Pumping woes | Imamother

suomynona

Mon, Mar 13 2006, 12:38 pm

Well, so much for what a baby needs. He drank about 7 oz at the babysitter today. I sent everything I pumped over the weekend.

When I pumped for the missed feeding, I got 2.5 oz.

suomynona

Mon, Mar 13 2006, 2:27 pm

I'm not sure if he drank it all at one feeding. But he drank it over the period of time he was at the babysitter - less than 4 hours. (my husband picks him up from teh babysitter so he doesn't always remember what time she says he ate). And I fed him about an hour before he went.
Incidentally she was very happy with him today. She said he was very well behaved. No wonder...
The problem with a pacifier is that it falls out of his mouth every couple of minutes so it's very annoying.

Hashem_Yaazor

Mon, Mar 13 2006, 4:52 pm

That *is* a lot of food. My son had the same problem with using a pacifier...so we gave up on it.

My son always wants to eat when I pick him up, even if he just ate an hour before. I think it's because he misses nursing, and he wants that Mommy time.

Does your baby spit up a lot after eating so much or cry because of it?

In order to slow down the number of ounces the sitter was giving my boy, I put in a set amount of milk, and gave the rest frozen, so she would only defrost it if she thought he really needed it. He's down from 6 ounce bottles every 3 hours to 4/4.5 ounces every 4.5-5 hours.

PinkandYellow

Tue, Mar 14 2006, 12:24 am

Quote:

He drank 7 oz for ONE FEEDING?!?! He for sure doesn't need that much!

So you think 4 oz for every 4 hours is enough? Even if he is used to nursing every 2.5-3 hrs at home?

BTW, I have the same thing. I get home, even if he ate and was full only an hour before, very often, the minute he sees me he acts as if he hasn't eaten in 24 hrs Wink

. I guess its this sort of thing that makes us want to cont nursing- its such an amazing connection to your baby.

suomynona

Tue, Mar 14 2006, 4:34 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

Does your baby spit up a lot after eating so much or cry because of it?

Not really.

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

In order to slow down the number of ounces the sitter was giving my boy, I put in a set amount of milk, and gave the rest frozen, so she would only defrost it if she thought he really needed it.

That's a good idea. I may try that.

suomynona

Tue, Mar 14 2006, 4:37 am

MosheDovid'sMom wrote:

So you think 4 oz for every 4 hours is enough? Even if he is used to nursing every 2.5-3 hrs at home?

In my case it's not really every 4 hours. He is away for 4 hours, but I usually feed him right before he goes & an hour or less after he comes home.

MosheDovid'sMom wrote:

BTW, I have the same thing. I get home, even if he ate and was full only an hour before, very often, the minute he sees me he acts as if he hasn't eaten in 24 hrs Wink

. I guess its this sort of thing that makes us want to cont nursing- its such an amazing connection to your baby.

Reminds me of when I'm about to nurse my baby. I start opening my shirt and he starts panting & moving his mouth, as if we are starving him! Very Happy

raizy

Tue, Mar 14 2006, 10:04 pm

suamyona 7 ozs is ok to give to a hungry child. what are u nursing mother thinking??? why do u have to starve your children?

case in point. I had a lady in my day care whose child gobbles down 5 onces in one shot,. well this child was not thriving not gaining weight. bc mother was not nursing right. not eating right. and not taking any vitamins. and the mother was skinny as a rail. well now the doc said to feed the child with formalla after every nurse. well the child gobbles down 5 onces after every feed that the mother gives. so is this mother milk enough no. but u nursing mother think u should rather starve a child then give formalla.!!

chavamom

Tue, Mar 14 2006, 10:35 pm

raizy wrote:

but u nursing mother think u should rather starve a child then give formalla.!!

Raizy, stop putting words in anyone's mouth. A baby that is thriving does NOT need 7 oz of expressed milk in one feeding and then to eat again in another hour. Sorry to make your life harder as a sitter, but there are reasons that babies fuss other than hunger.

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Mar 15 2006, 11:03 am

queen wrote:

my not having taken any vitamins since babies birth- could that be A reason (I'm not saying THE) my baby was slow on the gaining?

