Another EBM question

[CharlieP]

Hey girls... When you express how long do you do it for?

Do you mimic the length of a feed or just pump a certain amount?

Also how much (oz) do you think wil satisfy a 5-6 week old? Are there any guidelines?

Thanks x

 

[MandaAnda]

For the length, I thought I'd let you know what we advise on the neonatal unit. Express each breast until the milk stops flowing and then continue expressing for one minute after the flow stops. You want to fully empty the breast so that it will see that expressing as a "feed" and make supply equal demand.

As for the amount, I think mums with experience would be better than me, as I haven't bottle fed a term baby that's 5-6 weeks old in ages. But, with breastfeeding, you let them feed until they come away satisfied (demand feeding), so feeding EBM should be the same really. Let him take as much as he wants, and after a few feeds you'll get an idea of what his average is.

 

[CharlieP]

Thanks MandaAnda...do you know how quickly boobs get full again once you have drained them?

My LO had a bottle 1.5 hours after his last BF... If he's going through a growth spurt he may want feeding in another 1.5 hours... Will there be enough milk for him if I drain them?

 

[MandaAnda]

There should be enough for him, as baby's (or breast pump's) demand dictates supply. I imagine he would've drained your breasts when he BF (babies are much more efficient than pumps!), and if you'd have put him back on the breast instead of giving him a bottle 1.5hr later, there likely would've been enough for him then.

Some babies snack and have littler feeds and are on the breast every 1-2hrs, whereas some take bigger feeds and go 4-5hrs. All depends on the baby, but regardless, your body should adapt.

When you're expressing though, try to help your letdown reflex by having a blanket that smells of him, looking at a picture of him, etc. Sounds silly, but it works (all to do with the baby being much more efficient than a pump in loads of ways).

Any other mums have opinions on alternating breast and expressing?

 

[TigerLady]

I usually express the flow has slowed down considerably. (5-10 minutes) Sometimes I express less if I think LO is going to want to feed soon. How long it takes you to fill back up depends on what LO's demand is. My LO still eats very often, so it takes me about 1.5 to 2 hours to fill enough for a full feed for him.

At your LOs age I would start with offering 2-3 ounces of EBM and see how that goes. If they want more, go up from there. My LO is 5 months and usually takes from 3-5 ounces in a feed.

 

[MrsSixx]

Hey girls... When you express how long do you do it for? Do you mimic the length of a feed or just pump a certain amount?

I do 20 mins on each breast - if the milk runs out more quickly I continue pumping for 5 mins after it stops just incase there is another let down and also to help boost supply. Massage and compression has really helped me make the most of this time.

Also how much (oz) do you think wil satisfy a 5-6 week old? Are there any guidelines?

I feed Beth as much as she demands and we seem to have evened out at 4ozs per feed and she is 3 weeks, weighing 8lb 13ozs. I think she is having a growth spurt at the moment though!

The guides I found say do 2.5 x baby's weight in lbs then divide it by the number of feeds per day. By that guide Beth should be taking about 22.5ozs a day but she is actually consuming more like 28oz at the moment. So not at all accurate for us!