The Ultimate Guide to Exclusively Pumping: Tips, Schedules, and More

When it comes to feeding your baby, I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “fed is best” a million times. This statement will always ring true. How and what you feed your baby is a very personal decision and can be a result of a mother’s preference or different circumstances that may arise after birth. Some moms feed their baby formula, while others choose breast milk by means of breastfeeding (bringing baby to the breast) or pumping. In this article, we’ll explore the method of exclusively pumping to provide breast milk for an infant, including how to do it, tips to follow, and when to stop. We’ll also share what supplies you’ll need and how to determine your pumping schedule based on your baby’s age. Let’s dive in!

“Exclusively pumping” is a term used to describe when a mother provides breast milk to her baby by expressing breast milk with a breast pump and feeding the infant by bottle.¹ By exclusively pumping, the mother can still provide her baby with the benefits of breast milk — without actually breastfeeding. The number of parents who exclusively pump for their infant has been on the rise in more recent years. It’s reported that for American families, between 5.6% and 14.3% started to exclusively pump within the first six months after birth. However, exclusively pumping comes with its own pros, cons, and challenges.¹ Before doing it, learning how to pump successfully and what to expect can help you feel more prepared for your pumping journey.

While exclusively pumping helps provide the amazing benefits to your baby that breast milk offers, it doesn’t give all the same benefits as breastfeeding, where the baby is brought to the breast to feed. One benefit that pumping doesn’t offer is the special bond created with exclusively breastfeeding. When exclusively breastfeeding, you’re bringing your baby skin to skin for every feeding. This helps a baby have a deep source of comfort from feeling mom’s warmth and hearing her heartbeat.²¹ Another benefit of exclusively breastfeeding is that by avoiding a bottle, the baby has a decreased risk of dental caries (or tooth cavities).^2,20

For many, exclusively pumping is the result of unsuccessful attempts at breastfeeding or medical concerns.¹ This can feel upsetting for parents who had planned to breastfeed their infant. But by expressing breast milk, they’ll still help their baby receive the benefits of breast milk, which is the ideal form of nutrition.^2,14,15 Some of the benefits of receiving breast milk include:²

• Decreasing the risk of some childhood diseases
• Receiving antibodies from milk to protect babies from illness and support their immune system
• Protecting an infant’s gut
• Being beneficial to the neurological development of an infant

Exclusively pumping can bring certain challenges. How a woman’s body produces milk for her baby could be a whole lesson on its own! But to sum up one of the most important concepts for new moms: lactation is a “supply and demand” process. After birth, your body starts producing breast milk. For breastfeeding mothers, as baby begins feeding and pulling milk from mom’s breast, it signals to her body how much milk it needs to produce. If milk isn’t being expressed, her breast milk supply will decrease and stop.⁸ This is why creating a pumping schedule to mimic a baby’s natural feeding schedule is important. Expressing breast milk by pumping will help your body continue to produce breast milk.¹⁶

When a mother is solely expressing milk to provide for her baby, pumping at a frequency that mimics the number of times a baby would breastfeed is crucial to maintaining her supply. It will be more challenging to maintain a sufficient supply for the baby by pumping as compared to breastfeeding, where the baby lets the mother know using feeding cues when they’re ready to breastfeed. Feeling the pressure to supply enough milk for her growing infant, constantly worrying about the amount of breast milk available, and trying to find the time and place to pump enough during the day can increase a mom’s stress load.¹

Also, research has shown that families who choose to exclusively pump have an increased risk of stopping breast milk-feeding their baby as compared to exclusively breastfeeding families and those who choose to combination feed (both breastfeeding and pumping to express breast milk).^1,3,4 Moms who exclusively express milk for their infants have been found to use formula sooner than breastfeeding mothers.^1,3

As stated above, exclusively pumping is a relatively new term. There isn’t a ton of support and information available on exclusively pumping.¹ This can make learning how to most effectively express milk solely for your baby challenging and stressful.

