How much Breast milk?

[babynatasha]

I have been pumping at work and tend to produce about 12oz of milk during the day, + or - an oz. Daycare has been feeding DS (6mths) about 16oz to 22oz of milk per day lately! (Yikes! I am running out of frozen stuff!) They say he is eating it all and have suggested I start him of solids. I would like to hold off on that as long as possible, although I am not producing enough milk to keep up and I worry that my options are either solid food or formula.

I have been drinking the Mother's milk tea and occasionaly taking Lactate Support pills. I wonder how I can up my milk production further? I pump often, on the way to work, twice at work and on the way home.

Also how much are other mothers pumping during the day? Am I about average/high/low? I just read on another thread that babies need about 1oz of BM per/hr. Is this true? That would mean that daycare is over feeding him by FAR!

What should I do? Suggestions would be appreciated as I don't want to push solids or formula if I don't have to. (DD was EBF until she was about 1yr, but she drank less)

[Bokonon]

Yes, it sounds like your daycare is way overfeeding your baby! They are probably used to formula-fed babies, who take in much more than breastfed babies do.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

[PatioGardener]

Here's a good handout for them too:
http://www.kellymom.com/store/freeha...le_feeding.pdf

[CheriK]

There's research showing that breastfed babies take about 28-40 oz per day, and the amount a particular baby needs stays relatively constant until starting solids, when it drops. Most breastfed babies will take 2-4 oz ever 2-3 hours, but it's very easy to overfeed with a bottle, especially by daycare providers who are used to formula fed babies (babies fed formula actually need more milk as they grow unlike breastfed babies). Many babies will happily keep drinking as long as milk is being offered. If your baby's at daycare for 8 hours, then he'd need a maximum of about 1/3 of 40 oz (assuming he's nursing a lot while you're together), which is pretty close to the 12 oz you're pumping.

I'd work with your daycare provider on reducing the amount of milk he's getting at a time. You might also want to be sure to nurse him at daycare before you leave for the day, so he doesn't need a bottle for a couple of hours, and nurse him at daycare immediately after getting there, plus asking your provider not to give him a bottle within an hour of your arrival.

Is he showing signs of readiness for solids? If he is, then there's no reason to delay unless you have reason to worry about severe food allergies. Most babies are ready to start exploring solids at around 6 months, but don't take in much calories that way for some time.