Enough Milk?

[TwoBeautifulDaughters]

My baby is 9 days old. Yesterday she went eight hours without making a wet diaper. So I gave her a bottle to supplement. That helped through the rest of the day. Today it was 6 hours before she went. My concern is that I'm not making enough milk for her. She is satisfied after feedings but during the day I have to wake her to feed her and often she falls asleep while feeding. I have been pumping after each feeding and for the past 2 days have pumped 2ounces for each 24 hour period. Help!

[StillSingingMom]

That is a problem. How often are you feeding her? Do you see her swallow? Has her latch been evaluated by an LC? What's her weight gain look like?

[ggmsrnelson]

Im having this same problem w/my son not getting enough milk. What they told me to do was to pump two hrs after he feed, then nurse him when he would wake up, usually around 4hrs. To bring up my milk supply, I am not sure if it worked or not. I still give him supplement, because I don't want him to lose any weight or have no wet diapers. I did try only nursing him in a 48hr period, but I had two wet diapers and he lost a few grams, i know that isn't much but to me when a newborn loses weight after the first few weeks, it worries me. When i do pump even before he would eat i only pump out 2-3 oz, and he's 5 wks old, so I understand where your coming from and how your feeling.....I do know that a baby can get more milk from us by nursing than a pump, but how do you know when your not having enough milk for them??? What would be considered normal for how much milk you produce just by pumping?? I have read that some women produce 50oz from one pumping, is this right??

My son is like your daughter falls asleep as soon as he attaches himself to my breast, I think he is a grazer, lolol.....seriously though, Call lactation in your area, they are very helpful. I have called mine at least three different times because I get nervous that I am drying up. This is my first baby I breastfeed, so i am so new at this.....Good luck, don't forget call for help thru your hospital or find a lactation service in the yellow pages.

[StillSingingMom]

A newborn should only want two to three ounces at a feeding. Their stomachs are very small. The system is set up for frequent feedings rather than enormous feedings.

Yes, some women do eventually pump amazing amounts of milk. This is not necessary, nor is it the norm.

Really, the right thing to do if you are concerned about latch, supply, or weight gain is to go find a board certified lactation consultant. You need to make sure that baby is suckling effectively. With a newborn, you should start by calling your hospital or birth center and see if they have an LC on staff. Often there are services available.

Occasionally you get a baby whose latch is off, her suck is weak, and she isn't getting enough milk to strengthen her suck. Supplementation is really helpful in those cases. Sometimes a momma has issues related to the birth that interfere with supply.

But normal, healthy moms and babes should be able to exclusively breast feed. Offer the breast at every peep. Nurse, nurse, and nurse.

The way you evaluate supply is by watching output. If you see six to eight wet diapers in twenty-four hours, you're good. Occasional dry spells are not an emergency if you see six to eight wet diapers total in that twenty four hours.

Sometimes the reason a baby is sleeping for four hours is that mom is actually making lots of milk, and baby is full. So instead of worrying over-much about feeding patterns, the first place you look is at output.

Eight hours seems like a pretty long dry spell to me.

[Nipple_nectar]

First of all, welcome to the both of you, to our community:) I will try to address the both of your concerns together. Yes, I agree that having a lactation consultant or LC, closely monitor your progress will be of great benefit to the both of you, there is a directory for professionals on the home page of this web site.

Secondly, pumping is not a reliable indicator of what baby is getting, baby is much more efficient at emptying the breast than a pump, which can be an acquired skill and some women have trouble letting down to a pump. The best way to determine input is to measure output~ what goes in must come out! You need to see a minimum of six wet diapers in a 24 hour period, if you are seeing that then you are golden!

How much you pump at any given moment can vary a great deal, morning is when your production is at it's highest, so it is best to pump then for occasional pumping. Getting only an ounce or so after baby eats is completely within the normal range. Getting 50 ounces in one sitting sounds a bit crazy to me but I have never exclusively pumped aand I do know that the breast are capable of providing total nutrition for two and even sometimes three babies, it is based on demand. The more you demand from your breasts~ the more they will supply.

