When it comes to planning your approach to pumping, there’s no one-size-fits-all schedule. While the most important guidance applies across the board—that you pump enough for your baby to get the volume they need for however long you’re apart—your pumping schedule will be unique to you and your circumstances.

This means it’ll change as your circumstances change. But establishing a pumping schedule can help you control how pumping fits into your daily routine, as well as block off time on your schedule to pump, thus protecting your pumping sessions from disruptions.

How much milk does my baby need per feed?

While your baby’s milk needs increase over the first month, they then reach a steady state that lasts throughout the first 6 months—and even dips between 6 and 12 months as solids are introduced.

At first, babies only need 1-ounce feeds. That gradually increases to 3-ounce feeds as breastfeeding is established in the first four weeks, and then roughly 4-ounce feeds totaling 25 to 30 ounces of breastmilk a day between 1 and 6 months. By your baby’s first birthday, due to the inclusion of solids, total daily milk needs drop to 16 to 18 ounces a day.

What scenario are you pumping for?

Pumping can be used to accommodate a wide range of scenarios. Think through your own circumstances and goals to determine how best to approach pumping, and know that this will likely change over time.

If you’re pumping for the occasional couple hours away from your baby… 

Once you’ve established a good breastfeeding routine over the course of your baby’s first month of life, pump right after your typical morning breastfeeding session.

“This morning feeding has the largest amount of milk sitting in the breasts, after your baby’s longest stretch of sleep at night,” says pediatrician Dr. Laura Jones.

This pumping session will help you store a small volume of milk—1 to 2 ounces—that won’t impact your supply for the next feeding. And whether you add this session every morning or just occasionally, you’ll accumulate a small freezer stash over time that another caregiver can thaw for bottle feedings.

Sample schedule:

If you’re pumping to prepare to return to work…

As with pumping for the occasional afternoon out, Dr. Jones advises pumping immediately after your first breastfeeding session of the day. The difference is you’ll do this every day for two weeks before your return to work. You can use an ounce for a practice bottle a couple times and freeze the rest.

By pumping somewhere between 1 to 3 ounces of milk per day for 14 days, you should be able to stash about 20 ounces—which should be enough for two full work days—while still balancing your baby’s daily needs and avoiding stimulating an oversupply of breast milk, Dr. Jones says.

Sample schedule:

If you’re pumping at work…  

Your goal is to pump enough while at work to provide that for a future shift apart—ideally 1 to 1.25 ounces of milk for every hour apart. This equation can help you calculate how much milk you should be pumping both in a given session and for the duration of your time apart.

If, say, you work 8 hours a day and are apart for 10 hours when factoring in commutes, and your baby is older than 4 weeks, try to pump 10 to 12 ounces during that time. And if you’re pumping every 3 hours, you’ll ideally get somewhere between 3 and 3.75 ounces of milk each session.

When it comes to timing, pump at the times that work best for you, and don’t worry too much about it being right at your baby’s typical feeding times. Building in flexibility around these chunks of time should generally be fine for maintaining your supply.

Over time you might be able to shift to two pumping sessions per day based on your personal breast storage capacity and what volume of solids your baby eats. At around 10 to 12 months, some people can even get away with pumping just once midday.

If you’re an exclusive pumper…  

There are special circumstances for exclusive pumping, and they don’t rule out combination feeding or even exclusive breastfeeding later.

In the early days, this might mean pumping at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., then again at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 9 p.m., and pumping overnight at midnight and 4 a.m. (Yes, it’s a grind, but this is just in the early weeks while you’re establishing your supply.)

Once you’ve established your supply and are ready to pump less frequently, you can start by removing the nighttime pumping sessions from your schedule (and hopefully replace them with sleep!). Pay attention to the times of day when your supply naturally starts to dip. The lower-output pumping sessions are the next ones to eliminate from your schedule.

This exclusive-pumping schedule can help you think through your routine.