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#1
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How long to pump 3 oz?
Michael Jude will be 4 months old on Monday. He's nursing 70% of the time, 30%
Similac thanks to his intensive care stay where he was indoctrinated to formula. Also he never seems satisfied at the breast and minutes after 30 mins. of nursing will carry on and then suck formula down like there is no tomorrow. I have found the whole breastfeeding thing very discouraging sadly enough especially since I felt so strongly about it and really wanted this so much. I offer the baby my breast for all his sucking needs and the only time I have resorted to formula was when he cried uncontrollably after nursings and it was very obvious he was still hungry. I am now a stay at home mom and while there is no real need to pump, I have pumped quite a few times so that I can physically see what my son is getting as he has a bowel movement only every four days although he does have many wet diapers. I generally get only about 3 oz. in about 45 minutes from both breasts. I am wondering if my breasts are not producing enough milk. Any time I give him formula, I pump to stimulate my breasts as I recognize the relationship between supply and demand. I have heard that women who don't gain a lot of weight during their pregnancies or whose breasts don't get larger have a tougher time. I only gained 11 pounds ( I was a bit overweight however, and had gestational diabetes so I had to be very prudent with my pregnancy diet) and my already very large boobs did not get larger at all. I wore the same bras throughout my pregnancy. I've read all breastfeeding material I could get my hands on and the sentiment always seems the same- that all women are capable of breastfeeding, that's it's what nature intended, and that with practice and perserverance the art can be mastered. I, however, am feeling very down suddenly about the whole thing as Michael always seems hungry and never seems satisfied at the breast. The idea of supplementing never seemed like a good one, however, his hungry cries get the better of me every time. Advice? I don't want to give up. My doctor assures me that if I make it to 6 weeks I'll have done a good thing, but I really wanted to make it to a year if that was possible. Thanks for listening, lisa |
#2
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How long to pump 3 oz?
I think you're doing fine, except I would stop all supplementing and let
Micheal nurse even if he seems hungry to you. Don't forget that this might just be a good old growth spurt and if you don't let Michael be at the breast all the time, then he won't stimulate the breasts for more milk. For the time being, stop pumping, let Micheal be at the breast any time to stimulate milk production and realize yourself that you can do this. The most common mistake many new moms make, is thinking they can't make enough milk and the baby is hungry. Keep at it, and you'll get to the six week mark and it will get easier and then you will realize that your at a year and you didn't even realize how you got there. ) Hang in there and stop pumping and supplementing. -- Sue (mom to three girls) I'm Just a Raggedy Ann in a Barbie Doll World... Zucca4 wrote in message ... Michael Jude will be 4 months old on Monday. He's nursing 70% of the time, 30% Similac thanks to his intensive care stay where he was indoctrinated to formula. Also he never seems satisfied at the breast and minutes after 30 mins. of nursing will carry on and then suck formula down like there is no tomorrow. I have found the whole breastfeeding thing very discouraging sadly enough especially since I felt so strongly about it and really wanted this so much. I offer the baby my breast for all his sucking needs and the only time I have resorted to formula was when he cried uncontrollably after nursings and it was very obvious he was still hungry. I am now a stay at home mom and while there is no real need to pump, I have pumped quite a few times so that I can physically see what my son is getting as he has a bowel movement only every four days although he does have many wet diapers. I generally get only about 3 oz. in about 45 minutes from both breasts. I am wondering if my breasts are not producing enough milk. Any time I give him formula, I pump to stimulate my breasts as I recognize the relationship between supply and demand. I have heard that women who don't gain a lot of weight during their pregnancies or whose breasts don't get larger have a tougher time. I only gained 11 pounds ( I was a bit overweight however, and had gestational diabetes so I had to be very prudent with my pregnancy diet) and my already very large boobs did not get larger at all. I wore the same bras throughout my pregnancy. I've read all breastfeeding material I could get my hands on and the sentiment always seems the same- that all women are capable of breastfeeding, that's it's what nature intended, and that with practice and perserverance the art can be mastered. I, however, am feeling very down suddenly about the whole thing as Michael always seems hungry and never seems satisfied at the breast. The idea of supplementing never seemed like a good one, however, his hungry cries get the better of me every time. Advice? I don't want to give up. My doctor assures me that if I make it to 6 weeks I'll have done a good thing, but I really wanted to make it to a year if that was possible. Thanks for listening, lisa |
#3
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How long to pump 3 oz?
