Pumping for Trip

jkuhmann

Hi Ladies,

I'm visiting from the Feb 2013 board and have a question for the moms with 5 month old babies (or close to there).

I have to take a four-day trip in July and can't take LO with me (he is staying home with my DH).  He'll be five-and-a-half months at that point.  My plan was to pump enough so that he had all breastmilk while I was gone, but I don't really know how much he will be eating then.  I've heard that he'll still be only taking around 5oz a feeding (which is what he takes now), and I've heard the "divide his weight and subtract one" theory.  My question is...how much does your LO eat at 5 months?  Did it increase or did it stay pretty consistent?  I'm currently pumping 5oz a day on top of regular feedings, but I'm starting to think we might have to supplement with formula while I'm gone.

Thank you in advance!!!

NovRain27

My LO is going to be 5m tomorrow and she currently is taking 4.5-5oz depending on the day. But i stopped breast feeding a few weeks ago so she is taking 4.5-5oz of formula currently so I'm not sure how much breast milk that would be.

cmhicklin

If you are freezing 5oz a day, it seems like you should have plenty for a trip in July! With my DD, upping the oz usually corresponded with less feedings, and so she was eating around the normal amount.  Even if your LO ups his oz, it probably won't be a ton more, and you should still be fine.

tortuga47

My LO snacks throughout the day from the breast, but when DH gives him a bottle it varies from 4 oz - 7 oz sometimes at night. I think planning on 5-6 oz to be safe for each feeding. I think you should be ok though. You have 60 days of pumping 5 oz so that's 300 oz. Divided over 4 days...that's more than enough! That'd be 75 oz per day which is almost triple what an average baby eats in a day.

brachysira

 I had a lot of milk stored up due to my LO's 10 day stay in the NICU.  At 3 months, I had to do an emergency medical test that prevented me from feeding her for 56 hours.  We went through the entire stash, which shocked me.  I think partly DH overfed because he wasn't sure why she was crying and I wasn't there to help him, and I think he maybe threw some out when she'd only eat part of a bottle, and I'm also not exactly sure how much we'd stored, so I can't tell you exactly how much we went through...  But I would say that you should be ready in case you need formula.  When we switched at the end of the 56 hours to a couple bottles of formula this made her so constipated that we ended up in the ER because her doctor wondered if it was pyloric stenosis.  So unless you have an extra couple days stored (which would be good anyway in case you get delayed), I would suggest trying to add in a bottle of formula every few days and using that feeding to pump more.  Then you'll increase your stash a little and also prepare your baby's digestive track in case your DH ends up having to give her a bottle or two of formula until you return.

cmhicklin

brachysira:

 I had a lot of milk stored up due to my LO's 10 day stay in the NICU.  At 3 months, I had to do an emergency medical test that prevented me from feeding her for 56 hours.  We went through the entire stash, which shocked me.  I think partly DH overfed because he wasn't sure why she was crying and I wasn't there to help him, and I think he maybe threw some out when she'd only eat part of a bottle, and I'm also not exactly sure how much we'd stored, so I can't tell you exactly how much we went through...  But I would say that you should be ready in case you need formula.  When we switched at the end of the 56 hours to a couple bottles of formula this made her so constipated that we ended up in the ER because her doctor wondered if it was pyloric stenosis.  So unless you have an extra couple days stored (which would be good anyway in case you get delayed), I would suggest trying to add in a bottle of formula every few days and using that feeding to pump more.  Then you'll increase your stash a little and also prepare your baby's digestive track in case your DH ends up having to give her a bottle or two of formula until you return.

I would make sure that you are very specific with instructions so that this kind of thing doesn't happen.  Maybe even leave a page of notes- frozen milk dethawed is good for 24 hours, BM can be at room temperature for 5 hours and be fine, you can save BM for the next feeding if you put it in the fridge right away etc.

KayLorraine

I'm doing the same thing! I am going on an anniversary trip the second week in July. I am aiming for 275 oz of milk for a 5-6 day trip. That's if LO drinks 30 oz a day which is on the higher end for bf babies according to kellymom.com. That leaves enough for 9 days if she drinks 30 oz a day. With me being gone, I'm expecting her to drink more for comfort and babies tend to drink more out of a bottle. I am nervous too about the whole thing, but I already have 63 oz, so if I pump 3 oz a day till then, I will definitely reach my goal. If you are pumping 5 oz a day, you should have plenty! I don't think there will be any need for you to supplement.

LakeGirl82

My DS will be 5m tomorrow.  I EP as he never latched well and he takes about 6oz of BM a feeding - usually eating anywhere between 24 and 38oz a day depending on if he gets solids or his mood.  He has only had a few of those days where he is up around 38oz but it does happen and I want to cry as I usually pump about 33-35oz a day.  I currently have 150oz in the freezer but only dive into it when my period comes every two weeks and I have a supply dip.  I also need to roate milk out as some is 4 months old. 

He has been taking 6oz for about a month now.  Sometimes he only takes 4 or 5 though, especially at DC.  I leave my milk at RT for up to 6 hours so they usually just put the remainder of the first bottle into the second.  Sometimes he takes 7oz at the next bottle.  If there's leftover it's saved.  Usually he always takes the full bottle from me though and his bedtime bottle can be anywhere between 6-8oz depending on what he ate that day.  I look at the BM and solid content and then make a decision.  I do think the 30oz per day is a good number though.  Are you doing any solids yet?  I've only used formula a few times just to gage what he likes.  When he has gotten it, it's only been a few oz mixed with BM.  Doesn't seem to bother him, but he does spit up a little more.  So that's an idea too.  I don't really like giving it to my DS as he doesn't like the taste, but he doesn't notice it in the BM if it's a smaller amount.

Stillharbor

My LO is 5 months now and only has 2 oz at a time, usually every 2 hours.