Pumping question

What is the MINIMUM amount of time I should pump for in one session?

I have a hospital-grade breast pump and I have been pumping for 15 mins per breast and, on the highest setting, am able to express about 95% of the milk in less than 5 mins.  I have been pumping for the full 15 mins because that seems to be the magic, recommended, number I see over and over again.

-Is the hindmilk/foremilk ratio going to be a problem if I dont pump for the full 15 mins (i.e. is that last 5% milk I get out in the last 10 mins important for this balance)?
-Is there another reason that pumping for a certain amount of time seems to be recommended (even if most of the milk is already expressed)?

I return to work in 2 weeks and it would be great to cut down the time of pumping sessions if that wont cause a problem.

[mami1323]

I was told the 15 minutes minimum.  tiredbuthappy should be able to give you a better answer.  I think if you reduce the amount of time you pump your milk production will decrease.

[ma2isiah]

mami is right.. if you decrease the pumping time your milk supply can decrease. At work if you only have 10 min then that is better than none... but try for 15 min every 3 hours. You can get hands free set ups so you can eat while you are pumping and if time is limited buy more bottles and flanges so you can just wash them at home. Good luck going back to work. It is hard to pump during work, but so worth it. I pumped for 1. 5 years for ds and have been pumping for one year for dd while working. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[ZevasMom]

15 is the minimum for all the aforementioned reasons - having a double pump (able to pump both breasts) is best :o)

[spade22]

Well I was hoping that wouldnt be the case......

I still havent figured out the logistics of how Im going to pump at work yet.  The floor I work on (our company leases a floor of a building) does not have any private rooms or offices.  Its all pretty much open spaces with cubicles and a bathroom.  There is a communal floor in our building w/ a conference room but that is frequently booked.  Im hoping I dont end up having to pump in the bathroom for 15 mins every 3 h......

[GRose]

When I was pumping at work they set up a curtain in the bathroom and gave me a chair and table. It was kinda funny to hear everyone come in and say "What is that noise?" It wasn't the most private setting but at least I didnt have people walking in and seeing my tatas.
Maybe your employer can do something similar.

[ma2isiah]

This may not be ideal, but have you thought about going to your car. They make adapters for the pumps and at least it would be private. Are there any closets or storage areas you could turn into a  pump room? Has anyone you work with had to pump before?

[tiredbuthappy]

well, they say 15 minutes, but if you really get that much milk that quickly, you can try to go just 5 minutes past the big let-down. try it and see if it works. worst comes to worst, you can always start pumping for a longer time again and build your supply back up. if you're doing that great, you would most likely be able to rebound if your supply happens to drop.

when i went back to work, i was down to pumping 3 times a day. that meant i had to pump for a very long time to empty completely. i just didn't have that kind of time to pump at work, so i made that pump shorter. it was fine and my body adjusted. i just made sure to completely empty at the other pumps. total number of ounces per day did drop a bit, but i was still making enough for dd, and that was all that mattered.

how old is your baby? are you bf'ing too, or just pumping. if you're just pumping and your supply is established (generally considered to be after 12 weeks, but i started at 8 weeks) you can start to drop pumps, or spread them out more. my supply actually increased as i dropped pumps. i produced the most when i pumped 4 or 5 times a day. of course i had to pump longer to empty and maintain my supply, but it was a bit easier to not have to stop so many times during the day. i guess the whole point of my story is that your body may adjust to whatever you have to do.

[tiredbuthappy]

oh yea- i had a question. you say you pump 15 minutes per breast. are you using a single pump?

[spade22]

GRose:  the bathroom at work is actually quite private.  Its a lockable communal bathroom with one toilet and a sink. Unfortunately, I work with one female and 6 males so you can guess the state of the bathroom......

ma2isiah:  we have several storage closets which would be perfect but these are typically locked - as I recall my boss said we werent allowed access to these rooms (janitor stuff in them etc.) but I will look into this as perhaps an exception can be made.  Pumping in my car would be problematic as the carpark is being redone right now which means parking a ways from work. There is a lady who works in my building that delivered a few months ahead of me and she pumps at work.  I dont know where she pumps but I will definitely check into that.  Infact, this last option sounds like my best bet.

tiredbuthappy:  Jazmine will be 6 weeks in about 1 h! So 8 weeks when I return to work. I  breastfeed her but also pump 2-3 times a day (when she sleeps for a long stretch or only nurses from one breast).
The pump I have is a hospital grade double pump and I pump using the highest setting (7, the "standard" setting is a 4).

Yes, the "majority" of my milk does let down pretty quickly which is why I was hoping I could pump for a shorter period of time.  I had assumed that with a fast let down the length of time for pumping wouldnt be terribly important provided I continue to pump the same volume at a sitting.....  In otherwords, if I obtain 3 oz in 5 mins, and 3.1 oz in 15 mins, my body should continue to produce about 3 oz for that feeding regardless of pump time.  

As you say though, the body can adjust so I will try pumping for a shorter period of time and see what happens.  If I do this I wont be emptying completely but will get the majority of milk out.  Do you think that not pumping to near dryness will cause a problem?  Im worried about the foremilk/hindmilk ratio being effected although I cant imagine that the small amount of milk remaining will effect this too much.
,

[tiredbuthappy]

that tiny amount won't cause a foremilk/hindmilk inbalance. when babies nurse, they often don't empty the breast completely, so it's kinda like that. you never fully empty the breast anyways. i would get many many let-downs if i continued pumping.

some people actually get more if they LOWER the pump setting. my LC said that high can actually damage your nipple, and on another forum i have read many women say that they get more on a lower setting. i never went above 1/4-1/3 of the way up. if it's comfortable and doesn't hurt, then keep doing it as you are- just wanted to let you know.

the only thing to watch for as you lower pump time, in addition to ounces, is for lumps/clogs. some people are prone to them if they don't empty completely.

[spade22]

Thats interesting about lowering the pump setting - I will try that and see what happens to my milk supply.  Over the last week or so I have  noticed my nipples have developed cracks and are pretty sensitive at times and I thought it was because Jazmine has been nursing a little more vigorously at times but looking back on it, thats also about the time I increased the setting on the pump so that may have caused the problem.

[tiredbuthappy]

to help them heal, lower the pump setting. you can also rub a little bit of olive oil around the base of the nipple to help it glide smoothly and reduce friction. when my nipples were cracked and sensitive, my LC had me do a saline soak twice a day to help soothe them and to prevent infection. she had me dissolve some salt in warm water. i put it in a shallow cup and dipped my nipples into it for a bit (maybe 30 seconds or so?). i think you can also apply it with a cotton ball. the goal is to prevent infection while they are cracked.  

even with the lower pump setting, you may be able to empty in the same amount of time. and like i said, many people get more that way. there are lots of tricks. right before pumping, you can massage your breasts. while pumping, do some compressions. this is obviously easier if you are pumping hands-free. otherwise you have to massage one at a time. that always helped me.

[Michele, Katy, TX]

I haven't had time to read all of the responses but my ped told me that the baby gets most of the nutrients from the first 5 minutes of eating.  After that, they mostly nurse for comfort reasons.  But I would pump longer than 5 minutes because it will help keep your supply up.  I have breastfed all 5 of my kids but I learn something new each time!