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#12
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How long to pump 3 oz?
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#13
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How long to pump 3 oz?
"Sue" writes:
I think you're doing fine, except I would stop all supplementing and let Micheal nurse even if he seems hungry to you. Letting a baby go hungry for a few days might not be a problem, but I think that a mom who follows this kind of advice for more than a week should do so only after taking the baby to a pediatrician and getting help from a certified lactation consultant. Women who've always had mediocre supply tend to have a much harder time increasing their supply than women who've started out with a good supply. Even though many people say, "Just cut out the formula and let your baby nurse all the time to increase your supply!," I have a hard time finding any studies that say that letting a baby go hungry for extended periods (i.e., more than a week) while the mom builds supply is actually safe for the baby. |
#14
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How long to pump 3 oz?
"Em" writes:
minutes at a time (one side per time). When he was going through his three week growth spurt, he would nurse for about a hour at a time! Nursing a *lot* is very, very normal and it doesn't mean that the baby isn't getting enough milk, even if he seems hungry again "too soon." Your breasts are continually making milk, so as long as Michael is latched on and sucking, he is getting milk to drink and will not starve. If he knows he will get a This is true when moms have a normal supply, but it's not true for moms with a mediocre or really bad supply. Some babies of moms who nurse on demand (me!) do, in fact, end up suffering from dehydration or showing signs that they are failing to thrive. If a mom has a lactation consultant who is keeping an eye on the baby and will weigh the baby once in awhile to make sure it's on track, then a tough love approach to growth spurts is cool. Otherwise, the mom ought to be pretty vigilant about looking for signs that there might be problems other a growth spurt. Example: my baby was latched on all the time from birth. Except sometimes when she was sleepy very deeply, she hardly ever went a whole hour without nursing for an extended period. That constant nursing was probably the first sign that something was wrong. Analogy: some moms here probably avoid getting their babies vaccinated against measles, but most do get measles shots for their babies because unvaccinated babies have a very small chance of dying from the measles or ending up with a severe, measles-related handicap. I don't know what the exactly percentage is, but my guess is that it's something like 1 percent. If your baby is always hungry, maybe there's something like a 1 percent chance that s/he's malnourished enough for the malnourishment to cause problems with development. If you'd spend $50 to take your baby to the doctor, if necessary, to get the right vaccinations to ward off the effects of communicable diseases, why not spend the $50 to hire an LC who can help you ward off the possible effects of a crummy milk supply? |
#15
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How long to pump 3 oz?
Irrational Number writes:
(1) From about 2 weeks through 7 weeks, I nursed about 45 minutes per hour during the day (and about every two hours in the night), meaning I had 15 minutes each hour to pee and get a drink. I piled magazines galore by my bed and had my TV remote at the ready. Hubby would come home and I was in the exact same So you really nursed less than I did. My baby was latched on so much at night that I started to get severe back and hip pain because it was so hard to figure out how to turn over. So, sure, some women can nurse their way to having enough milk. And some women can do the splits and some women can make really good souffles. Some women can't though, and it's very important to avoid letting breastfeeding perfectionism get in the way of helping a baby who truly needs formula. I think the only way to know whether the baby really needs formula is to weigh the baby a lot and have a lactation consultant who's familiar with signs of failure to thrive look at the baby every few days to make sure it's still thriving. |
#16
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How long to pump 3 oz?
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#17
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How long to pump 3 oz?
Is it possible to weigh your baby before and after a feeding? This was
very helpful for me. If you are seeing that your baby is 2-3 oz heavier then that's probably adequate for this age, no? This in my opinion would be a better gauge than the amount you get through pumping because baby is better at removing milk. If you are seeing 1.5oz or less difference, then I would think there is a supply issue and it's not just a growth spurt or another issue. You may want to step up the frequency of your pumping sessions (I know it's not fun) and consider taking some galactogogues. Also, when I was having supply issues, many people told me that after nursing a baby would often take a bottle even if he/she had gotten enough from the breast. So can you do the before/after weighing a few times and based on that maybe stop supplementing for a week? Of course you would want to keep an eye on diaper output and weight gain just in case. This is a hot button issue, but maybe a pacifier would help soothe after nursing? (Providing you've established that baby is getting enough?) I don't think a week of being slightly hungry until your supply increases will harm baby. My dd was only 1/2 pound heavier than her birth weight at 6 weeks and has experienced absolutely no ill effects, physical or cognitive. She's now in the 75th percentile for weight and is hitting all of her milestones on time or ahead of schedule. She was exclusively breastfed until 8 weeks but because of my supply issues I then started supplementing. She got part breastmilk part soy formula until she was 6 months and is now 7 months and exclusively formula fed and doing fine. So although you will run into militant lactivists who would have you believe that formula is poison, it really isn't. I was strongly against supplementing myself, and held out until 8 weeks postpartum before admitting that BF wasn't working out. I would say to give BF your absolute best shot, and then you won't be wracked with guilt later because you will have tried everything. -V. |
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