Apparently I don't produce enough milk :P

[Shandelion]

My four month old son is huge and a glutton. The first thing anyone says is what a "chunker" he is. He keeps me drained, but he loves snacking and comfort sucking. He's probably never known hunger once lol.

The thing is, since he drains me I can't pump for bottles and now my mom and grandma are trying to get me to introduce formula or solids. Grandma had four kids and never nursed. Mom didn't nurse either of us long.

What the heck?!

 

[Bunanie]

Hah, i hated that sort of comment when lo was young. Just because you can't pump and measure how much he's eating, but isn't a chubby thriving baby enough proof that you DO produce enough it's soo frustrating.

You know some ladies just don't respond to the pump? I heard a hand pump or hand expressing(?) could work better if you want to store some bm...

I feel you!

 

[FarmMom]

Is it so they can feed him while you're at work? I could understand the formula in that case. Does he sleep for any long stretches at night? Sometimes i wake up in the middle of the night and pump a few quick ounces.

 

[annio84]

I think people who don't breastfeed don't realise how much a breastfed baby feeds. Even the midwife told me I was feeding my DD too often when she was newborn (she was regularly going 2 hours between feeds). I think the older generations fed their babies because they believed a baby should feed four hourly and sleep through really early.

If you really want to have some expressed milk you could try pumping the side he's not feeding from. You might not get much in one go but that's quite normal. Also, as another poster mentioned not everyone responds all that well to a pump so you could try hand expressing.

I'm sure you're doing a great job so I'd just keep doing what you think is right for your baby.

 

[angela98661]

it is a bit hard. i only get to pump three times at work. I can get anywhere from 3-5 onces on my half i pump like 15-20 mins. And on my tens sometimes I only get 1.5 the most 2.5 lol. When my baby is bottle fed expressed milk she drinks 4 oz. I know the struggle. i feel like i dont pump enough since dh always has to give her a lil formula. but when i am with my baby i let her eat on demand as much as she wants and she is a happy lil cutie.