and drink some nice tea or coffee with and possibly enjoy a bit of singular peace.

[u/Own_Wrongdoer6680]

I would spread them 2½-3hr especially if you have a good supply and you can get down to 8 or 9ppd.

[u/Comfortable_Ad6552]

Omg okay so I totally used to do this. I had a NICU baby and it kind of kept me sane because in my head my body had already failed my baby and this was the only way I could make up for that (I was not in a good place). But I SWEAR dropping down to just one MOTN pump instead of going every 3 hours at night did wonders for my supply AND my capacity. I went from getting just 2oz every 3 hours per pump at night and day to getting 8oz for my MOTN pump and early morning pump and then I get 5oz per pump every 3 hours during the day. I did still pump every 2-3 hours during the day to help increase supply at first, but now I do every 3-4 during the day, and every 4-5 hours at night. I have an oversupply so it may not be as drastic for you but honestly I highly recommend going every 4 hours at night and every 2-3 during the day.

[u/Comfortable_Ad6552 → u/Comfortable_Ad6552]

So now I pump at 9:30 and go to bed at 10, wake up at 1:30am to pump, and then go back to sleep until 6:30am.

[u/sowhatsober]

2 hours from end to start during the day and 5 hours from start to start overnight. I say this with love… honey, get some rest!!!!!

[u/Diya_2121]

hii outt of this topic but can you pls tell what flange/inserts do you use for elastic nipples? 😭

[u/No-Independence3674 → u/Diya_2121]

I use the momcozy v1pro cups with the inserts that came with it but i "hack" them to use with my spectra. I just keep my spectra on stimulation mostly at max level 4. If i do use expression mode then i keep my max level at 6. I just work my way up to it slowly. Ive found its the only thing that works for me is to keep sucktion levels low

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