Kelly mom how much breast milk

If your baby is gaining weight at an appropriate rate, following his own feeding pattern is the best way of ensuring you are meeting his needs. Increasing your milk — make breastfeeding solutions a priority Breastfeeding basics Breastfeed as often as possible—at least 10 times in 24 hours. Wake your baby if necessary. Encourage active breastfeeding on the first breast until it feels soft and comfortable.

Then offer the second. Use breast compression see below. Encourage breastfeeding for comfort as well as food. It can really help your milk production. Stop using any dummy — breastfeed instead. Night feeds really help you make more milk. Cut back a little on solid foods if your milk production is dropping see section on Other foods.

If supplements are needed Your baby needs enough milk to give him the energy to breastfeed effectively. He may need supplements temporarily if: He continues to lose weight. He is not yet fully breastfed. Although breastfeeding will always be the first choice, supplements need not mean the end of breastfeeding Managing supplements See Using donor milk and formula to support breastfeeding for more details. Expressed breastmilk is always the best supplement. Expressing can also help increase your milk production.

The amount of supplement your baby needs depends on how much milk you are producing and his weight gain. Offer small amounts several times a day so your baby will still breastfeed frequently. Avoid bottles if possible. For small amounts of supplement consider cup, spoon or syringe feeding.

A home-made or commercially made nursing supplementer is an effective way to offer larger amounts as your baby breastfeeds.

See Nursing Supplementers. An open cup or a baby beaker with a simple spout no valves can be used for a baby from three months. Offering supplements while in skin-to-skin or close contact encourages babies to breastfeed Start and finish at the breast Babies expect fast flowing milk at the start of a feed when they are thirsty. A smaller teat hole prevents a baby taking milk too quickly. Hold him in an upright position, using your hand to support his neck and head.

To encourage your baby to open wide, place the teat across his upper and lower lips with the tip at the ridge between the upper lip and nose. Allow your baby some control. Let him take the bottle teat into his mouth himself. Avoid pushing the teat into his mouth. Encourage frequent pauses to mimic breastfeeding and allow your baby to decide when he has had enough. Express your milk A baby who is nursing well at the breast is more effective than any pump.

Hospital-grade pumps are most effective for mothers needing to increase their milk—but any pump that works well for you is fine. Hand expression is effective, especially combined with pumping—see Further Reading. Use it to stimulate milk flow before pumping, or after pumping to express the last few drops of milk. Breast compression whilst pumping also helps milk flow. Pumping both breasts at the same time boosts milk-producing hormones. When pumping one breast at a time, switch back and forth several times as milk flow slows.

Pump manufacturers generally recommend washing with hot soapy water. If you want to sterilize, once a day is enough if your baby is healthy. Just like your milk, pumping equipment can safely be left at room temperature for short periods and refrigerated in a clean container for longer periods, giving you more time for your baby. See Storing Your Milk for details.

Milk expressed after a feed may be small in quantity, but high in calories. Returning to work before your baby is six months old requires expressing milk approximately every three hours when separated.

For example, for an 8-hour shift you will be separated from your baby for about 10 hours work, lunch break, commute. Over the hour period, it is recommended that you express milk three times.

Some sample schedules may look like these below. Notice that I have added in morning pre-work and evening post-work expression sessions. These are to assure that mother has enough milk to provide for the time separated and also designed to keep supply high and the mother comfortable. Some mothers may find that they are able to breastfeeding their babies before they leave for work and right when they get home, making it unnecessary to pump before and after work.

It really is what works best for the mother and baby. Once your baby is taking well to solids, you may have the opportunity to reduce the number of pumping sessions each day. Remove the session that is the least productive for you. Each session should empty the breast — approximately 15 minutes pumping time. How much milk will I need each day? Breastfed infants consume approximately one ounce 30ml per hour when separated from their mother from age 6 weeks until age 6 months.

So, if you are separated for 10 hours Monday — Friday, I recommend providing the caregiver with 10 — 12 ounces ml of breastmilk, although some babies may need more. It is important to review appropriate feeding cues with caregivers so breastmilk is not offered at every cry, fuss or frustration.

Remember, this is only one third of the milk the infant will consume each day — the rest of her consumption will be directly from the breast and she will take what she needs when you are back together.

Many infants will reverse cycle feed thereby getting their primary calorie consumption in the evenings and nights. Mothers should be aware of this and welcome it as a terrific method for maintaining supply. How should I package milk and store for future use? The method that seems to work best for the busy working mother is to start each week on Sunday night by removing 10 — 12 ounces ml of frozen breastmilk from the freezer and thawing overnight in the refrigerator.

