Back to work

[rachelsmom]

I have recently started back to work after giving birth to my second daughter 2 months ago. I have been exclusively nursing her every 2 hours. She also takes a bottle every two hours while I am working. Is it normal for her to nurse so often and now that I am back to work, how much milk should she have at each feeding? She weighs about 11 pounds.

[KerrySmithIBCLC]

Congrats on your baby! Going back to work can be a hard transition for a lot of moms. It's normal and okay for a baby to want to breastfeed every 2 hours, even after the newborn stage. Taking a bottle every 2 hours is not a problem, provided she is not being overfed, which is quite common. An easy rule of thumb for how much baby should take while away from you is an ounce per hour. So if you're gone for 10 hours, that would be approx. 10 oz, divided into however many feedings she takes. However, actual intake is a range of around 20-30 oz per day, so to make it easier, here's a link to a calculator to help determine how much she should take in a bottle:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

Make sure that the care provider is offering the milk slowly, with the slowest flow nipple possible, and stopping between each ounce offered to burp the baby. That will help ensure that she's not being overfed. Here are more tips on offering bottles to the breastfed baby:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html

I hope this helps!

Kerry

[rachelsmom]

Thank you very much!