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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Am I doing enough to maintain supply?

7 replies

Cobo · 25/03/2015 17:51

DS is 14 weeks. We were exclusively breast feeding, but he wasn't gaining weight so he's been put onto prescription high calorie formula supplements for the last couple of weeks.

I'm really keen to maintain my supply, with the hope of working back towards exclusively breastfeeding after he has a heart operation in a few months that may improve his calorie efficiency. Could anyone tell me if what I'm doing sounds enough to maintain supply, or if there's anything else I should be doing? I was paranoid about my supply anyway, as he didn't feed for the first 3 weeks and I was exclusively pumping - worried I didn't do it enough then.

I'm doing a 2-hourly feeding schedule which ends up as roughly 11 feeds in 24 hours (I'll feed more if he wants it, although he usually doesn't). Two of those feeds are entirely high calorie formula. I offer breast after those, but he usually won't take it. The rest are breastfeeds, but I give 20ml formula top ups before four of those breastfeeds. In total he has 200ml of high cal formula a day.

I'm expressing twice a day, and generally get around 120ml per pumping. So a total of 240ml per day.

Does this sound like enough to maintain supply on that amount of formula? And is pumping in two sessions enough, or would it be better to pump less volume more frequently?

Thank you.

OP posts:
Springtimemama · 25/03/2015 22:35

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Springtimemama · 25/03/2015 23:02

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hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 25/03/2015 23:05

I think you are doing amazingly well and I hope your baby's surgery goes well.

Cobo · 30/03/2015 13:43

Thanks for the replies, and the links Springtimemama. I'm still finding it relatively easy to express my target amount, so I'm hoping that means supply isn't going down. DS's weight is only creeping up though, so bracing myself to be told to increase the formula.

OP posts:
SconeCreamJam · 30/03/2015 13:51

An idea might be to introduce comfort nursing sessions if you can? Whenever and however often you both want/can, that should stimulate your milk supply and you may well find you can produce more when pumping, and he'll be getting additional calories from you.

Cobo · 30/03/2015 15:41

Will try that, thanks. Need to work out a position so I can pump and feed at the same time!

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GeorgiaTownend93 · 30/03/2015 16:09

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