Author Topic: test to see how much milk I have - advice please!  (Read 2094 times)

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Offline sherilee

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test to see how much milk I have - advice please!
« on: September 12, 2005, 09:49:49 am »
My 8 week old feeds for 5 to 10 mins every 2 hours and so I expressed for 8 mins to see how much I got out. I managed 4.5 ounces. Does this mean baby is getting more than that every 2 hours or that amount and is this enough to sustain him? He weighed 12 pound and 1 ounce at his last weigh in a week ago.

Offline Schae

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test to see how much milk I have - advice please!
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2005, 11:44:55 am »
Hi there

A baby is much more efficient at getting milk out of your breasts than a pump. So, even though you got 4.5 ounces, baby could probably be getting more out, and it should be enough to sustain him if he has enough wet and poopy nappies every day.

6 - 8 wet nappies a day, breastfed babies can have a poop every day or one every 7 days. It varies, so unless baby is constipated (very rare with bf babies), I don't think you should worry about poop nappies. Just check for the wet nappies.

I hope this helps.
Proud mama to
Luka 22 Feb 2010 Textbook/Spirited
Tiisetso 18 Sep 2010 Textbook/Touchy
and three little angels

Offline Erin (redstarfalling)

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test to see how much milk I have - advice please!
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2005, 12:13:42 pm »
Schae's right - not all breastfed babies can go very long without feeding, especially when they're young and have such tiny tummies.  As long as his weight keeps going up and he's got the wet diaper count, he's probably doing just fine.  And besides, 4.5 oz would be good at that age anyway, even if he does get more from nursing.  :D
Erin
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Offline CathyT

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test to see how much milk I have - advice please!
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2005, 13:21:38 pm »
As someone who had supply problems early on, I think that 4.5 ounces is absolutely great! Babies need about 2.5 ounces per pound (so a 12 pound baby would need about 30 ounces).

Some babies just eat more often than others. My son was one of them - he couldn't manage a 3-hour routine for anything, so we did a 2-hour routine for months. At his 4-month appt., he was in the 93%ile for weight, so that might explain why he eats so often :D

Do you use a pacifier? Sometimes I give my son his pacifier to see if he isn't hungry but just wants to suck.

Hope that helps - good luck!
Cathy
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Offline sherilee

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test to see how much milk I have - advice please!
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2005, 15:33:58 pm »
Thanks guys, all of your replys are really helpful and its nice to know that others have been there!

xxx

Offline CathyT

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test to see how much milk I have - advice please!
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2005, 15:43:49 pm »
Sherilee - Just to clarify, that's 2.5 ounces per pound per 24 hours.

Cathy
Please check out breastfeeding, parenting and nutrition info on my blog!
http://www.chieffamilyofficer.blogspot.com

Offline tara001

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test to see how much milk I have - advice please!
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2005, 22:31:25 pm »
Cathy T, thank you for clarifying, I almost had a heart attack! And thanks for explaining the 2 hour thing, my son is now adamant about 2 hour feedings during the day, I thank god he goes 4 at night or I would be dead tired (well, more than usual!)

Offline gellisong

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Oz per Pound
« Reply #7 on: September 20, 2005, 10:15:28 am »
My son is 4 m/o and 17lbs 7loz at his 9/13 appt. If the 2.5 per pound calculation is correct, he needs 44 oz of breast milk!  I did a yield last night and only managed, after 20 min of pumping at 10 P, to get 3 oz.  If that means that he is only getting about 5 oz per feeding then the recommended 4 hr schedule for a 4 m/o will be terrible for my son!  I do suspect he gets more milk in the AM but even if he gets 7 oz for his first two feedings of the day, he still needs to eat 7 more times that day which is closer to a 2 hr feeding schedule.  I have also read somewhere that bf babies rarely get more than 32 oz a day.  If this is true, than he might be able to fit into the 4 hr schedule.

Does anybody else have this problem?
Genia E. Kenschaft
Greenbelt, MD  20770

Offline cphegan

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test to see how much milk I have - advice please!
« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2005, 14:26:20 pm »
Dear Genia,

A few things to note:

1) Breast milk has more calories per ml or ounce in it than formula and thus a child will need less
2) You expressed at 10pm at night - the bad time for seeing how much you have and when your supply is really low (if not the lowest). Your supply will be the best in the morning
3) Babies can get out of a breast up to twice what you express
4) The best way ot tell if your baby is getting neough milk is 6-8 wet nappies, regular bowel motions and an increase in weight over a few weeks.
5) 4 hourly feeds for BF babies often doesnt go so well in the early stages - they tend to need to be fed every 2-3 hours

Don't get too hung up on amount of milk, your child will take what he/she needs - believe me!
Sounds like you are doing fabulously well - keep up the good work!
Hope these things help

Cheers
Caroline

DS James Dare 18/9/03 95% Angel 5% Pure Ferret

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test to see how much milk I have - advice please!
« Reply #9 on: September 20, 2005, 21:05:27 pm »
Genia, I absolutely agree with Caroline. Baby will take from your breast as much as he needs and breastfed baby tends to eat more often than ffed one, especially in early weeks.

This is from http://www.kellymom.com

Quote (selected)
In exclusively breastfed babies, milk intake increases quickly during the first few weeks of life, then stays about the same between one and six months (though it likely increases short term during growth spurts). Current breastfeeding research does not indicate that breastmilk intake changes with baby's age or weight between one and six months. After six months, breastmilk intake will continue at this same level until -- sometime after six months, depending in baby's intake from other foods -- baby's milk intake begins to decrease gradually (see below).

The research tells us that exclusively breastfed babies take in an average of 25 oz (750 mL) per day between the ages of 1 month and 6 months. Different babies take in different amounts of milk; a typical range of milk intakes is 19-30 oz per day (570-900 mL per day).