Exclusively pumping - baby taking SO much milk

[GFgd]

Baby is 2 months. So tomorrow I’m going to actually start recording exactly how much she’s taking but I’m exclusively pumping and then give a bottle of formula before bed usually (to try to get her to sleep a bit longer). Today she must have had 10 bottles, no word of a lie. There’s no pattern to it, I never know how long I have until the next one is needed. Sometimes she’s taking a full 5oz, other times maybe taking 3oz. It’s just been one after another. It’s as if sometimes she’s not even necessarily hungry but just wants a bottle for the sake of it or to get her to sleep. I know actual breastfed babies feed more than formula fed babies but when she has so much milk available per feed and can presumably drink it faster from a bottle, is she taking too much? She’s got chubby cheeks, arm rolls etc but isn’t absolutely enormous just yet 😂 She doesn’t have a dummy and I’d like to avoid having to use one if I can.

Do I try giving some more formula to be able to get a decent stretch in the day where she isn’t glued to a bottle and avoid her over feeding so much? I can’t think what else to do other than just keep giving her ridiculous amounts of milk 🙈

Why are you pumping and not offering breast? You can not over feed a breast fed baby and there is no nerd to see how much she is having.. just feed on demand.
Pumps are awful.. have you tried the hot water method? A bowl of very hot water and a glass sterilised jug and placing your boob over the hot water and hand pumping into the jug? Much easier and less painful than a breast pump.. but can you explain why you're doing all this palaver instead of putting baby to breast?

@QueenofTheSlipstreamVM im happy with the pump I have/ how the pumping is going, it’s just the amount she’s taking that my query is with.

There's many reasons women might exclusively pump, and it appears to be working for OP and her baby. Also pumping shouldn't be painful, it isn't for me.

OP, if you were breastfeeding you wouldn't know how much baby was taking and 10+ feeds in a day could be normal! It's good you are feeding on demand too, that's the right thing to do. Also feeding to sleep is nornal. Breast milk contains hormones that make baby nice and sleepy 😊 Are you paced feeding? Using an appropriate teat size? Taking a break mid feed to wind and giving baby a chance to see if they're full?

Well done you for expressing full time btw, it must be full on!!

You may be coming out the other end of the 6-8 week growth spurt. During a baby’s first year of life they go through several growth spurts where they nurse constantly.

Or starting the 3 month growth spurt?

Please don't follow this crazy advice. If you get the right pump it's not painful at all and I can't imagine anything worse than this palaver described.

My baby was feeding 12-14 times a day at that age so if your pace feeding I wouldn't worry.

There's also no evidence that formula will help sleeping but obviously if it gives you a bit of a break from the pumping then it's a great idea.

I'm totally in awe of mums who exclusively pump, so you're doing amazingly.

Oh but just read you want to avoid a dummy, not sure why that is. All mine had them and they never interfered with feeding cues etc and were simple to stop using when they got older. They are brilliant if you have a sucky baby. Your choice though obviously.

Only want to avoid one as we didn’t have one with our first baby and any friends that have mentioned them have said they’ve fell out a lot in the night and needed put back in so wanted to avoid that if possible! If she needs one though it might be an easier option

@WonkyBricks thanks for the lovely reassuring comment 😊 yes doing all of that I think, can only hope it’s a growth spurt!

If she wants it and it's staying in (not puked) then it's not ridiculous amounts! Sounds like she's growing nicely :) Add more formula if you want a break (exclusive pumping must be hard!) but I think it's the same in calories as breastmilk?

If she's drinking most of each bottle she's probably just hungry.

I EP all three of mine. It's interesting how their intake sometimes went up for a couple of weeks and I would use up all my milk stash; then back down. Growth spurts I suppose.

At least as you are pumping you know it's not a supply issue

I don't think there is any benefit to giving formula unless you have run out of breast milk btw. I think people do this when breast feeding because they are concerned the baby has drained the breast and is still hungry- in your case I don't think that's relevant

@MotherOfCrocodiles wow, all three! That’s some going 😊 I didn’t manage it last time and had to switch to formula early on but with the right pump this time I seem to be managing it. I’ve used one bottle of formula per day from the start, more as a sort of security net that I could have a back up there if I wasn’t producing enough or didn’t have enough out the freezer in time. When we’ve been away for a few days it was easier just to pump and I noticed my supply shoot up. I think because I was slightly panicking I wouldn’t have any ready so I really stuck to the 3 hours. I’m still getting up once at night but hoping I can drop that soon if she doesn’t get up. Thinking I’m maybe just in a growth spurt then!

Well done! Glad it is working out for you. I found a hospital grade pump made a huge difference. I actually just chose to do it that way, realise this is not a popular choice but it worked for us.

Don't feel bad about using the odd bottle of formula rather than dragging yourself out of bed in the night to pump!

With dc1 and 2 I didn't really do formula but then when dc2 was around 4 months I needed to be away a few days and found he would take formula which was a bit of a pain.

So with dc3 I always gave the odd bottle of formula just to make sure she would accept it!