How much expressed milk?

[melissa1215]

Hi,

I've recently posted about exclusively breastfeeding my 3 month old son. It's been a challenge, I thought we were doing great but I've been told my little man has gained enough weight.

They seem to try to sway me to switch to formula, if this is the route I need to take I'll do it but I really want to persevere with bf or even supplement with formula if I have to.

I've started expressing, I was going to bottle feed him at least twice a day while continuing breastfeeding on demand, hopefully this will help him to gain weight.

I have no idea how much expressed milk he should be having, it's hard for me to know as feeding on demand I don't have An accurate number of feeds to work out how much he should have in a bottle?

I've pumped 6oz size feeds and froze them

Any help is greatly appreciated xx

Who is trying to sway you to formula feed?

Sorry, your post has confused me? Can you detail the issue with weight gain / weight loss?

Have you been offered any advice on how to manage this? I would think giving top ups of expressed milk or formula after feeds would be better than just switching to a bottle for some feeds. Really can't remember how much my DD drank at 3 months, but I'd be inclined to store in smaller quantities to avoid waste - you can always give 3 lots of 2oz if he does need as much as 6oz.

Agree a bit more information is needed though. Have their always been concerns over his weight or is this new?

And people wonder why breastfeeding rates are low, sounds like you haven't been given much support. Can you give more info re his weight gains and also how he is in himself. Can I also add that expressing 6oz feeds is good going so your supply is clearly good therefore I'm not sure what good topping up will do unless it's been suggested his latch isn't great?

I agree to express 6oz in one go is an incredible effort! I'd have to see a very dramatic weight loss to stop breastfeeding if that's what I could express!

Sounds like you're getting some bad advice but I'm keen to hear more on babies weight gain/ loss journey too.

I was told to use formula too by a mw when my baby took a bit longer to return to birthrate and so I asked the HV for advice as I wasn’t able to express enough (I needed to supplement 45ml per feed so that was approx a litre per day). She suggested using a breastmilk catcher (brand names Haakaa from Aldi or Lanisoh from Amazon / Boots) on one breast while you express and it worked with minimal effort - I went from struggling to produce 4 ounces per day to producing double that. You can freeze the output but I just decanted it into bottles and got my DH to bottle feed the same day after I had already fed.

I'd persevere with exclusively breastfeeding if possible. I have had three children- on my first I didn't have a clue and on MW advice I began supplemental bottles and my milk supply dropped and I ended up bottle feeding from 3 months. My second son had reflux and list a lot of weight initially but I kept going and he did well on breast only despite advice and pressure to move to bottle which made me feel very guilty. When I had my third I decided to close me ears to everyone other than my baby and was completely baby led for feeding sleeping etc. I exclusively breastfed first 6 months and weaned successfully but still fed until 16/18 months when she stopped breastfeeding herself. It was a great experience. I'd follow your instincts.

Sorry for the slow reply, he was 10lb 1oz born, he went down to 8lb 13oz and I fed on demand as advised by midwives to get his weight back up.

He was discharged from midwives at 4 weeks at a healthy 10lb 6oz and I was told to keep doing as I was

When I went to get him weighed at 13 weeks they said he was 11lb 6oz and this was under weighed and he'd dropped 2 centiles

He looks perfectly healthy and is alert, they didn't discuss anything with me other than this:

"Come back next week, if he's not gained any weight we will look at introducing formula"

I'd had no prior concerns, and he's a super long little boy and feeds constantly and is alert. I had no idea why they were really worried. I felt like a failure, I tried to talk about what I'd prefer to do (carry on breastfeeding or feed him expressed milk)

But I don't know how much expresses milk to give per day, I was told to come back in a week because other people were waiting to have their babies weighed.

Just looking for some advice on how much expresses milk would be suitable for a 3 month old, sorry I wasn't detailed enough! Wracking my brains with worry I'm doing it wrong

I also asked if they could check for a possible tongue tie, they said he was fine. They literally didn't give me any advice on how to go forward

Prior to this we had no concerns, he was born big and lost a lot but gained it back and more in 4 weeks

@GrumpyHoonMain the catchers are amazing, I use mine when I'm feeding them pump whenever I get time 😁

I didn't breastfeed DS but he was over 9lbs at birth and steadily dropped centiles and was rested on the 50th by about 3 months, he's 3.5 now and always been on the 50th ever since.

He was two weeks overdue so that's probably why he was fairly big, if he'd been born around his due date he would have been a lot more average.

Formula has the same number of calories as breast milk (unless it’s special prescription stuff), so unless there’s a problem with your supply I can’t see what good formula will do. Try giving expressed milk this week (have you actually tried giving a bottle though? Some babies won’t take them) - stick to feeding on demand, rather than worrying about how much he should be having. Maybe heat 3 oz, if he finishes it you can do more, if not do less next time.

Remember you don’t HAVE to do what the HV say, they’re just advising. If you’re sure he’s getting plenty of milk but weight gain isn’t great it might be worth having him checked by your GP, but switching to formula won’t necessarily make him gain weight faster.

Bless you, you're certainly not failing! He was born quite heavy so it could be catch down growth. Where I am there's a specialist in the hospital who conducts tongue tie assessments, I'd perhaps see whether you have access to something like that just to rule it out - I believe it's very common and often missed leading people to stop bf. Honestly though if I was you I would just continue to bf as you have been. The fact he's happy and alert is a really good indication of his health.

I exclusively expressed for dd for six months.

She would have 90ml in a single feed, and an overall average intake of 750ml a day, at 12 weeks. This is roughly average according to Kelly mom.

Same as @packingsoapandwater I exclusively (and still am ds) at 12 weeks he was feeding every 4 hours and taking between approx 90ml/3oz every feed, occasionally more, occasionally less but always 750ml in 24 hours.

Could you attend a baby cafe and get some breast feeding advice there?

Well done in the 6oz btw, it takes me about an hour of pumping to get that much out now I've started weaning.