"Zucca4" wrote in message
Michael Jude will be 4 months old on Monday. He's nursing 70% of the time, 30% Similac thanks to his intensive care stay where he was indoctrinated to formula. Also he never seems satisfied at the breast and minutes after 30 mins. of nursing will carry on and then suck formula down like there is no tomorrow. I have found the whole breastfeeding thing very discouraging sadly enough especially since I felt so strongly about it and really wanted this so much. snip I, however, am feeling very down suddenly about the whole thing as Michael always seems hungry and never seems satisfied at the breast. The idea of supplementing never seemed like a good one, however, his hungry cries get the better of me every time. I'm assuming that your baby is four weeks old now (not four months), because of your comment about getting to 6 weeks. If he is, I would bet that he is either starting his 6 week growth spurt early, or his 3 week growth spurt late. When those spurts happen, you will feel like you are nursing all the time! Everyone feels that way at this stage. It isn't because he isn't getting enough or is staying hungry, it is because he is building up your supply to meet his bigger demands. It is fine to go ahead and just be nursing all the time :-) It will not last forever. My DS will be three months old tomorrow and just went through a 3 months growth spurt in which it seemed like he was nursing about every hour during the day and every two hours at night. Since he is a more efficient nurser now that he is older, during the spurt he was only nursing about 10-15 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 bottle after 30 minutes, there isn't motivation for him to keep working at the breast. Most people here will probably suggest ditching the bottles and formula and nursing, nursing, nursing. If he always seems hungry, keep nursing him! (barring decreasing wet and poopy diapers or a sunken soft spot, obviously, that would indicate dehydration). I promise that it will ease off and that soon he won't want/need to be nursing so much! Maybe some mental "reframing" will help? Instead of thinking, "he seems hungry, I must not have enough milk for him," think, "wow, he is growth spurting! Better keep on nursing!" When my baby was going through growth spurts, I remember thinking that I could understand why women get into the "trap" of thinking they don't have enough milk, because that is what it feels like (even if you know better cognitively. However, soon you get over the hump, and as long as you haven't fallen in the trap, it becomes clear that you do have enough milk :-) Also, Cheryl S. reminded me here once when I was frustrating with DS behaving oddly at the breast (pulling away and crying, etc), that newborns think *all* of their problems can be solved by nursing/sucking. So, sometimes Michael may not actually be hungry, but acting "nursey" to fix some other problem (gas, needing to poop, feeling overwhelmed by his new world, etc). Since the formula flows out of the bottle so easily, he may drink, but is really just sucking to "fix" whatever else is going on in his new little body/brain. Very best wishes and ((((hugs)))) to you. You're doing a good job! Stick with it and it will get much easier soon! -- Em mama to the L-baby, 3 months |
#4
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How long to pump 3 oz?
"Zucca4" wrote in message
I offer the baby my breast for all his sucking needs and the only time I have resorted to formula was when he cried uncontrollably after nursings and it was very obvious he was still hungry. I am now a stay at home mom and while there is no real need to pump, I have pumped quite a few times so that I can physically see what my son is getting as he has a bowel movement only every four days although he does have many wet diapers. I generally get only about 3 oz. in about 45 minutes from both breasts. I am wondering if my breasts are not producing enough milk. Any time I give him formula, I pump to stimulate my breasts as I recognize the relationship between supply and demand. snip I realized after I posted, that I didn't respond to your question about pumping. Keep in mind that women respond differently to pumping and it isn't a very good indicator of how much milk you actually are producing (some women can pump tons, some nothing, but each is still producing plenty of milk for their nurslings). Also, remember that your baby's tummy only holds about 2 ounces at a time right now, so if you got 3 ounces, that was probably more than he needs at a feeding :-) My DS is 3 months, and I get about 3 ounces in ten minutes from one breast. I used to get less when he was younger and I also think I respond fairly well to the pump (no problems letting down, etc). Other people will get more ounces in less time and still others will barely squeeze out an ounce--it depends a lot on your pump-response, not on your body's actual level of milk production. -- Em mama to L-baby, 3 months |
#5
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How long to pump 3 oz?
