What size baby can exclusively bf? - Page 3

[mamajama]

Best of luck Dybrne. It sounds like you're doing great!
I don't have pumping advice as I only had to pump sporadically and was lucky enough to never have supply issues. But I just wanted to chime in and say that my first son was 9lbs 11oz at birth and nursed a LOT as well. I did start him on solids at about 6 months (or shortly after) and he loved them. But still nursed a LOT . Solids didn't replace breastmilk at all until close to age 1.
Baby number 2 was 10 lbs. 4 oz at birth and I exclusively bf until about 9 months. By that time I was really into the convenience of breastfeeding and I liked the purity of his diet. He nursed a lot as well. I just decided not to think about it as much as possible. I just accepted it as part of our lives and stopped even considering how much or how often he was nursing. Both kids grew normally and developed well.
Now neither of them nurse anymore and I remember fondly the time when I knew their diet was pure and perfect for them.

[SleepyMamaBear]

how about oatmeal? a bowl of oatmeal (like scottish oats, mmmmm) a day should help with supply issues if you cant pump enough. also fennugreek, and WATER make sure you are drinking LOTS of water.

[Benji'sMom]

I usually pumped around 12 oz per work day, but my DS never drank more than 12 oz during a work day, so it worked out fine. 20-22 oz is way more than mine ever needed in 9 hours. Don't know how much yours is getting per bottle, but most babies while breastfeeding won't take more than 6 oz per feeding maximum (another random Kellymom factoid), so if he drinks more than 6 oz at one feeding I'd wonder if he's being overfed, with too much in the bottle. And then, my kids took three 4-oz bottles or two 6-oz bottles, as they got older, but it was still 12 oz per workday, so if there's more than three 6-oz bottles in a work day that would again make me check on possible overfeeding. Especially because you said your baby takes 40 oz in 24 hours and that's higher than average.

Maybe put a little less in each bottle and then try a pacifier or something else to comfort him. Every baby is different, of course, but this is just a thought.

If he still needs to take 20-22 oz per day, and it's not an overfeeding problem, I just don't know if I would be able to meet that demand, since my average daily output was 12-16 oz., and you seem to be doing everything right. Maybe encourage reverse cycling by offering to nurse more at night( which would require you to pump less during the day), or try herbs: http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milks...actagogue.html

Originally Posted by dbyrne

Fellow webmoms,

I can't thank you enough for all the info (particularly the links to www.kellymom.com and the WHO references ) and especially the support. What a wonderful community.

You've collectively convinced me I should continue to EBF my DS until at least 6 months if at all possible. Here's the next question: how do I pump enough to satisfy him while I'm at work? At the minumum (and let's assume for now that I can get by with the minimum) I have an 8-hour workday and a 30-minute commute on either end of that. DS stays at home so I have to have a 9-hour supply of milk for him, around 20-22 oz for the 9 hours. When I pump I can put aside maybe 14-16 oz. Anyway, that's a 4-8 oz. milk shortage per workday.

Things I have already done: I have a good quality electric pump (Medela) so that's not a problem. I always double-pump. I pump every 3 hours that I'm away from DS, as recommended to me by various breastfeeding books. For the record, tt takes me about 50 minutes to drain my boobs and I usually have to resort to extra manual stimulation of my breasts along with the pump. I also pump extra in morning and evening sessions. I pump weekends as well, but that only takes care of Monday's shortage and maybe Tuesday's. At night and mornings and evenings, I feed my DS on demand, which as I mentioned is every 1-2 hours until bedtime. I am being sure to eat a lot of soy protein (12-18 g/day) because of its reputation as a galactogogue and that does seem to help, it's just not enough. I've been looking into references for "how to increase your milk supply" and most just say "nurse more often" which is a laugh when you are 20 miles away from your baby all day. Another unhelpful suggestion I find in books and on websites is to cut back on working hours -- right now I am the sole support of my family so that is not an option.

Hence some of my motivation for possibly supplementing with cereal. If I am going to avoid that, I need your best suggestions! One was fennel and/or fenugreek -- any experience of this, good or bad? Any other suggestions? I'm all ears.

[DWAXSMOM]

Hang in there! My first was 23 poundsat 4 months. He sat up at 4 mos, crawled by 6 mos, walked by 9 mos. He did not eat baby food-EVER! He was basically breastfed with a few morsels here and there until he was about 18 mos old. I think he really needed the nutrition from BM. He is 6 now and weighs 68 pounds. Not a spec of fat on him. Lean as can be but BIG!!! Most people think he is 10. I am only 5'2" so he is almost as big as me. I do have to say that after about 6 mos his feeding got easier. He got more efficient and was able to go longer. It is quite amazing watching them grow!

[huggerwocky]

Originally Posted by Spirit Dancer

hi there welcome to MDC.
My baby is very similair to your baby. At 4 mo he was 18 lbs and ate every 1-2 hours. I know what it is like and now at 9 months he nurses every 2-3 hours. THese babes are just big boys.

or girls ( says mama to 18 pounder 4 months old girl)