Milk can then be packaged for the care provider in small bottles 2. The mother will then express milk on Monday. On Friday, milk is packaged in 1 and 2 ounce bags ml and frozen, clearly labeled with the date. Using this pattern, the baby will only receive frozen breastmilk once each week and the freezer supply will be efficiently rotated.

There is a tendency for less and less milk to be expressed as the stressful week progresses. Freezing in small packages will allow mom to pull one or two ounces from her freezer on Thursday or Friday if needed without having to defrost and potentially waste 5 ounces ml of frozen breastmilk.

Reassurance and support can make all the difference for these mothers. Encourage networking with other breastfeeding mothers at work and plenty of skin to skin time together when mother and baby are home. United States Breastfeeding Committee. Workplace breastfeeding support [issue paper]. Employment status of women and men in Accessed May 15, Society for Human Resource Management. Accessed April 17, Wendy spent 15 years in the biotech industry in the Bay Area and worldwide prior to breaking out on her own and founding Lactation Navigation in Wendy has a B.

Both kids love to swim and enjoy bicycling. She is dreadfully fearful of spiders and enjoys spicy food any time of day. Lactation Navigation allows Wendy to combine skills learned in the corporate setting over the past 15 years with her love of breastfeeding. It allows her to spend time with her children and also with new mothers.

It also encourages health and happiness for other families, and brings bottom-line profits to progressive companies. Wendy Wright , Working mom. Supportive, evidence-based, recognizes the hurdles working mothers esp. Thank you. Appreciate the feedback! It may be better to give recommendations in terms of a babies needs, which are weight dependent.

Thus the need for pumping. The more frequent stimulation of nursing in a new pattern is probably what saves milk supply. Realistically, when would she actually be nursing? The point here is that going back to work or school is NOT the end of breastfeeding unless mom chooses for it to be. The new pattern of their lives becomes this: when mommy is away, I get bottles, and when mommy is back we nurse whenever I want. Anyone whose milk supply has ever been pump-dependent for any amount of time knows they would much rather wake to breastfeed than to sit with that machine in the dark and wait for it to be over.

What strategies might a working mother use to ensure adequate sleep at night while breastfeeding, besides cosleeping or bedside cosleeping units? My guess is that in addition to finding time to pump at work, this is probably the biggest obstacle to continued breastfeeding by working moms. My supply decreased quickly after returning to work with both of my children because their desire for nursing went away with the frequent use of bottles during the day. I wished they would have wanted to nurse in the evenings and at night because it is much easier and more enjoyable to have my baby at the breast than me sitting and listening to a pump in the middle of the night.

I am excited to see how it goes! Baby latches, you sleep… no one has to fully wake up… worked well for my 5 kids and being a working mom! Was MUCH easier than getting up at night to warm a bottle when the baby was already awake and crying, then after feeding took more time to settle back to sleep.

I weaned her since I had to leave her with daddy while I finished my last semester of nursing school out of state. And the next 4 exclusively breast fed and only got bottles of breast milk when I was away from them.

Enjoy your priviledge to sit down and relax with your baby as often as you can… soon they will be crawling, walking, asking for car keys and moving away to college and life!

Hi Erica — you are correct, staying up more in the night can be a challenge. This is usually a temporary situation. Some moms do like it to maintain supply and have more time with their baby — if short term — works out okay.

Loved the article and focus on working moms, which is hard to find, but agree with Erica that the night feeding comment seemed a bit unrealistic. What a great article to have on hand for so many women! Occasionally, I had to pump a bit more at home, but since I was blessed with a short commute, nursing right before and right after work was feasible.

One key point not mentioned was the need for a good pump. The double electric pumps on the market that are most effective seem to be the Medela Freestyle, Medela Pump in Style, or my personal favorite, the Ameda Purely Yours all reviewed on my site; feel free to comment. Many women get lower-quality pumps because of expense and their pumping suffers.

WIC offices may give pumps, but not all offices give the same ones, and sometimes women are handed ineffective ones. If you are not going to be away from your baby on a regular basis work or school , you may only get a manual pump from them. Talk to their peer counselors for breast feeding support. Thanks for this article that is sure to help many women! I was blessed with a short commute, so nursing right before and after work was doable. I was able to stretch out pumping to hour increments and make enough milk to never have to supplement with formula or start solids before my baby was eating finger food.

