Expert: Joanna Liberty - 2/8/2012

Question
My son is almost 4weeks. I start breasfeeding him since birth with occassional supplement of  formula milk as he has high bilirubin.

I started increasing feeding freequency to every two hours during daytime this week. Since then, My son latch for 20-30minutes only every time . Is it enough? Many people  said that babies better latch for at least 30 minutes each time .

In fact, i don 't think I have strong ejection reflex. I would like to pump the milk after breastfeeding every time so as to increase the milk flow. How long shall I pump ? Shall I pump both sides or the side just finished feeding? And if I pump both sides, will it affect the milk flow if I start feeding an hour later? It is almost 4weeks but the milk pumped out is still very little, around 2oz only and I really want to boast the supply soon.

Thanks.

Answer
You are doing a wonderful job breastfeeding! The early days are always the hardest - even if you've breastfed before, you have a new baby to get used to and the new baby has to learn how to breastfeed.

I have had one baby that did cluster feeding at that age - he would nurse for hours at a time. My second baby nursed probably 30 minutes at a time. It depends on the baby - each one is different and will nurse differently.

If your baby is having enough wet/dirty diapers, then you should be fine. For more information on getting breastfeeding established, I'd recommend you check out La Leche League's website here: http://www.llli.org/nb/nbearlyweeks.html.

I encourage you to check the link I provided above - it has excellent information to determine if you are producing enough milk or if you do need to work on establishing a greater supply. Chances are you don't need to, but anytime you give the baby something other than the breast, whether it's formula or a pacifier, it can reduce your milk supply. If you continue to supplement, you may need to use the pump to encourage your supply along. Our babies really build our milk supply, even when they're not actively drinking milk but suckling.

If nothing else, use the pump while you are feeding your baby the supplemental formula - you still need to get the milk out, even if baby isn't drinking it at the time. You can store it in the refrigerator or freezer for later. If you're mixing your formula with water, you could try using half breastmilk and half formula next time.