Pamper's Monthly Email - OMG!

[Mama_of_1]

Ok, Ladies, let's get the word out and provide feedback to Pampers that their "expert" is wrong!

When I was pregnant, I signed up for the Pamper's coupons, just in case I would need them. I get the monthly "update" from them still and it contained a link to the following article by their expert, in-house physician about, "When to Wean." Although she is correct about BLW, she is sadly mistaken about breastmilk volume and frequency. I am sad to think that there are moms out there who will take what they read as gospel.

http://www.pampers.com/en_US/parenti...n-to-wean/6257

[smpayne]

When my ds was 8 months, I was pumping 3 times a day (10, 12:30, 3) and had to switch to larger bottles to collect milk, becasue I was getting 6-10 oz per 30 minute session. DS nursed in the morning and every evening (at least twice) and exclusivly on the weekends. If I was pumping this much each session, I'm sure ds could get this much or more from me directly. DS was in the 95 percentile for the whole 1st year.

For some reason, babysitter always needed extra formula to go along with what I had pumped. Personally I think she was over feeding, but that is a seperate issue, which I'm sure led to his cronic ear infections.

[KristyDi]

What age child is she talking about here?

My 2 year old nurses more often than 4 times a day if there's nothing interesting going on.

[KimberlyD0]

I am confused.. am I missing something..

what I read sounds pretty good. IE let baby wean on their own, still BF when you are doing solids, and avoid cows milk untill at least a year, and a minimum 1 year BF.

What am I missing??

do you mean the 4 times a day thing? I think that was an average. Any of the LO's I know were on 4 feeds a day plus solids by 1. some eat less at each feeding and feed more, some just comfort nurse more.

DD was at 3 feeds by 1 (maybe she's just weird..)

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by KimberlyD0

I am confused.. am I missing something..

what I read sounds pretty good. IE let baby wean on their own, still BF when you are doing solids, and avoid cows milk untill at least a year, and a minimum 1 year BF.

What am I missing??

do you mean the 4 times a day thing? I think that was an average. Any of the LO's I know were on 4 feeds a day plus solids by 1. some eat less at each feeding and feed more, some just comfort nurse more.

DD was at 3 feeds by 1 (maybe she's just weird..)

28-32 oz. of breastmilk divided by 4 feedings a day is 7+ oz. per feeding. That is a HUGE amount of EBM to be taken in at one time.

[KimberlyD0]

she said about for both, not deffinitly. I suppose its all in how you read it. DH and I both read it and so did a few friends of mine who BF and we all read it as a guidline only, not a set in stone statement.

I can see how the wording could be better, but as far as BF facts thats actually the most accurate I've seen in a long while. Maybe a good approch would be to suggest other ways to discribe it or clarify just how flexable that is.

I mean there are many babies who do take that much in a feed, or approxamitly since we don't have gages LOL, but many will BF only 4-5 times a day, and then there are ones who take less, and then you have ones who comfort nurse more then anything else. Its all very dependent on the baby. By the age of 1 DD was doing 4 feeds a day usually, sometimes she would do a quick comfort nurse a few times as well.

Maybe I just have a strange baby... she also BF every 3 hours at 2 months, and every 4 at 6. so who knows lol maybe thats why I read it differently too :P Now at 2 she has only one nurseing session left, right before bed.

[CBall]

Originally Posted by Bokonon

28-32 oz. of breastmilk divided by 4 feedings a day is 7+ oz. per feeding. That is a HUGE amount of EBM to be taken in at one time.

I don't know, that doesn't seem like that much to me. When we went to our lactation consultant, dd was 2 months and they did that thing where they weigh them before and after feeding. The difference was 8 oz and that's how much the L.C. said she had consumed. I'm kind of scared of finding out how much she takes in now at 5 months. On a kind of side note...I've always wondered if it takes more oz of breastmilk than formula to feed a baby. Mostly because all of my friends who pump have to send so many more bottles to daycare than those who use formula. Maybe they just burn through it more.

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by CBall

I don't know, that doesn't seem like that much to me. When we went to our lactation consultant, dd was 2 months and they did that thing where they weigh them before and after feeding. The difference was 8 oz and that's how much the L.C. said she had consumed. I'm kind of scared of finding out how much she takes in now at 5 months. On a kind of side note...I've always wondered if it takes more oz of breastmilk than formula to feed a baby. Mostly because all of my friends who pump have to send so many more bottles to daycare than those who use formula. Maybe they just burn through it more.

A baby's stomach is about the size of its fist, and anything more than about 5 ounces is a big feeding.

It doesn't take more breastmilk than formula to feed a baby; it's actually the opposite. Formula-fed babies need more and more formula as they get older, whereas a mother's milk changes in composition so babies need the same amount as long as they are exclusively nursing; about 19-30 oz./day.