"Zucca4" wrote in message ... Michael Jude will be 4 months old on Monday. He's nursing 70% of the time, 30% Similac thanks to his intensive care stay where he was indoctrinated to formula. Also he never seems satisfied at the breast and minutes after 30 mins. of nursing will carry on and then suck formula down like there is no tomorrow. I have found the whole breastfeeding thing very discouraging sadly enough especially since I felt so strongly about it and really wanted this so much. I offer the baby my breast for all his sucking needs and the only time I have resorted to formula was when he cried uncontrollably after nursings and it was very obvious he was still hungry. I am now a stay at home mom and while there is no real need to pump, I have pumped quite a few times so that I can physically see what my son is getting as he has a bowel movement only every four days although he does have many wet diapers. I generally get only about 3 oz. in about 45 minutes from both breasts. I am wondering if my breasts are not producing enough milk. Any time I give him formula, I pump to stimulate my breasts as I recognize the relationship between supply and demand. I have heard that women who don't gain a lot of weight during their pregnancies or whose breasts don't get larger have a tougher time. I only gained 11 pounds ( I was a bit overweight however, and had gestational diabetes so I had to be very prudent with my pregnancy diet) and my already very large boobs did not get larger at all. I wore the same bras throughout my pregnancy. I've read all breastfeeding material I could get my hands on and the sentiment always seems the same- that all women are capable of breastfeeding, that's it's what nature intended, and that with practice and perserverance the art can be mastered. I, however, am feeling very down suddenly about the whole thing as Michael always seems hungry and never seems satisfied at the breast. The idea of supplementing never seemed like a good one, however, his hungry cries get the better of me every time. Advice? I don't want to give up. My doctor assures me that if I make it to 6 weeks I'll have done a good thing, but I really wanted to make it to a year if that was possible. Thanks for listening, lisa Lisa, are you in any nipple pain -- could you just marathon nurse him until he adjusts mentally to NOT getting the formula? I agree with the other posters that you should go off formula and off pumping if you can make it work for you -- Nursing is more work for the baby than the bottle, so perhaps he is disappointed in the breast after getting the bottle. It will be SO much easier for you if you guys work out your nursing relationship especially since you are a SAHM. That's my perspective: no bottles to wash, no formula to run out of, no going to the kitchen in the night, no stinky diapers until she can pry the solid food out of my clenched fist. And it's like having nonsurgical liposuction. Meg (nine weeks old) sometimes wants to nurse all day. Last night she nursed every hour and a half all night. I don't really ask why, I just switch her to the other side, latch her on and try to go back to sleep. I haven't taken the advice "take the baby to bed with you and nurse" except when I've been sick myself, but maybe you should be waited on hand and foot, and just stay in bed with Michael for a couple of days. -- Dagny Mom to Meg, 10/03 |
#6
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How long to pump 3 oz?
Zucca4 wrote:
I have pumped quite a few times so that I can physically see what my son is getting I'm sure others will add better info, but pumping output is not a good judge of how much milk you are actually producing. You may just respond poorly to the pump. as he has a bowel movement only every four days although he does have many wet diapers. My DS (also 4 months) is exclusively BF and poops about every 3 days. That's normal. The formula has probably slowed it down a little more, too. I have heard that women who don't gain a lot of weight during their pregnancies or whose breasts don't get larger have a tougher time. I only gained 11 pounds ( I was a bit overweight however, and had gestational diabetes so I had to be very prudent with my pregnancy diet) and my already very large boobs did not get larger at all. I wore the same bras throughout my pregnancy. I wore my normal bras throughout pregnancy and gained 20 lbs (which I lost immediately after birth). I make way more milk than my DS needs. I think that information is incorrect. Manda |
#7
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How long to pump 3 oz?
