What I mean by this is that each of us can only store a certain amount of milk before we are full - that's how we end up engorged, right? That's the capacity. At the same time, when we are done feeding our babies we normally can't go pump 18 ounces of milk - because there's just not 18 ounces there. It takes time for the breast to "fill back up," which I am calling speed of milk creation. For instance, it seems like I make about half an ounce of milk every hour on average - but it seems like my total milk capacity is about four ounces. (When thinking about speed of creation it is important to remember that it is totally natural and normal for all women to make less milk in the afternoon and evening hours, and to make more milk overnight and in the morning! This is because of prolactin cycles.)
How does this effect the pumping mom? I have an idea, but I'm not a professional so take everything I say here with a grain of salt!
The question was about whether or not an exclusively pumping mommy can decrease the number of pumping sessions and still get the same amount of milk daily. Well, I know from experience that this SEEMS to work. If I pump after two hours I will get less milk than if I pump after six, because it takes me six hours to "fill up."
As long as I get out all the milk I am making throughout the day, I know that I've gotten out all the milk I've made... Sounds too simple doesn't it?
That's because it is! It's a trick! It's a booby-trap! An empty breast will fill more quickly than a partially empty breast. I've been told this by my favorite IBCLC, and by other mommas, but of course I didn't listen!
By pumping more often than your personal capacity/speed ratio dictates a full breast you will naturally entice the body to make more milk because the empty breast will create more milk more quickly!
If you don't want to increase your total daily production, but you don't want to decrease it either, then the trick, I think, is to figure out your maximum storage capacity and pump BEFORE you exceed it. Make sure that you always have room to make more milk. If you are full, then you don't have the space to make more... then you lose valuable milk creation time, and therefore valuable milk. If you are an EPer (Exclusive Pumper) you don't want to ever exceed this storage time because every time you run the risk of decreasing your overall daily production.
If this is true, and it seems true from my own experience, you can decrease your number of pumping sessions to match your personal cycle of fullness and not notice a decrease in supply, but you need to be very careful because it's easy to slip into a pattern where waiting to pump can be detrimental by not emptying the breast often enough.
*Again I am not a professional and have not researched this. My commentary is based solely on my own personal experience.
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