Power Pumping: Yes or No?

Power Pumping: Yes or No?

Jenn M. Foster, MA, IBCLC, RLC

The leading cause of mothers discontinuing breastfeeding is their fear that they don’t have enough milk for baby. There may or may not be a cause for concern of low milk supply. It’s really important to look at critically if you truly have a low milk supply.

Look at the diapers

What goes in, must come out. Little ones need to have the proper output of diapers depending on their age. Let’s look at this: at one day old, baby should have one wet diaper. Starting at four days old, there should be 6+ wet diapers per day. Poop diapers are important too! By day five, the stools should be yellow in color. The size of poop in the diaper should be about a quarter or larger. 

Dirty diapers should be three to four (or more) by day five. Think of it this way, it’s not rocket science. Look at how many days old baby is and think of needing that many poop diapers or more by day five. 

Baby’s growth

Think of it this way, the baby has 50% of your genetics and 50% of Daddy’s genetics. So, you can’t expect the baby to be super long or tall if you as well as Daddy if you are shorter in stature. However, it’s important to see that baby is having consistent growth (along the growth chart) as well as weight gain. 

By day five, you want baby to gain five to seven ounces per week. This equates to 0.5 to one ounce per day. 

Baby’s weight

Evaluating the baby’s weight can really be a tall-tale of whether baby is gaining enough weight. It’s completely normal for babies to lose 5-7% of their birth weight. Why? Well, it’s often “normal birth practice” for moms to get IV fluids before and after birth. This can really inflate the birth weight. Oftentimes, it may be a better measure to look at the baby’s weight 24 hours after birth.

If baby has lost more than 5-7% of their birth weight, it’s best to get a second look. If you are concerned, talk with your Pediatrician. You can even get a pre-post weight of baby (before and after nursing) to make sure baby is transferring enough milk at breast. International Board Certified Lactation Consultants can take a critical look at how you are feeding baby at breast and whether your milk supply is adequate for baby.

After the initial weight loss, you want to see that baby is back to birth weight by ten to fourteen days of life. 

What about after week one?

After the initial weight gain, you can really tell if you need to increase your milk supply by how much baby is gaining. Every mother might think they aren’t making enough; but, this isn’t really reality. 

It is truly a low percentage of moms who don’t make enough (24-27 ounces per 24 hours) to sustain baby’s needed growth. 

Nitty-gritty of milk supply

Ok, so what’s the bottom line? Do I really need to power pump? It’s an hour out of your day with baby. Let’s really think about this…do you have time to carve out an hour per day? Between feeding baby, changing diapers and running around…who really has an hour to sit and pump?

Power pumping schedule

If you really have a lower milk supply and you need to power pump, it’s best to do so once per day for three days. You can add a pumping session after nursing in the morning or evening. 

Here’s the low-down for single breast power pumping:

• Pump left breast for 10 minutes
• Pump right breast for 10 minutes
• Pump left breast for 10 minutes
• Pump right breast for 10 minutes
• Pump left breast for 10 minutes
• Pump right breast for 10 minutes

Power Pumping For Double Breast Pumping:

• Pump 20 minutes
• Rest 10 minutes
• Pump 10 minutes
• Rest 10 minutes
• Pump 10 minutes 

*This process will equate to one hour of pumping.

You want to ensure you are using a hospital strength pump. Spectra breast pumps are all hospital strength. S1 Plus and S2 Plus (blue or pink models) are both hospital strength. So, you’re good to go!

Do you have more questions about power pumping? 

Spectra Baby USA is happy to help! Schedule a virtual consultation with one of our IBCLCs today and get the support you need to successfully meet your breastfeeding goals. You’ve done a remarkable job breastfeeding your little one! We’re here for you and we support you!