~I can keep track of what time I last pumped. This is especially important in the early postpartum days when you don't know what day it is, much less the time.
~I can keep track of how many times I pump per day. At the beginning, the goal is 8-10. Now, three months out, I can get away with 6-7 sessions.
~I can track what time of day I have the highest/lowest output. This is helpful especially if I'm feeling down that I only pumped two ounces at 6pm. I can see that this is typical for me and can expect my output to increase at the next session.
~I can track other important things like taking medications or supplements or even remembering to drink water. If you track those, you can see how those affect or don't affect your milk supply over time.
How do I track?
I'm sure there are smartphone apps that could track this for me, but I went old school and bought a notebook. I keep it on my "pumping table" next to my pump. Each day gets its own page. I've attached a photo below of a sample day. I essentially just write in the day and date and for each session, the time I started pumping, oz output and a running total of ounces. In the beginning, I also jotted down how many minutes I pumped but now I know that I pump for 15 minutes and that works for me.
A fun fact I learned from tracking is that I have the best total output on Sundays. I haven't figured out why, but perhaps I am most relaxed on that day. :-)
If you track, how do you do it? Any other ideas to share?
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