Breastmilk and pumping?

Question

I can only feed my 1 week old son breastmilk by pumping because he eats a lot and he usually falls asleep at my breast, and there isn't much coming out while he's sucking. I would feed him for over an hour switching sides and he would still be hungry. Two days ago I bought a breastpump which works great (medela) and I can feed him a lot better now. I get about 2 oz at a time(from both sides) every 3-4 hours but I still have to substitute with formula because he eats about 3 oz at once.

Is 2 oz of milk every 3-4 hrs in the 2nd week postpartum normal? How can I increase that? Will it increase with time?

Answer 1

hi there,

as frustrating as it may be the best thing is to stop pumping and let him suck, the more he sucks the better he will get at it and the more milk you will produce.

every baby drinks a different amount to be full, my daughter used to be on for 40 mins both sides each feed for 3 weeks then it all came together.

nothing is more effective as your baby, so you will actually find over a few weeks that your milk supply will decrease when using a breast pump.

if you feel you need to top up the baby and you want to use breast milk, wait until your baby has feed from you THEN after that get the pump and skim off some extra or vice versa just before express a little then let your baby feed you can then store this and be one feed ahead each time (hope that makes sense) or if you want to use formula use it at the end.

your baby may also not be hungry and just like to use your breast to suck which is also quite normal.

there should be some breastfeeding associations around they are always worth a call but be prepared they are very Pro breast milk and nothing else.

your doctor should be able to give you some good advice also

good luck and congratulations

x

Answer 2

Your b*****s will stop making milk if he is not sucking at them. You said that there isnt much coming out? How do you know that? Babies are more effective at getting milk out than the pump. If you cant see what's coming out, how do you know? Your breast will keep making milk if he keeps sucking, it is never completely empty.

If you want to keep breastfeeding, best thing to do is keep away from the pump until he is at least 6 weeks. Learn how to latch him on and keep him satisfiied. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Firstly congratulations!!

It is normal for a 1 week old baby to want to feed all the time because he is a new born and that is his way of being comforted in this big open space that he is so new to!

I would not top up with formular, it is not needed at this stage, because at a week old his belly is smaller then a golf ball! Breastmilk is digested a lot easier then artificial milk so it is not unusual for him to want to feed every 2 or 3 hours!!(also, to answer your last question, your body is still getting used to the baby and its feeding habits so the more he drinks the more your boby makes! It is amazing)

Dont worry about a 3-4 hourly routine, I know I cant go that long without eating or drinking so it is not fair when our nannas say to us 4 hour eat and sleep routine, it is not realistic!

Answer 4

Your baby wasn't getting enough because he wasn't latched on properly, or possibly you were misreading his cues.

Also if you want to exclusively pump then you have to do what your baby would do -eat until they got enough.  So you need to pump more often so you get enough oz.  But a pump is not as effecient as a baby.

Please consider seeing a qualified lactation consultant so you can get breastfeeding back on track.

Exclusive pumping is a lot of work, it is about three times the work of breastfeeding. If you aren't truly committed it probably won't work out, even if you are there is a chance that even with the best pump, and prescription medication you won't make enough milk.

When a baby can not nurse directly exclusive pumping is an entirely selfless act on moms' part because it is so much work. And for those moms who pump and donate large amounts of milk to charity there are no words for their sacrifice and hard work.

However exclusive pumping denies your baby some of the benefits of breastfeeding. Direct breastfeeding is needed for optimal jaw and tongue development. Bottle fed babies have higher rates of speech problems, and a higher rate of needed orthodontia. Breastfeeding directly also allows your baby to pass microbes (disease causing bacteria, viruses, etc) to you so you can make antibodies IMMEDIATELY regardless of whether or not you are exposed to the microbes directly. Exclusive pumpers also often have to get up at scheduled times throughout the night to pump even if their baby sleeps through.

Exclusive pumping is also probably not as good at signaling the body to produce the right fat to water ratio, etc for your baby. Because you are generally keeping the breastmilk production at an artificially steady level it can't adjust to growth spurts or illness.

http://www.normalfed.com/Help/babyget.ht...

There are lots of reasons why a baby can't seem to get the hang of latching on and nursing well at first. While your baby learns how, you need to: 1) keep him fed, 2) keep your milk supply going, 3) keep in touch with breastfeeding specialists... and 4) keep the faith! Your baby will learn how. These babies did.

http://www.breastfeed.com/articles/newbo...

In our culture, mothers have been accustomed to babies who are formula fed, who behave very differently from babies who eat naturally. Formula is an artificial food, and it causes babies to act in artificial ways. Babies who drink formula receive in very short order a large amount of liquid that is very difficult to digest. After a formula bottle and a few big burps, babies sleep for several hours before they feel hungry again. Hmm... This sounds very nice; Mom can get lots of things done. Perhaps.

However, inside, Baby is dealing with an unnatural food that is very hard to digest and takes a very long time to move out of his stomach. In any case, many new mothers have come to accept that this is the way their own baby will behave. Not so with breast milk.