I don't think so...I was under the impression that the vitamins are for us as mommies to keep healthy, because the baby is going to use up our supply of nutrients, and we have to replenish ourselves. That being said, if you don't have adequate nutrients/vitamins for your baby (not taking into account what you need), your milk quality might not be as great. But I can't be sure. Either way, you should take your vitamins (as should I -- I'm not so great about them Sad

)

raizy

Wed, Mar 15 2006, 10:57 pm

chavamom I am not saying that every baby needs food every minete of the day. but I am saying that the mother now admitted it a few months later that her baby is not thrivign. a 4 month baby should not be in size one pampers and newborn clothing no matter what!!!!

and u are admitting that this child should starve bc the mother is "nursing" it at all cost .!

realeez

Wed, Mar 15 2006, 11:33 pm

suomynona wrote:

I want to hear from anyone who gave formula once a day - if it affected their milk supply or not.

I think nursing is great but I pumping is just not for me. When I went to work with my first, he was eating every 3 hours or so and sleeping 6 hours at night (he was 2 months), I subbed 1 bottle of formula for a feeding. On Shabbos and Sunday or vacation, I'd nurse and I could hear him gulping.
My 2nd I worked less hours but he had formula a few times a week with no problems. He nursed like every 2 hours or so. My 6 month old gets formula much less b/c I am at home and maybe gets a bottle a week. She is ka"h gaining very very nicely.
The truth is that I nurse my kids so often and they are big gulpers that I probably nurse more times a day than the average person, lol!

I have never heard that giving a bottle a day takes away from the benefits of nursing. To me that is like someone eating a healthy salad which has some sugar in the dressing and saying that the sugar takes away from all the nutrients in the salad.

chavamom

Thu, Mar 16 2006, 1:36 am

raizy wrote:

Raizy - is English your first language? (I'm asking that seriously). I get the feeling that some of our differences revolve around a language difficulty. I said a baby that is THRIVING. And I was relating to the original poster, not your mother in your post. The mother you posted about had a baby that was not THRIVING. THRIVING by definition is a baby gaining weight at an adequate rate, hitting milestones. The baby you are talking about does not seem to fall in that catagory. The original posters baby appears to be THRIVING with adequate weight gain, etc. I never, ever said to starve a baby or anything like that. Shesh!

suomynona

Thu, Mar 16 2006, 6:01 am

Thanks mommyabc123!
Don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold out. This week was easy because I had extra days to stock up.
But my baby didn't sleep through the night the past few nights. So I didnt' pump in the morning. That is when I usually get the most milk because I don't nurse all night. I don't know what I would've done had this week been a regular week - with the baby going to the babysitter every day.
I still plan on trying a few things to help me pump more. I'm taking it week by week.

Raizy, b"h my baby doesn't seem to be going hungry. He is very happy after I nurse him and he usually sleeps through the night. He happens to be a little small for his age, but the Dr. didn't think it was a problem. He was born small & he probably has my genes....I was surprised when I realized that he gained only 2 lbs. in 2 months, but my mother said all her kids were the same way.

queen

Thu, Mar 16 2006, 7:52 am

anonymous- it's been very hectic and I'm hardly on this site if not nursing=which means it's hard for me to type long responses as I'm responding with only one hand on keyboard.

(just put baby down to play and want to quickly let you know that I too was going crazy a few months ago from pumping and then not getting enough milk, and it was a big pressure. All I needed was enough milk for FOUR bottles a week. (one per day, mon-thur)

doctor told me I could give those four bottles as formula and it shouldn't effect my milk supply much. Much more important not to be major stressed out and to make my life a little bit easier.

been wanting to pass on this info to you as it might help you.
Your baby is passed the newborn stage so giving a couple formula bottles a week isn't tabboo. think about it! you'll feel a lot better and calmer/less pressure.

baby crying gotto run but glad I finally was able to tell you this!!!!!!!

suomynona

Thu, Mar 16 2006, 8:14 am

Thanks Queen for putting down the baby and responding!

I will see how the next few weeks play out. If things get too difficult, I will definitely consider formula. Though at this point, I'm worried that my son won't take it. The pressure to have enough does get stressful sometimes. That is when I think it's just not worth it. But somehow I'm still doing it.

I also need only 4 bottles a week at this point. But in April I will be away from my baby for 2 feedings a day instead of one, and on Fridays also. That much I am not willing to pump, so I'll either start solids or formula for the 2nd feeding.
I'll keep everyone posted.