Expert: ruth kraft - 12/24/2009

Question
Hi Ruth,

I have a wonderful 12 week old son who I am exclusively breastfeeding.

I have been using a Medela Swing breast pump to pump additional milk so that my husband can give the baby a bottle two or three times a week. The baby drinks between 3.5 and 4.5 ounces from the bottle.

I've tried pumping at all different times of the day, both between feeds and after feeds, and I never seem to get a large output.  I usually get about an ounce per breast.  When I miss a breast feed after my husband has given the baby a bottle I can get around 4 ounces if I'm lucky.

I'm just wondering if it's normal to have to pump several times just to get a single bottle.

Also, can you make any recommendations on how I can increase my output? Time of day to pump? After or between feeds? etc. By the way, I have tried having a warm drink, breast massage, picturing the baby, pumping in a relaxing environment... I always seem to get the same result though.

Thanks in advance for your reply.
Lisa

Answer
Hello :) you are actually doing a wonderful job :) 4 ounces at 12 weeks is pretty good. There are several things you want to remember. First, A breastfed baby usualy sucks down a bottle much faster than its stomach gives the signal that it is full. so when it takes that much in the bottle , its a good 7 minutes later he actaully FEELS full. so it may seem like he needs 4.5 ounces each feeding and this isnt always true. SO know that. If you give him 6 ounces it might be too much at this point. Formula is half waste product. So 4 ounces of formula nutritionally is equal to 2 ounces of breastmilk. Drinking from the bottle is so easy for them they guzzle it fast.

Pumping first thing in the morning is usually the most productive time of the day. That is when the biggest meal of the day is. If I were going to pump like that I would nurse the baby for his am feeding and then 2 hours later pump. If he wants to nurse again, I would nurse him after I pumped. and then, I would do my best to pump each day at the same time on average as that is what will tell your breasts to have milk at that time of the day to get the most milk.

You can take matamucil twice a day and that will help you increse milk. the extra fiber does amazing wonders in increaseing milk. You can also try mothers milk tea and fenugreek capsules bought from a nutrition store.

I hope that helped!
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