Amount of ebm? Tiktok? Anyone?

[lyndyloo]

Lo about to start nursery and won't drink formula full stop. Will take ebm from a bottle though.

I plan to do 2 feeds before nursery and then on her return in the evening. Ideally would have 2-3 feeds during the day but don't think I will be able to express that much tbh. However she is 6m, started weaning and so will get food and water. However not sure how much ebm she should get. Is it comparable to a bottle feed of formula?

I saw a calculator thing on kellymom which showed that my LO was probably taking about 2-3oz per bf. If she is taking a bottle of ebm though will she need about 80z - which is what she would get with formula?

Anyone know? Any experience of this? I can only really express 2-3 oz at a time and there is no way I would get enough for full bottles 2 or 3 times a day. My thinking is that because bf babes feed more than bottle fed that I shouldn't compare breast and bottle.

Any advice anyone?

When DD1 started at the childminder she was 7 months old, and I fed her twice in the morning and then lots in the evening. She was at her CM for 10 hours a day In between, she ate and drank her 'weaning' food, and had a couple of oz of EBM. I've never been very good at expressing, but she didn't suffer any weightloss or anything!
However, I was talked into weaning her at 4 months, because that was the advice at that point, so she was maybe more used to food and drink other than breastmilk.
DD1 has grown into a fit and active 4.5 year old. She was breastfed until she was 2.5.
HTH.

Hi Lyndyloo. I agonised about this when my LO started with CM at 4 mths. Had a few weeks of suck-it-and-see, with him demanding increasingly large bottles and me stressing to express enough. Now he's 6 1/2 mths and on solids, but gets lots of milk from me too. His routine is: v.early morning BF, quick top up at 8.30am before leaving house, some solids (usually mush - we are BLW at home but couldn't put CM through the gagging thing) and a 7oz bottle of EBM about 11. Then about 3pm-ish he has another load of mush and another 7 oz bottle. He was having 3x 7oz bottles a day but cut one out himself when he started going with solids. He might snack on a rice cake or two as well. He is offered water, but apparently doesn't seem to take much. When he comes home he has supper with us and a BF before bed. Then probably 2 or 3 at night too. He is quite lean and seems to burn it off quickly.
Hope that might help.
BTW have you tried expresing with baby on other side - its saved my sanity!

My dd was 6 months when she started nursery too. I expressed twice a day at work for about 15 mins each time and then if I didn't get enough off, I expressed again in the evening. I used to aim for 12oz per day, so dd had 2 x 6oz bottles at nursery. She also drank water and had started weaning. I breastfed once in the morning, when we got home, bedtime and once in the night. This seemed to work out fine.
What I found really helped was building up a stock of ebm in the fridge before I started work, so that if I had a day where i didn't manage to express as much milk it wasn't the end of the world. I kept this up to 1 year, although by then I had reduced it to 8oz per day at nursery.

i suspect each baby is different. my dd never wanted more than 4 oz of ebm at one go. if i were you, i would freeze ebm in 3 oz lots to start with. then play it by ear. that way you will 'waste' less if she doesn't drink it all.

in order to build a stock in my freezer, i 'built in' an extra feed at night. it took a week to build up to a maximum volume.

i waited till an hr or so after my dd was in bed. the first night, aim to express for 30 mins. you may only get 10 ml but that doesn't matter. at the same time for the next 3 nights, express for 30 mins. you should see the output increase. by the 4th or 5th night i was getting 3 or 4 oz in about 15 mins. again, keep expressing for a few minutes after you think it is all gone. you may be surprised to find you get another letdown. it may only be half an oz worth but you'll see that it is v. creamy milk.

i can get another half oz out if i hand express after using the pump. it is a skill worth learning as is googling 'breast compression' in order to speed up a pumping session. (don't sweat over these things though until you have 'built in' that extra feed as explained above.)

i cannot recommend an electric double pump enough. it is the only thing worth buying in my experience i use an ameda lactaline. worth every penny i spent on it. i have heard very good things about the medela double pump and other double electrics but i have no experience with them. i got on well with the avent hand pump but it was either the double electric or repetitive strain injury with the amount of expressing i have done.

oh, this is how i got a MN addiction.

Hi Lyndyloo
I have a very similar problem, my DD is nearly 6 months and started nursery this week. She can?t have formula because the few times I have tried it, it has made her very ill (lots of vomiting), and now she won?t drink it anyway.

She?s quite a small baby (12lbs 7 at 25 weeks), and if she has an EBM feed she will only take 4oz at one feed. She usually has about 7 feeds a day (including night time waking ones).

Our current routine is that I feed her before we leave for nursery (about 8.30am), she has baby rice watered down with stewed apple juice mid morning, I go back the nursery for a quick bf at lunchtime, she has a 4oz bottle of EBM in the afternoon (and more baby rice if she will take it) and I bf all evening and during the night. I?ve got a bit of stock in the freezer, but also find it difficult to express much, usually only manage about 2-3oz a day, so am worried about keeping supplies up.

I haven?t tried expressing at work - although this is obviously a good solution if you can manage it. (There isn?t really a suitable room to do it in where I am, and I can?t usually get a let down without DD on the other boob.)

One thought I had was that baby rice (or whatever solids she is taking) watered down with made-up formula might work for you, maybe mixed with some apple juice to disguise the taste or something?

I have found that the nursery are very good at recording exactly how much (including milk volume) she eats and drinks and when, so although it may take a few days, you should get a good idea of whether any EBM is being wasted and adjust accordingly.

Sorry this is a bit woffly, but good luck and hope your DD settles well

Thanks for your suggestions. I will suggest formula is mixed in with food at nursery definately.

As for expressing - am only managing 20z per session at the moment but on return to work with do 2 a day so will get 40z and send that to nursery with her. If she wants more - will have to have formula! Though hope I can get better at expressing!