Pump and nurse schedule

jenb_99 · November 2011

LO's pedi told us today that he's not gaining weight quickly enough, so she wants me to feed him 8 times a day instead of the previously approved 6 or 7 times and give bottles of expressed breast milk (a minimum of 3 oz) for half of the feedings.

However, she couldn't offer me any info beyond "just do it." I feel kind of dumb, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to make the schedule work. When do I pump? Set aside half an hour before bottle time to pump and prepare the bottle? I assume that's the only way for now, since I'm only able to get the 3 oz the doctor says he needs, and I don't have any saved up. I'm not yet producing enough at once to be able to pump one breast while I feed him on the other.

But then how do I get ahead so I can store some milk for later?

Am I making sense? Can someone who's also doing EBM bottles and nursing give me an idea of your schedule? If I can't offer him a minimum of 3 oz at each feeding, I'll have to supplement with formula. I really don't want to do that, so I need this to work.

lunurse2007 · November 2011

I don't know how long your LO goes in between feedings at night but for my son I would feed him at 8 then put him to bed, then at 10 I'd pump before i went to bed, then he'd wake up again to nurse between 12-2 so my supply had replenished from the pumping at 10. At first I wasn't getting hardly anything at the 10pm pumping but eventually my body adjusted and thought it was just another feeding so I would get more and after a week or so I was getting about 4-5 ounces each night... this wouldn't really be enough for you since you'd need more milk but maybe you could try to just pump a little after each nursing session and save up your milk. And if LO is not gaining weight you may need to add a little formula until you can get your supply up and get enough breast milk saved up to supplement feedings, I had to supplement formula a few times for various reasons and my son didn't even notice... It didn't screw up my BFing efforts or anything haha I was still able to BF for his whole first year so don't stress and don't feel like a horrible mommy if you need to add a little formula! You might want to call a lactation consultant too, they were very helpful during the first few months I was BFing!

lunurse2007 · November 2011

haha sorry, I just realized that was a really long reply with no paragraphs so if it's hard to follow I'm sorry!

)

Jelliebean1982 · November 2011

Wait...you've got a two week old and you're only BFing 6-7 times a day? Double it. My first thought is that you're not nursing often enough. (Even my almost 4 month old can't go that long between feedings.) Start offering right when your baby wakes up and then again when he falls asleep. Talk to a lactation consultant about his weight gain because she might help you formulate a plan that's a bit more detailed than your pedi.

jenb_99 · November 2011

lunurse2007:
I don't know how long your LO goes in between feedings at night but for my son I would feed him at 8 then put him to bed, then at 10 I'd pump before i went to bed, then he'd wake up again to nurse between 12-2 so my supply had replenished from the pumping at 10. At first I wasn't getting hardly anything at the 10pm pumping but eventually my body adjusted and thought it was just another feeding so I would get more and after a week or so I was getting about 4-5 ounces each night... this wouldn't really be enough for you since you'd need more milk but maybe you could try to just pump a little after each nursing session and save up your milk. And if LO is not gaining weight you may need to add a little formula until you can get your supply up and get enough breast milk saved up to supplement feedings, I had to supplement formula a few times for various reasons and my son didn't even notice... It didn't screw up my BFing efforts or anything haha I was still able to BF for his whole first year so don't stress and don't feel like a horrible mommy if you need to add a little formula! You might want to call a lactation consultant too, they were very helpful during the first few months I was BFing!

Thank you so much! Your answer was very helpful and not hard to follow at all. I have decided to offer LO a few bottles of formula a week so I can pump and save up some milk. And I have an appointment with a lactation consultant scheduled for Saturday.

jenb_99 · November 2011

Jelliebean1982:
Wait...you've got a two week old and you're only BFing 6-7 times a day? Double it. My first thought is that you're not nursing often enough. (Even my almost 4 month old can't go that long between feedings.) Start offering right when your baby wakes up and then again when he falls asleep. Talk to a lactation consultant about his weight gain because she might help you formulate a plan that's a bit more detailed than your pedi.

He was 3 weeks old yesterday. Yeah, I thought 6-7 times sounded low, but even at his 1-week checkup the pedi and lactation consultant said that a baby his size could go 4-5 hours between feedings (every 4 hrs adds up to 6x/day) with no problem as long as he was gaining. And he is gaining, but too slowly, so they prescribed the 8x/day feedings at this last weight check. So you're right; I wasn't nursing often enough. So his underconsumption has been contributing to my low supply. :

Anyway...remedying that now!

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