That is why it is ultra important to allow baby to nurse as often as she/he wishes and allow baby to suckle as long as he/she wishes. Newborns that are grazers can and will nurse up to and over an hour when experiencing a growth spurt and desiring to bump up your supply.

Using breast compression can help baby stay awake and empty the breasts: www.kellymom.com/newman/15breast_compression.html

The first six to eight weeks are the toughest part of establishing a good supply, it is not recommended to supplement at all before this time as you need to develop a good steady pattern of demand.

Giving formula is not the answer as it is harder to digest and this will actually stay in baby's tummy longer and creating an even bigger gap between nursing sessions, you don't want that. You want baby hungry and ready to nurse in a couple of hours. In order to create a good supply, your breasts need to be involved EVERY TIME BABY EATS! If you are exclusively pumping, you need to rent a hospital grade pump as they are the strongest and designed for all day use.

I would not wait two hours to pump after a feed, you can condition the breasts to make more milk by pumping immediately following baby's nursing session. You may have a lesser yield but I would be offering the breast every two hours during the day to a sleepy newborn: www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing.html

Finally, trust yourselves that you can do this, BFing is an emotional journey as well and you need to believe you can do it to ensure a relaxed atmosphere for baby, my mantra has always been trust the bewbie!

I am not a BFing professional and I think you both need to be under close supervision of an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant or IBCLC, to make sure your baby is evaluated for any potential latch issues. Getting someone to eyeball everything will ensure greater success in addition to coming here for superb advice:)

[crystal555rose]

I also had a sleepy baby at the breast. I would do breast compressions and stroke his cheek to stimulate him to swallow. Breast feeding was exhausting for me in the beginning. We would nurse for 30-45 minutes, mostly me doing breast compressions and stroking his cheek to get him to eat. Then the process was repeated every 2-3 hours. Do that math and you realize he was attached to my boob more often than not.

Good news- this does not last forever and feeding on demand stimulates a good supply.

If you are not seeing wet diapers I would go to the pediatrician for an evaluation. Also, disposable diapers are super absorbent and may make it hard to see tiny baby pee. Consider cloth to ensure you are not missing it.

[ggmsrnelson]

It makes me feel good that maybe Rhys needs to eat for 45mins to get a full tummy. the lasctation lady told us at the hospital that babies eat for 30mins, but it seemed that he never was satisfied. I would tickle his feet or rub his back to keep him awake. I tried rubbing his cheek, but he got use to it. I know this may sound crazy, but I do get excited when he gets yellow poop, makes me feel good as a mother that he is getting more breastmilk than formula.....I thought i was an inadequate mother when I heard woman producing 50oz at a time, that is like a 2 liter. will my milk eventually produce this much as well?? Gina

[Nipple_nectar]

Unless you are feeding multiple babies, I really don't think you will ever need that much milk. Were you trying to create a surplus for donation or something?

You can use this milk calculator at http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html to figure out how much specifically your baby needs, in terms of expressed milk.

[crystal555rose]

It makes me feel good that maybe Rhys needs to eat for 45mins to get a full tummy. the lasctation lady told us at the hospital that babies eat for 30mins, but it seemed that he never was satisfied.

I was also told this. I was also told to feed 10 minutes on one side then switch to the other- which gave my baby hindmilk/foremilk inbalance. I attended a BF class offered by my hospital and taught by an LC- it was such crap!

As tiring as it is, just let baby nurse, nurse, nurse. I do not think I ever produced a liter of milk but I was able to pump 8 oz. after feeding him in the morning (feed, drive to mom's house then pump). From what I have read on here that is pretty amazing. Always remember that baby can get milk out the breast better than any pump and pumping is different for everyone.

Feel free to come here for reassurance. Breastfeeding seems to be different for everyone and different from what you read in books or learn in a class!