How much breastmilk should an 8-month-old drink?

[neobunny]

I'm not sure if i'm pumping enough milk when i'm at work. Here is what my DS has been eating/drinking;

He wakes up usually around 5 am & i nurse him for as long as he wants. Then he goes to grandma's & he gets about 4 tbsp of infant oatmeal, 2 oz of stage 2 fruit, & 3 oz of BM at 8 am.

11 am he gets 1 jar (4oz) of a stage 2 combo meal, 2oz of fruit & 3 oz of BM.

2pm he gets 4 oz of BM

5 pm he gets 1 jar of the combo meal & since i'm home from work at this time I nurse him.

7 pm he gets the cereal & fruit. Then between 7:30 & 8pm i nurse him to sleep. 90% of the time he sleeps all night till 5 am.

I work 4 days a week & i pump twice a day. The way he's eating right now i need 10 oz of BM but lately i've been getting less. I also take the supplement 'More Milk Plus' & eat oatmeal almost every morning before work. I've been pumping right before bed (between 9:30 & 10) but i'm lucky if i get 1 oz. It's not the time of the month right now but i did get an IUD (mirena) a couple of weeks ago. About 2 weeks or so ago i added the 4th meal of cereal & fruit at the suggestion of a couple of coworkers because DS was not sleeping thru the night for a few weeks (he's been sleeping thru the night since he was 2 months), but he's sleeping MUCH better since giving the 4th meal.

Now my question; Is he getting enough BM while at grandma's house? Or is he getting too much? Grandma (my MIL) says that sometimes he doesn't finish the 3oz of BM so she saves it to give to him for the next meal. I wondering if 2 oz of BM would be enough with his meals, which means i would need to pump 8 oz instead of 10 oz, which i have no problem getting right now.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I'm not sure how to respond to this post. That's why I read it and didn't reply.

If you want to pump more breastmilk, add a third session during the day. You can also pump in the morning before the baby wakes up to nurse. You will get more milk at that time of day, and if baby nurses right afterwards your breasts will keep making milk so baby will still get enough.

That is a lot of solid food for this age. Prior to 12 months of age, solids are for practice and nutrition should come from breastmilk or formula. If you wanted to cut back on the solids and rebuild your supply, we can help you with that. You would have to pump more, even at night, and nurse as much as possible. Honestly, my guess is that giving so much solid food is what has affected your supply.

[DrSally]

I tend to agree with KAren. DD is 11 months old and maybe eats maximum of 4 oz baby food per day total (she was later in starting solids though). I know somewhere there is some info on how much formula babies certain ages should be getting on average. Maybe you could look at that measurement and compare it to how much BM he's getting. Not a perfect comparison, but would give you a ballpark. If you want him to have more BM, I agree that pumping more and nursing as much as possible. Would it be possible at 5pm to nurse him FIRST? Also, does he need that 7pm solids meal?

[stillplayswithbarbies]

here is an article with some ideas of how much a baby should drink. Breastmilk would be the same as formula as far as number of bottles and ounces per bottle.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-tell-how-much-formula-your-baby-needs_9136.bc

this article has sample schedules for different scenarios, including breastfeeding and pumping mom who works out of the home with a 9 month old

http://www.babycenter.com/0_sample-baby-schedules-for-9-and-10-month-olds_3657239.bc

[DrSally]

Those are some good examples. As pertains to the OP, I took a look at the 9 month old WOH BFing mom. I hope that helps you OP. Every child is different too.

I also peeked at the 10+ month old with BFing SAH mom for myself. It's pretty similar to what we do, except DD doesn't eat that much finger food yet as she only started solids recently. The daytime nursing/feeding schedule is pretty much what we do, except she may or may not get a solids lunch depending on her hunger. Also, we add about 3 nighttime nursings :ROTFLMAO:

[jamiegirl]

My DD just turned 8months. She gets 3 "solids" meals a day and still manages to drink around 25 oz of breastmilk a day. She only drinks water after the meals (doesn't like it a lot) so the majority of her liquids still come from breastmilk. We had to cut a bit back on the solids (in terms on quantity) just so she still has room for bmilk to serve as her water.

I pump 4x a day still (averaging 28oz a day) but I sleep straight through the night (no pump session during those 8hours).

[amldaley]

here is an article with some ideas of how much a baby should drink. Breastmilk would be the same as formula as far as number of bottles and ounces per bottle.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-tell-how-much-formula-your-baby-needs_9136.bc

this article has sample schedules for different scenarios, including breastfeeding and pumping mom who works out of the home with a 9 month old

http://www.babycenter.com/0_sample-baby-schedules-for-9-and-10-month-olds_3657239.bc


I have to disagree (or maybe I misunderstood you), but the number of ounces is NOT the same for breastmilk and formula. Not as a newborn, nor at 8 months. Breastmilk is far more efficient in it's delivery of nutrition and the required number of ounces are far less than formula, the feedings are more frequent b/c it is digested in about 90 minutes with minimal waste.

OP's Q was re: breastmilk, so a formula chart really would not apply. Several other references for breastmilk have already been provided including Kellymom.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

If you are pumping and feeding breastmilk in a bottle, it's the same schedule and amount. You could maybe feed smaller bottles, depending on what the baby is used to, but the total calorie intake should be the same at the end of the day. These are just guidelines, all babies are different.

Formula is manufactured to have the same calories per ounce as breastmilk (generally speaking)

a baby fed directly from the breast will develop their own patterns of feeding, some eat a little at a time often and others nurse for longer periods of time but not as often.

[cestkaren]

What are you using to mix with the rice cereal? If it is EBM or formula, that counts, I think. I think your son is probably getting the minimum BM if you think that during each BF sessions he is getting 5 oz and you add in what you mix with rice cereal.

The amount of solids will depend on the child and when solids were started. You could cut down on his solid slightly and see if he takes more EBM. Also, try pumping three times during the day, your milk supply should start to increase.

[amldaley]

Saw this and it made me think about this thread...don't know if it will help you or not...

http://nursingbaby.com/nursing/pump.htm