bf/pumping

[MaLeah]

HI
every1 I'm new here....
i been breastfeeding my daughter for 2 months now...
i was wondering do you guys pump after each feeding ?
How many oz do you get?

[hotlama]

My dd is almost 9 months old so my output is a lot different than your will be but I get less than two ounces total when I pump right after a feeding.

Welcome to the boards!

[MaLeah]

so the longer you bf/pump the less you will get?

[mommymichelle]

Pumping right after you feed thought it is little...but works wonder in a way...the more you pump the more the milk

[_MrsC_]

It's been a year and a half since I quit pumping, but I did get less towards the end. I figured it was because DS didn't need as much because he was getting solids too. Breastfeeding is a supply/demand relationship. The more you nurse/pump the more milk you will have. But you should also know that pumping output can't really be used to determine how much milk you have. The baby is a lot more effective at getting milk from a breast than a pump is.

When DS was young, I didn't pump every time he nursed. I pumped afterwards if I had time and thought there was extra milk left. I WOH and was totally paranoid about not having enough milk, so I would get up early and pump right after my shower. Then DS would nurse about an hour after that. I pumped three times while I was at work and then once again right before bed.

[Bumpy]

when I pump right after she gets done eating, I usually don't get anything or maybe a half an ounce, unless she wasn't really hungry, then I will get a couple of ounces like last night.

[whitnessforhim]

A normal amount for an mom who EBF to pump after a feeding is around .5 - 1oz. So don't be suprised if you are not getting much after you are pumping. If you are getting 2oz + you are blessed!! :)

Are you looking to up your supply or just to have extra milk on hand for a occasional bottle feed?

[Amy_G_]

yeah the biggest thing in reply to your question is why would you want to pump after you feed your baby? Most women that nurse, never pump after a feeding unless they are trying to build up a supply in the freezer. Otherwise it just fools your body into making more milk than you really need and then you get into the cycle of having to pump. If you only occassionally pump after a feeding, without any consistency, you'll probably get negligible milk. but if you consistently pick one feeding a day to pump after the nursing time is over, your breasts will begin to make more milk at that nursing session--thinking baby must be extra hungry at that time of day for some reason.

[madelsmama]

I agree with everything Amy said. Routinely pumping after feeds is highly unnecessary, unless you're building up a freezer stash or trying to recover from low supply.

If you're pumping b/c you're worried about having enough milk, rest assured that milk production is based upon demand, so, if you allow your body to do it's thing, it will tailor it's supply to your baby's needs, which is why hotlama posted that she gets less than 2oz after a feed. It's not that you get less when you pump the longer you bf/pump, it's that our bodies tend to over produce in the early months and have lots of excess milk, then taper off to baby's specific needs starting at 12 weeks or so.

[MaLeah]

A normal amount for an mom who EBF to pump after a feeding is around .5 - 1oz. So don't be suprised if you are not getting much after you are pumping. If you are getting 2oz + you are blessed!! :)

Are you looking to up your supply or just to have extra milk on hand for a occasional bottle feed?


yeah im taking fenugreek..im going to start eat oatmeal everyday too
i get 2 oz sometimes 1 oz if she eats lot....
i pump after every time and put it in my chest freezer so when or if i do run out of milk she will good for months

[tifttu]

Why do you think you're going to run out of milk?

[MaLeah]

i did with my last baby.. he was always so hungry...so his dr put him on formula

[Amy_G_]

I will say that you have to trust the boobs to make the milk your baby needs. Often in the middle of a normal growth spurt, baby will be very hungry, nursing non-stop and mom will panic and reach for the formula or call the dr who will recommend formula and then instead of mom's supply increasing with baby's demands, her supply goes down because baby is satisfied with the formula and doesn't nurse often enough.

YOU are the one that decides to put the baby on formula. Feeding is not a doctor's decision. The doctor recommended you put baby on formula, and you did so. There may have been good reason, or it may have been a doctor that "cures" every breastfeeding problem by recommending formula.

[Amy_G_]

If you want to build up a freezer supply of milk, you would do better to nurse on one side only first thing in the morning and pump the other side to freeze. or even do that at other times of the day. You will have let down better for the pump if baby is nursing on the other side, and baby can easily be satisfied with one side only with a couple days of adjustment.

[Amy_G_]

How long did you breastfeed for with your last child?

[MaLeah]

If you want to build up a freezer supply of milk, you would do better to nurse on one side only first thing in the morning and pump the other side to freeze. or even do that at other times of the day. You will have let down better for the pump if baby is nursing on the other side, and baby can easily be satisfied with one side only with a couple days of adjustment.

thanks for that advice
& 3 months...

[Amy_G_]

3 months is a common growth spurt where baby will want to nurse non-stop and not seemed satisfied. Just breastfeed thru it and you will be ok.

[RedheadbyChoice]

ITA with Amy. A 3 month old in a growth spurt will nurse every hour or more.....that is perfectly normal and not at all a sign that mom's supply is down.