Amount to feed?

The reason for the
bottles is because my wife is returning to work next week (full time).
I'm going to be a proud stay home dad.

That must be exciting for you.

If he will need more than
my wife can pump (3oz.) aren't we going to run into trouble soon?

Well, that depends. How often is she pumping? How often is he eating?
Remember, your wife is still in the early post partum days and her supply will
increase as time goes on. (She only pumps a fairly small amount right now
because, among other reasons, her body is only producing a fairly small amount
right now since she is producing milk for a very young baby, who doesn't need
much.)

If she is having to return to work at 6 weeks, there will be a few things that
are extra important to do for her to maintain a good milk supply.
1) Get a GOOD pump (you don't say what kind she's using right now), a good,
efficient electric pump, and use it. She'll want to pump at least a couple of
times during the work day, and she can pump at home as well. (She can pump from
one side while baby nurses from the other, or between feeds; her breasts will
adjust.)

2. Feed often while at home. Again, you don't how often she's nursing. Many
babies who have WOH mothers will switch their schedules so that they are
hungrier at night and less hungry during the day. IOW, while a typical baby
with an at home mom might, say, nurse every 2 hours during the day, but happily
go 4-5 hours at night by 6 weeks, the baby who is getting bottles from a
not-Mom person (even a dad....) may switch that pattern, and nurse every couple
of hours at night, and sleep much of the day. As frustrating as this might be
for you as the proud SAH dad, it may be the best thing for Mom's milk supply.
(And the fatigue factor can be addressed if you can co-sleep with the baby, so
she doesn't have to really wake to nurse.)

3. If possible/practical, you can try to bring baby to Mom on her lunch break
so she can nurse him at that time, rather than pumping. The baby is always
better at stimulating the milk supply than the pump, and I'm sure she'll want
to spend a little time with baby.

If it really isn't possible to pump enough milk to meet babies needs (and some
mom's can't; life's like that), you may have to supplement with formula. Just
be sure that baby gets all the breastmilk there is, and top off with formula to
make up the difference.

The
reason she feels he isn't getting enough is because when we feed him
more from the bottle, he seems to sleep better and have a happier
disposition all around.

Well, there could be two factors at work here. One is nipple confusion. Since
you did start bottles pretty early, since your wife has to return to work so
early, there could be some confusion/frustration at work here. Baby would
rather drink from the easier bottle than the slower breast. Given that you KNOW
he can take bottles, I might stop them (or at least drop most of them) for the
next week. Give your wife a chance to get her supply going well again.
Stockpile a few bottles in the fridge. Make sure baby remembers where the best
stuff comes from.

The other factor may be expectations. 5 week old babies aren't SUPPOSED to
'sleep well'. They are supposed to wake up every hour or two to eat. (Remember,
a baby this age will average about 2 hours from the start of one feed to the
start of the next, which means about 60-90 minutes between feedings.) They will
commonly have cluster feeds and marathon feeds when they will want to nurse
continuiously for hours. This is true regardless of whether they get bottles,
or the adequacy of the supply. As long as he's having enough wet diapers (6-8
really wet disposibles, more if you use cloth), and is gaining weight (he
should be at least a pound above his birth weight by now, or close to that), he
is getting enough.

It can be easy to worry about 'getting enough' with bfing, because you can't
see how much baby is getting. But remember that what goes in must come out, and
if he's wetting/dirtying diapers, he is getting enough.

HTH.


Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)

"Wrangler 4x4" wrote in message
... and I snipped:
If he will need more than
my wife can pump (3oz.) aren't we going to run into trouble soon?

What you may be forgetting is that she's currently pumping in between (or
while) nursing and so getting a smaller amount. When she's at work and
pumping, she'll most likely get more, perhaps significantly more, because
your baby won't also be nursing during her work hours.

HTH,
-Patty, mom to Corinne (6y) and Nathan (3.5y)
and stepmom to Victoria (13.5y)

There has been loads of great info already, so I'll just add my 2 pence
worth.

Babies go through a growth spurt at usually about 6 weeks. It's possible
that your son is going through this early. For a breast fed baby, that
means that Mum's supply has to increase to meet the new demand. Your son
will be demanding more and longer feeds, and may seem frustrated at the milk
not being readily available. This will pass as Mum's milk supply increases
over a few days to meet demands. If your son is taking the extra milk that
he needs from the bottle though, Mum's supply won't realise that it needs to
increase. She may need to pump more frequently, or idealy if possible
before she starts work, feed directly for a few days.

HTH

Jacqui

"Wrangler 4x4" wrote in message
...
Thanks everyone. My son is about 5 weeks old now. The reason for the
bottles is because my wife is returning to work next week (full time).
I'm going to be a proud stay home dad. He has been doing good so far
going back and forth from breast to bottle. If he will need more than
my wife can pump (3oz.) aren't we going to run into trouble soon? The
reason she feels he isn't getting enough is because when we feed him
more from the bottle, he seems to sleep better and have a happier
disposition all around.

Wrangler 4x4 writes:
: Thanks everyone. My son is about 5 weeks old now. The reason for the
: bottles is because my wife is returning to work next week (full time).
: I'm going to be a proud stay home dad. He has been doing good so far
: going back and forth from breast to bottle. If he will need more than
: my wife can pump (3oz.) aren't we going to run into trouble soon? The
: reason she feels he isn't getting enough is because when we feed him
: more from the bottle, he seems to sleep better and have a happier
: disposition all around.

Hoo boy! Back to work just 6 weeks after! This is not easy.

Anyway, I thought I'd offer you some additional advice now that I
know your situation.

First, what kind of pump is your wife using? If she is going to
work full time, I would suggest either the Medela Pump In Style or
the Ameda Purely Yours. Both are good double pumps. Anything less
will be inadequate for full time use.

Next, how often and when does she pump? Since she is not working
yet, it is not as important, but it is nice to build a small freezer
stash before returning to work. She is likely to produce the most
milk first thing in the morning, and conversely, the least just before
bed time. If she pumps while the baby is as home, it should be in
the morning. She should also offer to nurse as soon as she gets
home from work, and throughout the evening. Don't pump in the evening.
She should also nurse a couple of times during the night. She might
want to pump one breast while she nurses on the other when she first
wakes up. She should nurse every 3-4 hours or so while she is at
work. She should not pump just before coming home and nursing.

If she has any questions about her supply, there are some things she
can do to increase it.
1. Drink plenty of water (1 12oz glass (350ml) every 2 hours. Keep
a water bottle by her bed.
2. Get plenty of rest. Not easy when you work, but she should nap
with the baby while you fix dinner. She needs to night nurse,
so she HAS to find additional time to rest.
3. Nurse as frequently as possible. Nursing stimulates production.
The is one of the best ways to keep her supply up.
4. Take dietary or herbal remedies if necessary. Eat oatmeal for
breakfast, it is a good supply stimulant. Take fenugreek capsules
3 600 mg caps 3 x daily, if supply starts to falter.

Can't think of anything else right not. Keep in touch.

Larry