How to Pump for your Newborn

Maybe your  babe is in the NICU, maybe there is a specific issue preventing baby from nursing at the breast, or maybe you have simply chosen to pump exclusively from the start. Whatever your reason for exclusively pumping for your newborn, you may be struggling to establish and maintain a full milk supply. If you ask friends, family, or other new moms you will be overwhelmed with suggestions of “fenugreek! oatmeal! hospital grade pump!”. These are not bad suggestions, I cover many of them in my Relactation Guide. However, they should not be the first line of defense.

The best advice a lactation consultant once gave me was that jumping straight into supplements and nursing/pumping hacks suggests that breastfeeding requires “something extra” by default–when more often than not, it doesn’t.

Struggling to establish supply while pumping is an extremely common issue for new moms–and the answer is often as simple as adjusting your pumping schedule.

Pump as often as baby would nurse-which is more than you think!

Newborns typically nurse roughly every 2 hours ’round the clock. According to Kellymom, my favorite breastfeeding website, babies should nurse 10-12 times a day for the first few weeks of life; it’s how your milk supply is established. Pumping is no different.

It’s important to note that many NICU feeding schedules do not mimic the natural schedule baby would have if they were nursing from the breast–while the NICU may feed your baby on a 3 hour schedule, you must pump more frequently than that or you will struggle to pump enough milk for your baby to be exclusively breastfed.

A good place to start is to pump every 2 hours–if you think it sounds hard, you are right. But you can do it mama! And just as babies who nurse from the breast don’t feed every 2 hours round the clock forever, you won’t have to pump that often forever. In the beginning you need to pump a minimum of every 2 hours, but you can usually get away with one 3 hour stretch at night for your sanity’s sake. After the first 4 weeks, you may be able to extend this stretch to 4 hours depending on your baby’s sleeping schedule.

If you are half nursing/half pumping, you still want to keep up this 2 hour schedule, offering baby the breast any time they show signs of hunger or every 2 hours, and pumping immediately after if baby rejects the breast or was unable to get a full feed.

Quick tips for pumping for your newborn

• Pump every 2 hours around the clock, with one 3 hour stretch a day if needed for mommy’s sanity
• Never go more than 3 hours between pumps until your supply is well established, probably not until the 4th week
• You can pump in your sleep (and it may happen by accident!). On nights I was super tired, when I woke up to pump I set a 20 minute timer on my phone, sat up in bed and set up my pump (using a pumping bra to hold the horns). I turned that sucker on and dozed off while the pump went at it. It is very important to set your timer for the length of your pumping session so you don’t hurt your nipples.
• Pump from both breasts each pumping session. You can experiment with the length of time you are pumping, it is different for everyone. Starting off with 20-25 minute pump sessions is a good idea as less than that isn’t enough for some moms, but if you find your supply is good you can probably reduce to 15 minute sessions or even 10 minutes. In some cases, you may need to do 30 minute sessions, or more.
• Pump until you are empty! As above, some women may take 30 minutes or even more to be empty. Pumping until you are empty tells your body you need all of that milk, and encourages it to produce even more.
• If you find yourself having supply issues, you need to pump more frequently than you currently are before you worry about other issues or adding in supplements. It can take 2-3 days before you see a change from increasing the frequency or length of your pumping sessions.
• It’s important in the first month of pumping to simulate cluster feeding by “Power Pumping”, especially if you have supply issues. Once or twice a day turn one of your sessions into a “cluster feed”. Pump for 10 minutes, rest for 10, and repeat 3 or 4 times.

This advice is specifically about pumping schedules because they usually has a greater effect on output than anything else, but there are a lot of other great tips of how to increase supply when pumping including making sure your flanges are the right size, replacing pump parts, proper cleaning, and changes you can make in your diet.

And don’t forget--never pump without hydration!!! Stay hydrated as much as you did while pregnant…maybe even more.

Bonus tip- if you have the option to nurse at all, even if you intend to pump exclusively, nursing for the first 4-6 weeks or mixing nursing with pumping will likely establish your supply better than exclusively pumping, even following these tips.

Pumping mamas, please share more tips in the comments!

This post was adapted from a community thread I started on my favorite pregnancy message board, Babycenter

If you’re wondering why Blissfully Mommy has been on hiatus, I have been in pregnancy hibernation mode! Yes, our newest member is scheduled to arrive soon and we are thrilled. I look forward to getting back into blogging on the regular sharing my journey as we welcome a newborn into our family for the first time in 7 years!