I pump while nursing, that way the milk comes. I can get about 3 oz in 5-10
minutes from an "empty" breast. When they are full, it takes maybe 3-5 minutes. Good luck! "Zucca4" wrote in message ... Michael Jude will be 4 months old on Monday. He's nursing 70% of the time, 30% Similac thanks to his intensive care stay where he was indoctrinated to formula. Also he never seems satisfied at the breast and minutes after 30 mins. of nursing will carry on and then suck formula down like there is no tomorrow. I have found the whole breastfeeding thing very discouraging sadly enough especially since I felt so strongly about it and really wanted this so much. I offer the baby my breast for all his sucking needs and the only time I have resorted to formula was when he cried uncontrollably after nursings and it was very obvious he was still hungry. I am now a stay at home mom and while there is no real need to pump, I have pumped quite a few times so that I can physically see what my son is getting as he has a bowel movement only every four days although he does have many wet diapers. I generally get only about 3 oz. in about 45 minutes from both breasts. I am wondering if my breasts are not producing enough milk. Any time I give him formula, I pump to stimulate my breasts as I recognize the relationship between supply and demand. I have heard that women who don't gain a lot of weight during their pregnancies or whose breasts don't get larger have a tougher time. I only gained 11 pounds ( I was a bit overweight however, and had gestational diabetes so I had to be very prudent with my pregnancy diet) and my already very large boobs did not get larger at all. I wore the same bras throughout my pregnancy. I've read all breastfeeding material I could get my hands on and the sentiment always seems the same- that all women are capable of breastfeeding, that's it's what nature intended, and that with practice and perserverance the art can be mastered. I, however, am feeling very down suddenly about the whole thing as Michael always seems hungry and never seems satisfied at the breast. The idea of supplementing never seemed like a good one, however, his hungry cries get the better of me every time. Advice? I don't want to give up. My doctor assures me that if I make it to 6 weeks I'll have done a good thing, but I really wanted to make it to a year if that was possible. Thanks for listening, lisa |
#8
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How long to pump 3 oz?
thank you all so much for your responses. You've made me feel so much better
Happy Holidays! Lisa |
#9
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How long to pump 3 oz?
Everyone else has already given you the good advice--I just want to say hang in
there and let us know how it is going. we're great at giving moral support as well as info! Leslie |
#10
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How long to pump 3 oz?
Hi Lisa,
Zucca4 wrote: Michael Jude will be 4 months old on Monday. He's nursing 70% of the time, 30% Similac thanks to his intensive care stay where he was indoctrinated to formula. Also he never seems satisfied at the breast and minutes after 30 mins. of nursing will carry on and then suck formula down like there is no tomorrow. (Assuming Michael Jude is 4 WEEKS old...) Don't use the NICU to make excuses that now he has to have formula. Pillbug was in the NICU 5 days and he had formula while he was there (while I pumped and also nursed). What you are describing is NORMAL. You need to nurse, nurse, nurse! Throw out the formula. As my pediatrician said, at some point, you have to throw away the training wheels. (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 position as when he left me, not having been able to shower or change my clothes. You need to nurse ANY time baby seems hungry. Don't stop just because it's time or he _should_ be full. (It's okay to stop for a bit if you're sore, of course.) (2) Some breastfed babies only poop every few days. This is normal. You say he has enough wet diapers, that's a good sign. (3) Pumping will NOT show you how much your baby is taking in. As an example, in my 10-hour workday in 4 pumping sessions, I can barely pump 16 oz. In that same period of time at home, Pillbug drinks 22 oz. However, when I am with him for those same 10 hours and 4 nursing sessions, Pillbug has no problems satisfying his hunger. Clearly, he can get enough from me, but the pump cannot. (4) I gained 25 pounds in my pregnancy, but my breast size only increased very little. It doesn't have much to do with breast size (or increase). (5) Read this website (paying particular attention to No. 8): http://www.bflrc.com/ljs/breastfeeding/MakeMilk.html (6) My original goal was 4 weeks, then 2 months, then 3 months, then 6 months... Now it's a year. Keep it up. YOU CAN DO IT! -- Anita -- -- SUCCESS FOUR FLIGHTS THURSDAY MORNING ALL AGAINST TWENTY ONE MILE WIND STARTED FROM LEVEL WITH ENGINE POWER ALONE AVERAGE SPEED THROUGH AIR THIRTY ONE MILES LONGEST 57 SECONDS INFORM PRESS HOME CHRISTMAS. |
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