Expert: ruth kraft - 11/13/2009

Question
QUESTION: I really don't understand why this is happening,and don't know what I need to do to stop it. But my son is not even 2 wks old yet and I feed him regularly from the breast and also feed him breast milk from a bottle because I was producing so much breast milk I had to pump.  His dad wanted to be able to feed him too, so he would feed him breast milk from a bottle. Now all of a sudden over the past 2 days my milk supply has lowered so much, I know he's getting enough when latched on, but when I pump it went from getting 8 oz bottles each pump to 4 oz bottles and now today I am down to 2 oz bottles.  How do I keep the milk supply going, I don't want to stop, and I do not want to give him formula!? Please help???


ANSWER: If your son is nursing well and getting anough, you shouldnt need to pump anymore. Maybe for a bottle or two here and there to give you a break, but the baby should really be the only thing at your breasts, not the pump. At least for the first 6 weeks. Your breasts are confused. They are meant to only nurse the baby, when you started pumping because you had too much milk, pumping only created too much milk. giving the baby the bottle, likely has taught the baby to nurse a little differently, now your breasts are working on trying to figure out how much they need. If you can, for the next few weeks, don't give the baby any bottles. Dont pump, only nurse.  It sounds like your breasts are trying to level themselves out. 2-3 ounces per feeding should be plenty for a 2 weeks old baby. Let the milk get established through nursing and you will know your baby is getting exactly what it needs, as it is the one that decides which is the best amount for it :)

I hope that helped :) Having too much milk is always better than not having enough :)

Good luck :)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much, yes it did help. I didn't know that, I just knew that I was engorged and needed to pump at the time.  Is it ok to pump once or twice a day so I have bottles for his dad to feed him at night?  And also is it ok to drink, and if I do drink what is the proper way to go about it? I've heard you could pump and dump. I've heard to just wait 2-3 hrs after drinking and then you can feed again or both. What do you suggest?

Answer
Hello :) If you are going to pump at night to feed, until baby is 6 weeks old, I would only pump at the time that baby should be nursing. which defeats the purpose of pumping so you can sleep. I would forgo pumping for the next 2 weeks at least. Let your breasts get only stimulation from the baby and let them even out on their own. Then, you can pump once or twice to feed the baby if needed. There are many reasons why nursing is good, not only nutrition. By nursing off your skin, the babys saliva gets absorbed and tells your body exactly what she needs, the more she nurses from the breast itself, decreases any chance of speech impairments and impediments. The feelings of nursing from you help your hormones do what they need to to help you heal and also helps soothe the babys brain and gives less stress...

You can drink one glass of wine or a drink that has one shot of alcohol with little effect on the baby. I would nurse the baby first, then drink. by the time that baby feeds again , much will be out of your system. This is barring any medical reason you wouldn't be able to drink alcohol. If you are feeling the effects of the alcohol the baby can.. so if you get drunk, then yes, pumping and dumping would be the best choice. just pump ahead of time so the baby can still get the milk.