Breast milk is natural and digests very quickly – usually within two hours. Therefore, breastfed babies eat often. In the early weeks, they may eat eight to 20 times a day – or more. It depends.

As a lactation consultant, I frequently hear moms say, "Well I tried to breastfeed my first child but they always wanted to eat, and my milk could never fill them up like formula did. They were always hungry." Get it? The formula makes them feel very full, but is that good for them? Not really. Formula is deficient in all immunological properties.

I then ask the mothers, "Before you changed to formula, was your baby gaining weight well and having plenty of wet diapers and bowel movements?"

"Oh, yes," they say. "That was going well." I have come to understand that the reason these moms quit is not that their baby is not growing well or that they did not have enough milk, but because they didn't want to feed as often as the baby needed to eat and felt that by switching to an artificial food, the baby would be "happier" and "more content." Their baby would behave more like TV babies. Their perception was that something was wrong because their babies ate often. Perhaps that feeling was reinforced by "helpful" friends or family members.

Nursing All the Time

Frequent feedings may be biologically more normal than the three-or four-hour schedule new parents expect

http://www.todaysparent.com/article.jsp?...

"He Can't Be Hungry. He Just Ate!"  

http://www.normalfed.com/Continuing/hung...

  How many times did you eat or drink something today?  Coffee break?  Water fountain?  Gum?  Snack?  TV nibblies?  Most adults have an urge to eat about every 90 minutes while they're awake!

Answer 5

It takes time to establish breastfeeding. It can easily take 6 - 8 weeks before your baby is feeding "properly." Please don't give up so soon. The best thing to do is to just keep feeding him. If he falls asleep or his sucking gets too slow & lazy, rub his cheek with your finger to encourage him to suck. I would definitely be getting your Dr's advice before comping with formula though. The best way to increase your milk supply is to feed your baby, and the best way for him to breastfeed better is to be on the breast rather than a bottle. I know it can be painful & frustrating - I've been there, but you have to persevere. As he gets bigger & stronger he will be able to suck better, etc.

My son would feed for over an hour each time, we ended up having him in hospital for 2 nights, at around 2 months old, due to poor weight gain (just to monitor his feeds - weigh him before & after each one to make sure I was producing enough milk, etc) He was a 'lazy eater' as we termed it. We ended up on a regiment of breastfeed, comp through a supply line (a small tube taped to ur breast, so the milk is coming from the bottle but bub is still sucking at the breast, which helps bub not get attached to a bottle & helps develop ur milk supply at the same time - we used breastmilk in this) and then pumping afterwards. For several weeks I had almost no sleep as I would feed bub, then "tube-feed", then settle him to sleep, then pump, lay down for 30 mins & then he'd wake up & we would start it all over again!!

The important thing to remember is that it's early days so if you do really want to breastfeed you need to avoid those bottles! You may find that you are feeding him every 2 hrs or something to start with , but remember he only has a little tummy. If he falls asleep quite soon during a feed, wake him, but if he is falling asleep closer to the hr mark, let him sleep. He may wake up soon & want more but the first couple of months can be kinda crazy like that! I think my son was 4 - 5 months old before he seemed to have any kind of "routine" to his feeding - don't let the "my  baby feeds exactly every 4 hrs" crew fool you!

Breastfeeding seems like such an easy thing - until you have to do it! It takes lots of strength, patience & lots of gritting of your teeth in those first painful days :D Best of Luck to you.

Answer 6

It's frustrating when they fall asleep at the breast, but most newborns do this.  You'll have to do alot to keep him stimulated during nursing until he's a little older and stays awake long enough to get down to business.  Tickle or rub his feet as he nurses, touch his face, play with his hands, talk to him, and even take the breast out and put it back in over and over.  Sometimes mine would fall asleep but didn't want the breast removed, so just attempting to pull it back got them suckling again.  It's hard to do but keep at it.  In a few weeks he'll get to where he gets down to business and gets the job done.  If he isn't nursing from start to finish and you're pumping instead, then your supply can't really keep up with his demand--actual nursing does a far better job.  Also, he may not be stimulating the let down reflex and missing out on that yummy, fattening hind milk; and pumping doesn't always do a good job of getting all that hind milk out, either.  

Answer 7

Stop feeding him formula. Stop pumping! Definitely don't give him any bottles. He's eating all the time because he's busy growing. The way to get your b*****s to make more milk is to let him stimulate them. He's doing his job, your b*****s are doing their job. As long as he's having enough wet and dirty diapers and he's gaining weight he's getting enough to eat. Read kellymom.com for more information.

Answer 8

supply=demand.  he obviously eats enough if he has wet diapers & gains weight.  breast babies like the comfort and fall asleep easily because they work hard at feeding  & they like to be held.  there is no need to use formula or pump.  breast milk is metabolized quickly, so the babes feed more often.  relax and don't worry about the "ounces".