February 2013 Moms
Ash&Vic
member
Options
? for Pumping Mamas
Ash&Vic
member
DD started at daycare 2 weeks ago and she's been eating more or less every 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours there. She holds off every 3 hours when she's with me, which makes me think I'm not preparing the bottles with enough ounces.
I don't think I can keep up with her much longer if she continues to eat every 2 hours, and I'll be heartbroken if I need to supplement with formula at this stage of the game. I was able to give DD1 BM until she was 14 months.
I was wondering how often does your LO eat? How many ounces are in each bottle? and what is your LOs weight?
P.S. I'd prefer to hear from pumping mothers instead of formula feeders since answers can vary greatly between the two.
Mr.&Mrs. Ash&Vic Est.1.21.2006
This discussion has been closed.
Re: ? for Pumping Mamas
First round of Clomid in May 2012= BFP #1, DD born January 2013
BFP #2 in January 2014, DS born September 2014
DD usually eats every 3 hours during the day, and every 2 - 2.5 hours in the evening. This is regardless of whether I nurse her or she gets a bottle, but when she gets a bottle it's 4 oz.
So when I'm gone for a full work day (9 hours if you count driving time on the days my mom watches her, it would be less, but after work I stop at home to pick my dog up before we head to my parents' house for dinner since DH doesn't get home til 8:30 those days), she gets 12 oz. But lately I figured out how to pump hands-free in my office (without a pumping bra, I can rest the collection bottles on my lap so my hands are free to type and whatnot), I got my one-hour lunch break back!
So lately I've been leaving 8 oz (plus a bag or two of frozen milk as a back-up) and driving to my parents house (or back to my house if DH is watching her) during my lunch break to nurse her.
She nurses or gets a bottle 6-7 times most days, so assuming she averages 4 oz when she nurses as well, she's probably getting about 24-28 oz a day, so right around the middle of the range on kellymom.com.
DD is five months now, but as of 4.5 months she weighed 14lbs 13oz, I think her pediatrician said that was ~50th percentile, so she's right on target in terms of weight gain.
My LO gets 4 oz every 3 hrs while at daycare. She is 5 mths now and I"m not sure what she weighs but she was 9lb 14 oz at her 4 month appointment. ( she is small but was 6 weeks preemie and 4lb1oz at birth)
The thought of this had crossed my mind and it is totally possible. I've been sending three 5 oz bottles a day. Since she started I've had to pick her up early every day for one reason or another and there have been many times when she's already had all three bottles when I pick her up.
Today for instance I nursed her at 7:50 and she arrived at daycare around 8:30. I picked her up at 2:30 to take her to a Dr. apt fully expecting to only get 2 bottles back, but she had just had the third one right before I got there.
I guess I'll have to wait it out and see if this is just the way it's going to be or if we are going through a transitional phase.
Can you split that up into 4 3.5 oz bottles or something like that? We send DD with 4 4 oz bottles and since I don't typically pump enough, she usually gets 1 formula bottle. We ask that daycare leave the formula until the last bottle because sometimes she doesn't get to it if she's having a not very hungry day.
When we first started I was sending 4 oz bottles, but she was devouring them every two hours and she seemed like she was still hungry after each bottle. I upped it to 5oz so that she could get full and I thought it would help hold her off longer, but that hasn't proven to be true yet.
The first week, Aislin kept eating.. and eating.. and eating. And they kept asking for bigger bottles.. By the end of the week, they thought 4x5oz bottles was the perfect amount to sate her hunger.. But really?!?! (a) I can't keep up with that! And (b) a breastfed baby only eats 19-30 oz a day, and she was still nursing a ton at home!
By the next week, I sent 5x3oz bottles, and she never drank more than 4, and on most days, it was only 3, so I started sending 4x3.5oz bottles.. And now they're asking for more again. I may start sending 5x3oz again just so they'll stop asking for more.
I send my LO with three 5 oz bottles now. However when we started daycare they were feeding him about every two hours where he was going every 3 to 3.5 when he was with me. He was also not sleeping enough and fighting naps. They were feeding him bc he was fussing bc he was tired not hungry. It took about a month for him to get comfortable and now he is back on schedule. Is your LO napping as much as he does with you and may be comfort eating. It will right itself out in a few weeks once LO gets more comfortable and they can read his cues appropriately.
We also started solids two weeks ago at 5 months (he was ready!) and they said that has really helped him to be less fussy between bottles. I also started taking domperidone and that stuff works! I tried all kinds of other stuff to increase my supply with no luck. I also pump every 2 hours at work (4 times per day).
GL! You can do this.
The Blog