It is easy to overfeed a bottle-fed baby, and many daycare providers do not appropriately pace bottle feedings, so a breastfed baby may need to comfort suck at the end of a feeding, and a care provider mistakes that need for hunger, starting to overfeeding cycle. It stretches out baby's stomach, causing it to need more food to be satisfied.

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

[smpayne]

Originally Posted by Bokonon

It doesn't take more breastmilk than formula to feed a baby; it's actually the opposite. Formula-fed babies need more and more formula as they get older, whereas a mother's milk changes in composition so babies need the same amount as long as they are exclusively nursing; about 19-30 oz./day.

It is easy to overfeed a bottle-fed baby, and many daycare providers do not appropriately pace bottle feedings, so a breastfed baby may need to comfort suck at the end of a feeding, and a care provider mistakes that need for hunger, starting to overfeeding cycle. It stretches out baby's stomach, causing it to need more food to be satisfied.

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

Since the amount I pumped increased as my ds grew I find it hard to truely believe that he was eating the same amount at 8 months as when he was at 2 months, when I was pumping more than double the amount. My pumping sessions did not increase, nor did my pumping time, I just produced way more. My ds was nearly 10lbs at birth and is still big for his age. He did eat way more that much smaller infants that were the same age.

I agree that care providers giving bottles do over feed.

[ein328]

My dd is eight months old now- i went back to work when she was 8 weeks. She's never had a drop of formula- only pumped breastmilk- and is in the 75% percentile for height and weight.

That being said, she has NEVER taken more than 5 1/2 oz in a single sitting. I'm not saying it's impossible, but 8 oz for a breastfed baby seems huge. The reason for the amount of milk leveling off is due to the introduction of solids.

[ein328]

OH, and I also noticed that she reminds mamas to not give cow's milk to babies during weaning, because their systems can't handle it. This seems to imply weaning before one year to me, but I could just be reading into it.

[MittensKittens]

I don't think that was so bad - pretty good as far as pampers go, actually. At least that acknowledge BLW as a normal option . In the country we live, pampers has currently got a campaign going to "Save a life, one vaccine at a time". By buying a pack of pampers, you sponsor one tetanus vaccine.

[KimberlyD0]

I returned to work at 9 months, DD#2 was still EBF and had 8oz a bottle everyfeed at daycare, she uses a special needs bottle so there is no flow at all unless she sucks. She was just a big eater LOL

I was pumping 16oz a session by that point too lol

Originally Posted by ein328

OH, and I also noticed that she reminds mamas to not give cow's milk to babies during weaning, because their systems can't handle it. This seems to imply weaning before one year to me, but I could just be reading into it.

Honestly I think you might be. Because she very clearly points out the minimum 12 months, and she explains letting the baby decide when to wean, or BLW, which is refreshing to see.

[KimberlyD0]

Originally Posted by MittensKittens

I don't think that was so bad - pretty good as far as pampers go, actually. At least that acknowledge BLW as a normal option . In the country we live, pampers has currently got a campaign going to "Save a life, one vaccine at a time". By buying a pack of pampers, you sponsor one tetanus vaccine.

but the places they give the vaccines is not like Canada or the US, there is no real health care system and tetnus is a very real threat to them. Its a totally different beast out there.

[goldfinches]

Originally Posted by Mama_of_1

Ok, Ladies, let's get the word out and provide feedback to Pampers that their "expert" is wrong!

When I was pregnant, I signed up for the Pamper's coupons, just in case I would need them. I get the monthly "update" from them still and it contained a link to the following article by their expert, in-house physician about, "When to Wean." Although she is correct about BLW, she is sadly mistaken about breastmilk volume and frequency. I am sad to think that there are moms out there who will take what they read as gospel.

http://www.pampers.com/en_US/parenti...n-to-wean/6257

I didn't see anything wrong with the article. Maybe you're thinking of a newborn while the article is talking about an older baby? You said babies nurse every hour? Even my newborns didn't do that, they nursed every 2 hours. My older babies didn't nurse every hour,either, they nursed closer to every 4 or so. And, I don't know how much they got, I never weighed them. When I do pump, I get about 5 ounces at a time.

[Carma]

Originally Posted by smpayne

Since the amount I pumped increased as my ds grew I find it hard to truely believe that he was eating the same amount at 8 months as when he was at 2 months, when I was pumping more than double the amount. My pumping sessions did not increase, nor did my pumping time, I just produced way more. My ds was nearly 10lbs at birth and is still big for his age. He did eat way more that much smaller infants that were the same age.

I agree that care providers giving bottles do over feed.

For me it increased the first months but then decreased when they got older. But maybe my breasts got tired of pumping There is also a learning curve.
I wish I needed larger bottles, I only pump max 4 oz per session (usually less), even at work.
I also agree care providers overfeed, it is a lot of times their only way of soothing a baby. I am thinking of introducing a pacifier for this. I didn't with my first 2 but they might have needed it at daycare to help sooth them without a boob.

Carma