One key point missing is the need for an effective pump. Unfortunately, many women resort to buying the cheapest pump on the market, not realizing it makes a difference, or WIC provides them with a subpar pump it depends on the office — some give out excellent choices.

A hand pump may work, but is tiring for many and leads people to give up. I wish the best of luck to anyone who needs to pump at work. Excellent point Leah — I should have mentioned the importance of a quality pump. Thanks for your comments. Can you help me, please, with the name of some manual pumps I can use? I am currently BF an almost 7 month old that has been on solids for 3 weeks. I have noticed a decrease in my milk supply.

I am fortunate enough to only have to pump one or two times while working every 3 hours and my schedule is close to schedule 3 above, including night feedings. Should I be doing this? Thanks, Brandi. HI Brandi — you most likely do not need to pump at night — now that you are starting solids, your 7 month old will slowly take less milk and get more calories from foods.

Nursing exclusively on the weekends can boost supply after a busy work week. I am donating milk to a friend who is only giving what I am able to share and give. So, she uses formula most of the time. I have a goal to provide enough milk for her baby each day, but so far only can get about 8 oz to her since I am nursing my 7 week old full time she has a 3 week old adopted child.

Is it realistic or possible for me to provide much more milk for her baby? My friend had twins and nursed full time and pumped out so much extra she donated to a milk bank. I too could pump oz each feeding. Your diet and staying very hydrated is important.

How blessed your friend is to have a friend like you. Good luck. Some experts think that this leads to overfeeding, and may be one of the reasons why babies fed on formula milk are at higher risk of overweight and obesity in later life. Adults often feel less hungry when they first start a new job, too! Give yourselves a week or two to adjust to your new pattern. Babies older than about 6 months, who are also eating other foods, may choose to manage without milk altogether while you are away, managing fine with food and water until you get back.

They may be impressed by the powerful connection you are making with your breastfeeding baby, and want the same kind of closeness. Fathers, co-parents and other key adults who spend lots of time holding babies skin-to-skin and sharing gaze and smiles with them experience a surge of nurturing hormones, like breastfeeding mothers do. If you want to promote a closer connection between your baby and the other important people in her life, encourage them to wear her in a sling , take a bath with her or just hang out together between breastfeeds, and let nature do its magic!

Even very young breastfeeding babies can have strong, loving relationships with several people at once, including other close adults and siblings. Experienced parents know that these early months and years pass quickly, and the time will come when the baby or young child reaches out to someone else, in preference to their mother!

Older babies and toddlers typically go through cycles of intense connection with one favored parent or carer, then another. In the meantime, there are many ways a loved one can help you and your baby at the same time. They can love, listen to and support the breastfeeding parent.

They can change a diaper. They can bathe the baby. They can hold and calm the baby when he is not hungry, especially in those evening hours when young babies often need long periods of intensive soothing. They can play with, sing and read to the baby. They can bring mum a glass of water, snack, phone, TV remote, or anything else she needs when she sits down to nurse.. They can take care of housework, errands and meals. They can defend mum to others who may not support breastfeeding or other parenting choices.

They can be right there next to mum when she breastfeeds in public, helping her feel confident. They can contact a La Leche League Leader for help! Bottles are not a necessary part of a close relationship with the baby. Most mothers who express all their milk for their baby have experienced such overwhelming breastfeeding challenges that breastfeeding directly does not feel like an option for them.

Skin to skin contact provides a baby with huge benefits. Babies who are held skin-to-skin cry less, saving their energy for growing, and have more stable breathing, heart rate, blood sugar, and temperature.

And a baby at the breast is at the perfect distance for gazing at your face, basking in the warmth of your smile. When a baby is fed partly or entirely by bottle or any means other than the breast , they can still benefit from lots of skin contact, holding and gaze — carers just need to be more intentional about it. La Leche League is all about mothering — not just breastfeeding. We have supported thousands of mothers to provide human milk for their babies by means other than the breast, and to have wonderfully close, satisfying relationships with their babies.

You can too! La Leche League groups welcome anyone who is pregnant, breastfeeding, providing their own milk, or donor milk, for a baby, or trying to do so. We also welcome those who are interested in the information we offer. Breastfeeding mothers understand better than anyone else the challenges of breastfeeding, and the work involved in expressing milk.

We would love to meet you and your baby, and support you on your feeding journey. For best printing results, open the llli. Although you can view the site well in any browser, printing from other browsers might not operate correctly. Click the Print button that is displayed on the web page not the Print command on the browser menu or toolbar. This opens the browser print window.

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