Exclusively pumping takes some prep work! During your pregnancy, if you decide that this option will be necessary or possible, it’s important to take the time to prepare before baby arrives. The steps below can get you ready for a positive exclusively pumping journey:

To be successful with exclusively pumping breast milk, you’ll need the correct supplies. The most important item is a double electric breast pump.¹ This will become one of the most used items in your home! It’s necessary to have a pump that’s efficient in milk removal, which the double electric pump will help with. Many breast pumps are on the market right now, so a good place to start is to check in with your insurance company to find out what breast pump(s) they may cover. You can also speak with someone knowledgeable about breast pumps, such as a lactation consultant, to help decide which pump may be right for you.⁵

Along with the breast pump, you’ll need correct-fitting flanges/breast shields. Flanges are the pieces that press to the breasts to provide the suction needed to express breast milk. Finding the correct size is imperative to avoid nipple damage, pain, and decreased output of breast milk.⁶ To determine if you’re using the correct flange size, place your nipple in the center of the tube. When suction is turned on, the nipple should not rub the sides of the tube.⁶ Most breast pumps now come with multiple size options to help you find your correct size. It’s always best practice to speak with a lactation consultant if you’re unsure whether the flange size you’re using is correct.

As an “exclusive pumper,” you’ll also require a good amount of freezer space and containers to sort and store breast milk in. Many brands have different versions of breast milk freezer bags and containers with lids to store expressed breast milk.⁷ In particular, we love Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags, Medela breast milk storage bottles, and Zip Top reusable storage bags!

Here’s an in-depth checklist of all the supplies you’ll need for exclusively pumping:

When it comes to lactation and pumping, it’s a good idea to research and learn as much as possible before the baby arrives. This will help you in the preparation process. Some topics that are important to understand for exclusive pumping include:

The last thing any pumping mom wants to do is pour out her breast milk! Knowing storage guidelines for breast milk can help you avoid wasting any of it. The following guidelines are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):⁹

See our guide for How To Collect, Store, and Prepare Breast Milk

Steps and Tips for Exclusively Pumping

Understanding how to properly pump can ensure you’re spending your pumping time most effectively. Follow the steps and tips below:

1. Wash your hands: The pump parts will be collecting milk, so it’s best practice to be as clean as possible to prevent the spread of any germs.^7,18
2. Find a quiet, comfortable location to pump: This may not always be possible, especially if you’re pumping while caring for baby. But being able to relax while pumping can help in breast milk expression.⁸
3. Put the pump together: Assemble the pump pieces and ensure your pump is working properly.
4. Check your breast pump flanges: Make sure the flanges are properly sized and placed.
5. Start pumping: Determine the cycle speed and suction that’s effective yet comfortable for you. The pump should be at a strong level but never hurt.⁵ When initiating a pumping session, many mothers start with an increased cycle speed. Then, following their “letdown” (when breast milk starts to flow), they switch to a slower cycle speed.⁵
6. Fully drain your breasts: Pump until your breasts feel like they’ve been emptied. When this starts to happen, the milk output will begin to decrease and slow. This usually takes around 15 minutes.⁵

Once your baby is here, it’s time to find your “groove.” This means creating a pumping and feeding schedule that works for you and allows you to create and maintain a breast milk supply to meet your baby’s growing needs. If possible, partners should collaborate and work together to find a system that both of them can take part in. For instance, while mom is pumping, her partner could partake in making bottles, feeding baby, and washing pump parts and bottles. Teamwork is key!

Shopping for a breast pump can be overwhelming, as there are so many brands of pumps on the market saying theirs is the best. Again, the most important thing to look into is purchasing a double electric breast pump. This type will help an exclusively pumping mom have the most success with breast milk expression.^19,24 A personal favorite — and the pump I recommend most — is the Spectra S2 Plus. This double electric breast pump offers strong suction and a variety of settings to help with milk letdown. This pump is lightweight and easy to use, has a light for those nighttime pumping sessions, and comes with two different flange sizes to help ensure you have the proper fit.

