BF supply

Bubs is 6 weeks old now and breastfeeding is going very well so far. He is putting on loads of weight and seems happy. I am also expressing twice a day -- between 30 and 60 mls each time (per Gina Ford's 6-8 week schedule).


Just in the last two days, he has started emptying both breasts at every feed. He sucks fairly steadily for about 20-25 mins on each breast and is always quiet and alert after a feed and settles down for his nap well. I think for the time being he is quite content -- what I am worried about is: If he is emptying both breasts now, will I have enough for him as he gets bigger? Will I start supplying more to meet demand?

Mayafox - that is great that baby is eating so well - you sound like a great feeding/eating team!


The more your baby sucks, the more you will produce. It is demand and supply (rather than supply and demand)!

This is why the extra pumping also helps to boost supply.

Hi Crj,


That is good to know. I just started to worry because he used to be fine on one breast, but all of a sudden started emptying two! Must be a growth spurt ot something.


Thanks as always for your encouragement.

Hi Maya -


you're doing great on Gina - I can't even believe you're putting in the effort to do the extra expressing of milk. I loved Gina and followed almost all of her advice, but couldn't quite get around to the extra pumping sessions she advised. At six weeks, that means you are really on top of things.


As everyone has stated, your supply will meet the demand. It's amazing. Really - the way your body adjusts to what your baby wants. I fed my first one and I just always felt that she was well fed and I never questioned how much she was getting. I'm getting neurotic with my second since she's gotten more bottles of expressed milk due to my work schedule.


A bunch of us working breastfeeding moms were discussing this on another thread - at around 7-8 months your supply suddenly drops - you can pump out as much. (a number of us experiencing this.) It is GREAT to pump early, and get as much milk as you can to store it - you never pump as much as you like in the following months. Gina Ford says to use your freezer supply to "top" off your baby's needs during growth spurts but I've NEVER found that to be necessary as I always could get something out of my breasts. So pump away, start saving up that precious milk so that you will have a great start to a good supply in the future.

Second HKCC about pumping and storing. You can store milk for up to 3 months. BF as much as possible now, and use the frozen stuff 3 months from now.


Friends who did not do this suffered later when they didn't have enough in their freezer and could not pump enough.


The only sad thing is, you need to give up on the ice cream or get a new freezer as the BM and later the food cubes all take up sooo much space :)

Thanks for all your replies! I am also following your 8 month thread avidly -- fascinating to see what lies ahead. Your thread is also partly why I started this one. Want to make sure I am on track even though it is very early days.


Cara, my left breast is totally outperforming my right one too! My husband always jokes that the right one is like him -- all laid back and the left one is like me -- the keen bean. Like simplythebest, I worry that after expressing 60mls from my right breast, it is pretty much empty. Do I still offer this breast to my baby? Will it magically refill to satisfy him? I would have thought that perhaps this is where GF suggests topping up, but I am not sure whether I should go down that path because:


1) Bubs is putting on weight beautifully and doesn't seem to be hungry in between feeds;


2) He is a really sucky baby and will keep going for hours if I let him;


3) I really want to build up a stock of EBM like you all suggest and am reluctant to pump then feed straight away (may as well just BF if I have to bottle feed it straight after anyway!).


Right now, I am giving him the full breast first then swapping back onto the expressed one hoping that it will have had a bit of time to build up some more milk. Bubs is quite happy sucking from the 'empty' breast, but I find it difficult to tell how much milk he is getting from it. Like I say, it is working so far, but I do worry that my breasts won't keep up with my growing baby.


HKCC -- A 6-week growth spurt would make perfect sense. This must be why bubs has been drinking like a demon these last couple of days.


I do have to say that I absolutely love Gina Ford. Following her schedules has made these few weeks so much more manageable than I had dared to hope. And it really works! Who knew that it was possible to have so much free time with a newborn!

an interesting thing that another poster said -


even after you finish expressing it is generally estimated that most women actually have an additonal 30 ml in that breast - just doesn't want to give it out to a plastic cup and would rather feed it to a soft baby mouth. I would still offer the expressed breast - I do offer it second though - after i've offered the full breast. In the early days it does fill up much more quickly than it does as your baby gets older.

The research tells us that exclusively breastfed babies take in an average of 25 oz (750 mL) per day between the ages of 1 month and 6 months. Different babies take in different amounts of milk; a typical range of milk intakes is 19-30 oz per day (570-900 mL per day). At 6 weeks of age your baby's milk intake is fairly consistent through to 6 months.


Well Baby Clinic - 2849 1500

Matilda International Hospital

Hong Kong

http://www.matilda.org

It's pretty difficult to tell how much bubs is drinking when he is feeding off the breast, but he usually gulps down a bottle of 120mls easy. Assuming this is what he also takes from the breast at each feed, ( 7 times a day) then he should be getting about 940mls! Now I am worried about overstuffing him!