BFers: Does anyone just send what you pump? (edit: clarification)

trinny

I mean if you usually send 20 oz, but only get 18 oz one day, do you just send the 18 and not dip into the freezer stash or supplement or anything

I'm sort of thinking about doing this-- I'm sure I could get enough for DD's 3 main bottles (~15 oz) and just send whatever is leftover for her last bottle

CTJune06

Not sure if my answer is what you're looking for- but whatever I pump, I send with her. Right now, I send 5-6, 5 oz bottles on the days she goes to her sitter (3x week).

trinny

Oh I mean if you usually send 20 oz and only pump 18 oz, do you just send the 18 and not dip into a freezer stash or supplement or anything.

luvmagoldn

I have supplented with freezer stash and with formula to get the 15oz he needs.  So far it's only been a couple oz but I hope I haven't started down a slippery slope.

worleygirl

I supplement w/formula if I need to.  I usually pump the 15oz I need but sometimes I'm short.  I have no problem adding in a little formula. 

MamiJam

I usually send what I pump.  LO usually eats about 15 oz but has eaten 20oz (an extra bottle) during a growth spurt. So I usually send 18-20oz just in case.  I don't supplement with formula though.  If I haven't gotten enough from pumping at work, I'll just add an extra pumping session at home that night.  Hope this helps! 

flyer23

I didn't. My nanny at the time wouldn't have been supportive of that... she had her own ideas on when DD needed to eat Also, I had an irregular pumping schedule when I did customer visits, so it wouldn't have been very fair to DD to limit her consumption just because I couldn't pump often enough.

But if you have a consistent pumping schedule and a supportive provider, I think it's a great idea!

BennyL

Thankfully, I have been able to send enough BM for DS every day (despite my lack of freezer stash).

Maybe you could leave some BM in the freezer at your daycare if they would allow it in the event that your LO gets hungry one day there. I have a bottle of premade Similac at the daycare in case of an emergency.

Have you read this article (#1) about sending what you pump? Good luck!

https://workandpump.com/boosters.htm#Busters

robin_e

So far, with my 2.5 mo old, I always pump more than I leave for him. So pretty much every workday, I add to my freezer stash.

However, I have read this on workandpump.com, and I think I agree with it. I mean, I wouldn't want my baby crying all the time because he/she is hungry, but I also think that some people easily overfeed their babies with bottles.

I didn't go back to work and start pumping with my first until she was 8 months old, but I did only send what I pumped then. This, of course, coincided with her waking up once a night where she was STTN before. It could just have been because she missed me since I was at work during the day or she may have really needed that extra feeding session. Either way, I had no problem with it and we did this until she turned one. I never sent any of my frozen milk (I barely had any anyway) and she never had a drop of formula.

It's very hard to say what will happen with my son since he's still so young, but I think I pretty much agree that dipping into the freezer stash can be harmful to your supply. There will be days when he'll have growth spurts and so now since it varies, I pump on avg19 oz and send four bottles of four oz and two bottles of one oz each, putting the rest in the freezer. The one ozers are for when he just seems like he needs a little more. They usually have their last major growth spurt at about six months though, so after that I don't think I'll have a problem with only sending what I pump.

Again, I don't want him to be screaming and crying for food, but at that age I think solids can hold them over and I'd be happy to let him nurse as often as he wants at home. I hope this makes sense and wasn't too long-winded. Again, my opinion about using the freezer stash may change once we get there, but for now this is how I feel. To me, the freezer stash is for emergencies, like if I a) can't pump for some reason, b) get sick and can't feed the baby the milk that I pump because of some medication, or c) have to travel and don't have the time to pump all the milk beforehand.

DallasHorn

Yes, this has always been what I did.

Printergirl

Pretty much that's what I do w/in range. I check his chart daily to make sure I am 'on track'. Also, we have 3 small bags of BM 'snack packs' I call them. Yesterday I pumped a good amount and when I got to DC she said 'he was a piggie today, we had to get into the freezer'.

Thankfully they are very supportive of BFing and if he's getting hungry close to pick up time either try to distract him or just give him an ounce or so till I get there.

makclair

no, b/c like flyer, my life can be very inconsistent with pumping, as well as my stress level at work, so things change. I send the same consistant amount to daycare ( 3 5.5 oz bottles - used to be 4.5 oz) and then that is my pumping "goal" for the 24 hour period. Somedays I pump more, some less, but it evens out. I do try to not use any freezer milk without replacing it.

Snucci

I pump 3x during the work day. If I need more than what I've pumped, then I will pump a 4th time (before bed). I send 3-5oz bottles.

Snucci

I pump 3x during the work day. If I need more than what I've pumped, then I will pump a 4th time (before bed). I send 3-5oz bottles. I

Snucci

I pump 3x during the work day. If I need more than what I've pumped, then I will pump a 4th time (before bed). I send 3-5oz bottles. I freeze l