As an exclusively pumping mom, you may also want a second pump for more on-the-go needs. Our Editor-in-Chief, Nina, also recommends the BabyBuddha breast pump. This small, rechargeable pump is easy to tote around, making traveling with your pump a breeze. The BabyBuddha offers hospital-grade suction and different settings to help make each pumping session easy and effective.

If you need or want to exclusively provide your baby with breast milk by means of pumping, it’s crucial to start pumping early to signal to your body that it needs to produce breast milk. Establishing a breast milk supply in the beginning can have long-term positive effects on mom’s breast milk journey. After your baby is born, you should ideally start pumping within the first six hours after birth. The sooner, the better if you recognize that breastfeeding won’t be possible.^5,10 A pumping schedule should then mimic the frequency at which a baby would come to the breast to feed (about every three hours). This means about eight to 10 times a day (24 hours) of pumping.⁵

Even though exclusively pumping mothers aren’t bringing their baby to their breast to feed, skin-to-skin contact is still a good idea during this time period. Skin-to-skin contact has been shown to stimulate the release of oxytocin. Pumping and stimulating the breast to mimic the baby sucking — as well as skin-to-skin contact — will help with stimulating milk flow.¹¹

Around day three, when your milk begins to come in, continue to aim for eight pumping sessions a day. You should pump for around 15 minutes each session. To help maintain a sufficient breast milk supply for a baby, it’s recommended to pump until your breast milk stops flowing. Then, continue to pump for an additional two minutes.⁵ After a few weeks of pumping about eight times a day, your milk supply should be well-established. Depending on your supply, you can then decrease your pumping sessions as appropriate.⁵ Exclusively pumping mothers should also track how much they’re expressing to ensure they’re producing enough to feed their growing little one. An easy way to track your milk expression volumes is by using a note on your phone or creating a journal to keep with your pumping supplies.

Here’s a guide for planning your pumping schedule based on your baby’s age:^{22,23,24,25,26}

If there’s a concern for a low breast milk supply, increasing your pumping sessions is a good place to start. You can also talk to a lactation consultant for guidance. Some lactation consultants may recommend trying power pumping. Power pumping is when the mom frequently empties her breast via an electric breast pump over short intervals of time. Increasing the pumping sessions mimics a baby cluster feeding (more frequent feedings in a short period of time).¹² The increased frequency of breast stimulation and emptying will signal the body to produce more milk for your growing little one.⁸

For more, read 22 Tips to Increase Your Breast Milk Supply.

It’s important to express enough milk to meet a baby’s growing needs — but not too much more. Oversupply (also known as hyperlactation) could occur due to too much pumping.¹³ Some might think, “Yay! I have a TON of breast milk!” In reality, this can lead to a lot of discomfort for mom. If an oversupply occurs, engorgement (breast fullness) can be a symptom. Having an oversupply can also put a mother at higher risk of developing mastitis.⁸ So, don’t overdo it! You’ll need to closely watch and learn what pump setting, length of pumping, and frequency works best for you. You can adjust these as your baby is growing and the amount of breast milk they need changes.

How To Stop and Wean From Exclusively Pumping

When the time comes to stop pumping, it’s important to slowly wean and not stop “cold turkey.” Your body won’t automatically quit producing breast milk. To prevent engorgement and even mastitis, you’ll need to slowly decrease your pumping frequency and length. This steadily tells your body to produce less milk. By taking the weaning process slow and steady, you can prevent a lot of pain and discomfort! But if discomfort does arise, cold compresses can help with swelling and feel very soothing for engorged breasts.⁸ For extreme discomfort or pain during your weaning process, please reach out to a lactation consultant. They can provide you with extra support and guidance.

Whether you’re exclusively pumping by choice or necessity, this feeding method can be a good way to allow your baby to receive the benefits of breast milk when you’re unable to breastfeed. Exclusively pumping does come with challenges, but by doing thorough research and preparation, you can absolutely have a successful pumping journey. Best of luck, mama!