how many oz to express!? confused!

[skittlewatson]

I have 10 week old who is ebf. I have an op next week so will be in hosp for 1 day and have been expressing but only getting 4 oz each time. I can only express once a day as i have a toddler to look after too. How much should i be freezing? Worried there wonr be enough

 

[MommyJogger]

The general rule of thumb is to have 1oz for every hour you're away plus a few more for emergencies. For a full day away, the average babies tend to take is about 25-30oz per day. Are you going to be under/out of commission for the whole day at the hospital? If you're worried that you haven't expressed enough by the time it's time for you to go in, is there a way you can take your pump and have someone pick up the milk you'll express while you're at the hospital? I assume you'll be pumping while you're there anyway, going a whole day without removing milk from the breast when you've been ebf-ing would end up with some pretty bad pain and engorgement on your part. If you let the hospital know in advance, most will actually provide a hospital-grade pump and storage for you (some will provide bottles to pump in and bags for your milk so you won't need to take anything in). If you're going to be out of it for hours on end (as in 8+ hours), it sucks, but you need to let them know so that they can arrange someone to try and hook you up to a pump while you're passed out so you don't develop an infection. Most doctors don't even think to talk to you about making these arrangements for operations when you're bf.

 

[skittlewatson]

Thank you mommy jogger. I will be home same day as only a 1hr op at the most. Il be knocked out but should be back on earth quickly. I hadnt thought of pumping whilst away. Presume i wont be able to feed until everything is out of my system? We are going private so only.at a small hosp (nhs waiting list was far too long and im in pain) so doubt theyl have pumps as no maternity ward.

 

[MommyJogger]

Thank you mommy jogger. I will be home same day as only a 1hr op at the most. Il be knocked out but should be back on earth quickly. I hadnt thought of pumping whilst away. Presume i wont be able to feed until everything is out of my system? We are going private so only.at a small hosp (nhs waiting list was far too long and im in pain) so doubt theyl have pumps as no maternity ward.

This isn't necessarily true. Lots of doctors will tell you that something is dangerous even if they haven't bothered to look it up at all, or their knowledge comes from years ago when no research had been done on what actually makes it into breast milk and what doesn't.
I would call the hospital and get them to print you a list of all medications you'll be getting, the amount, and how they're administered (some drugs injected are safe to bf right after, but when ingested they're not) and go from there.
https://www.nbci.ca/index.php?optio...and-medications&catid=5:information&Itemid=17
Jack Newman has a lot of information on safe/unsafe drugs. I believe you can contact Jack Newman's clinic if your drug is not listed here and get information about how each drug will impact bf and possible alternatives you can ask your doctor to use instead, if there's an alternative available.

ETA: here's the contact form if they don't list yours. They get back to you pretty quickly, but you can always call by phone and ask them to expedite your request if it doesn't look like you'll get a response by your op. He also has a facebook where you can get his attention and contact him, as well as have your question directed to other bf experts.
https://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=32