I just went back to work this week, J is 12 weeks old. J is home with DH Monday and drank 3 x 5 oz bottles while i was away about 10 hours. tuesday and wednesday he was with our new sitter and had 4 x 5 oz bottles (he's also not been napping very much at all and I'm wondering if the sitter is confusing tired signs with hungry signs). I've been pumping about 20 oz in 3 pumping sessions at work and feeding him at the breast an additional 4 times a day (so 8 total feeds, estimated milk intake 35-40oz). Does this seem like a crazy amount of breastmilk? Or does it seem about right because I'm producing just fine to keep up with this amount?
Babies are so confusing.... you worry if they eat too little, you worry if they eat too much....
You might also enjoy...
-
It seems like its on the high side based on what my DD eats, but I would imagine that as long as he's not spitting up or acting uncomfortable then its probably fine. For us, if DD isn't hungry she will not eat more than a few sips. So I would assume, if he's eating it all, he's probably hungry. How often is he napping for the sitter?
-
@turquoisemama: On Tuesday he took a grand total of 2 naps totaling 40 minutes, today he took 3 naps of about 30 minutes each.... so not very much napping. He is very difficult to get to nap but it's pretty ridiculous. I'm coming home during lunch tomorrow to see what she's doing wrong and offer some tips because he has been a mess when I get home in the evening.
He isn't a spitter and I asked if he has spit up and she said not once. Definitely not uncomfortable, was pretty relaxed (but tired) when I got home -
It does seem like a lot. You may want to give the sitter more ideas for how to sooth him other then just with a bottle. 5oz does seem like a large volume for a 12 week old. Could your DH and sitter aim for 4oz bottles? I think four 4oz bottles should be plenty for a 10 hr peroid. When my LO went to daycare at 16 weeks he took three 4oz bottles of EBM in a 9 hr period.
-
I don't think a baby can eat too much, sounds like you are both doing great!
-
Agree that it sounds high, perhaps they are comforting him with milk rather than other means. I'd try to cap him at 20oz while you're gone!
-
Both my sons always drank 5 oz bottles, but that was every 3 hours, so they'd have three 5 oz bottles in the 10 hours I was away from them (and I only fed them three additional times at home). I suspect your son was being fussy and the sitter gave him bottles early because it helped soothe him, but he doesn't actually need 20 oz while you're away! I'd either insist that she try to hold off and go at least 2.5 hours between bottles OR give her 4 oz bottles instead so that he can have four bottles, but only 16 oz total.
-
I agree that she might be trying to smooth with a bottle, which might make him more fussy if he is too full! If he wants to eat often (my son did) try smaller amounts? If I was away in the day DH would offer 3-4 ounces. At that age though I remember my mom watched him while we went to a wedding and he would barely finish 3. He ate every 2.5-3 hours though.
He was also a super short napper (30 mins on the dot!) and ate after each nap. So he ate a lot, but smaller amounts.
Good luck!!
-
This page is a good resource: http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/
-
That sounds about what my kids do for nap. He may just be coming out of that sleepy newborn phase.
For an 8-10 hour day at daycare my babies usually took about 15-16 ounces. And then I nursed 3-4 times at night. 20 ounces seems a bit hight but not terrible if you are keeping up with the supply.
-
Big update, J slept through the night for the second time ever! So maybe the extra food during the day had this happy result!
@Mrs. Tiger: I think the 20 oz cap is a good idea. I keep thinking that I'm pumping the 20 so he could eat that much from me.
@lady grey: @Adira: @Mrs. Champagne: I agree that she's soothing him with the bottle, so DH is going to give tips and ask if she can follow the EASY routine and not feed him unless he has napped. Most of the time he only fusses causes he's tired and she's misreading his cues. I'm really going to try to come home over lunch and show her my soothing, sleeping techniques.
He really does need the 5 oz bottles though, anything less and he acts exactly like I only fed him one boob. He's a hungry little dude.
-
@Ms.Badger: I had the same issue with Xander - he wanted the 5 oz bottles and my daycare providers had trouble soothing him at times and always wanted to give him a bottle early. I ended up just having to be firm and tell them "NOPE, no bottle before it's been 3 hours unless you absolutely HAVE to." It was annoying, but once he started solids, it was easier because then they could give him solids between bottles, which helped a ton.
-
Just wanted to update in case someone finds this when searching. DH worked with the nanny on how to get J to nap and we immediately figured out why he wasn't napping with her (J is a very happy baby and he only cries hard when being put down for a nap, the nanny assumed this crying meant he wouldn't nap and would go back to playing when DH and I know you have to push through and he'll fall asleep in minutes). Starting that very day, and every day since, whether with DH or nanny, J has been taking 3 x 5 oz bottles. I leave a fourth, just in case, but it goes uneaten. This week I have been pumping closer to 15 oz at work then the 20 oz I was pumping last week, so he may also have been coming off a growth spurt. So, everything normalized and he seems to be eating much more in the normal range
-
@Ms.Badger: Oh gosh, yes, classic overtired! And i totally just did a search and came across this page, thanks! T's been taking 12 oz/day Mon-Thurs with our one sitter, but our Fri sitter claims he's starving (she says he "scarfed" his bottle, which....he shouldn't be doing) and wants me to send formula to top him off each meal (um, no). And I think some of it's that it was a new place, so he was awake more often, more tired, and then probably hungrier b/c he was awake more. So I'm only going to send a half bottle because I think she wants to soothe him with milk, thus overfeeding him.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
13 comments