Pumping for 4.5 month old

[newbie2013]

Hi ladies, I would like to know how much expressed milk you give to a 4.5 month old. He's ebf but I pump while at work. My doc says just to give him as much as I pump but lately, I've noticed that I still only get between 4-5 ounces pretty pumping session and he's demanding more than that. He's extremely active and I'm wondering if he's just burning off now calories than my milk provides. Today he's particularly hungry and crying every 2-2.5 hours really hard. I don't know what to do. I also have a fever today and breast pain (I suspect mastitis) so I feel awful on top of it. Any suggestions?

 

[lenorajoy]

They say a breastfed baby should get 1-1.5 ounces of expressed milk for every hour you're away from them. If he's eating in that range, he should have enough milk. Granted, every baby is different, so I don't know that a blanket statement like that can apply to every baby.

How many pumping sessions are you getting in at work? You mentioned he's crying every 2-2.5 hours today. Are you home with him today? If he's wanting to eat more frequently, I'd go ahead and feed him so your body will get the memo. If he's refusing to eat, there may be another reason for the crying.

Also... I have to wonder if your pump is effectively emptying your breasts if you're having soreness and possible mastitis. What type of pump are you using, how old is it, and how often are you pumping while at work? I personally don't respond well to my electric breast pump provided by insurance, so I have to use a manual pump afterward to really fully empty my breasts. I don't know if my pump just doesn't have great suction, but it takes forever to pump with it and I respond so much better to the manual pump. I know I'm prone to clogs, so I have to be sure to either breastfeed or pump every 2-3 hours. Just yesterday I went 4 hours without doing either and ended up with a clog/milk blister. It was so painful!

 

[newbie2013]

Thanks lenorajoy. I try to pump at least twice during the day, sometimes three times. Basically, I try to pump the number of times he feeds. I'm extremely lucky to have on site day care, so he's with me and i can always grab him like I did today to feed from me directly.

I use a medala swing that's only been used since he was a couple of months old, so I assume it's OK. I haven't had any problems until now. The night before last, I got badly engorged in the breast that's now sore when he went for seven hours at night without feeding. I know I should have gotten up to pump, but I was too tired to and kept thinking he would wake up.

If he should be getting between 1-1.5 ounces for every hour, then 4-5 every three hours is conceivably enough. Maybe he's just going through a hungry phase and combined with my pain and fever, I'm overreacting...

Thanks for your input.

 

[lenorajoy]

How nice he's nearby so you can nurse during the day!

Eek, I know about the night feeding/pumping issue. I'm always hesitant to pump at night unless it's right after a feeding because I'm afraid she'll wake up while I'm pumping and then be frustrated with a slow flow and I'll just have to feed her what I've pumped and feel like I've wasted time and effort. Mine almost never sleeps more than 5 hours, so for right now I don't have to worry about that. But I know it won't be long!

How long of stretches does your baby usually sleep? I'd say if there's a trend of sleeping longer periods (say 5-7 hours) you should be safe to get up and pump around 3 hours after the start of the last feed to make sure you don't get engorged. I know the idea of losing sleep is daunting, but I recently decided it was a worthwhile sacrifice if it means my baby can have breastmilk exclusively and we won't need to supplement with formula anymore.

Also - it's very possible he's goping through a growth spurt, which would explain him eating more! Most babies go through them around 4 months.