Pumping for one bottle a day

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Hi all, my LO is nearly 4 weeks.

At the moment in the advice of a lactation consultant I am pumping 2x in the morning after feeding (just on one breast; the one she has just fed on) and 1x when I miss a feed; again only on the breast she "would have" fed on.

I get about 0.5-1.5oz at the morning pumps and 2-3oz at the "missed" pump.

This doesn't seem like a lot - it's not enough for her one bottle a day - and am having to use the Hakaa occasionally too.

Should I change this? Eg should I be double pumping instead of single pumping?

LO seems chilled with the bottle which is good, I just want to pump correctly!

I’m a bit confused. In the morning you pump twice off the breast she has already fed from? Why not pump from the ‘spare’ breast surely?

How much are you giving in a bottle? More than 4oz is quite a lot for a 4 week old

Well done, you’re at a difficult stage and I hope it goes well for you x

Thanks for your reply!

Honestly it confuses me a bit too, but I can't ask the LC as it was a one off consultation. I think the principle is that I'm just helping to "drain" that breast, though to be honest it would make more sense to me to pump the opposite one!

Maybe I should try that instead and see if I get more. I am nervous about "stealing" milk from the baby if she is going to feed on that breast an hour or so later. Is that a legit concern?

Maybe I can help if you tell me roughly when she feeds and from what side.

Think of breasts as “rivers not lakes” in that you can’t completely drain them of milk, however if you pump before feeding, baby may have to work a bit harder to get the same amount of milk and this can make them fussy.

May I ask why you are pumping? To increase supply or just for a bottle? As at 4 weeks your supply is still establishing, and pumping can interfere with this

Also I would say you should clarify with the lactation consultant - if they are worth their salt they shouldn’t mind an email with brief follow up questions such as that. Have you tried your HV - they can refer you to an infant feeding team on the nhs x

Thanks @Scrunchies! I am pumping for one bottle a day, but also to slowly build a stash for emergencies / if I want to cut down on BF etc.

She's only 4 weeks so not a lot of schedule but roughly every 2 hours in the day start to start, and every 3-4 hours in the night start to start.

I have tried to get in touch with the LC, no luck. To be fair she did answer a few questions before this so she hasn't completely left me on my own! I suppose they must draw the line somewhere.

Why do you need to pump?

Honestly pumping is an utter PITA, doubles your work, and is just uneccessary faff.

You’re only 4 weeks in too. Likely in the early oversupply phase. About 8 weeks your supply settles to babies needs and pumping becomes even harder - iME I had to pump same time every day without fail to get 2 extra oz. if I missed a day it went back to 0.

For “emergencies”. You only really need one or two feeds frozen. When you give the bottle you pump the missed feed and replenish your stash.

If you are thinking of winding down the bf formula is an easier option as it’s incredibly hard to pump enough to exclusively feed ebm.

Especially at the minute when noone can go anywhere and leave the baby anyway! Go easy on yourself and ditch the pumping.

Did you have problems establishing breastfeeding? Why did you need a consultant and why do you need to pump?

I fed my dd for 26 months and never pumped once, I'm not sure it's needed. Plus it's extra hard to pump from the breast she's already fed from.