5 Secrets to Breast Pump Success

Your milk production might actually go up, not down, during the work week.

Mondays are terrible days for me at the pump. This used to really stress me out, because the experts always warn that your milk production will diminish over the work week. The theory is that your body gets used to making lots of milk when your baby is around. Then, when you start pumping, because the breast pump is less efficient than your baby, your body makes less milk. By Friday, the theory goes, your body makes a lot less milk, which means you pull out even less.

At some point I quit worrying about Mondays, because I realized that my milk production actually increased during the work week, peaking around Wednesday. I think my body gets acclimated to the pump, to the mwah-mwah sound, to the fabric of the chair where I sit, to the hour I take the break. Mondays are sad days for me, too. The days without my baby stretch ahead; piles of work loom. By Wednesday, I'm in the groove.