7 mos - How much milk - Hmmm

[Schmitty21]

Hi there,

My son is 7 1/2 months and has only had breastmilk, no formula. We started solids at 6 months. I work full time so I've been pumping regularly - 3x/day for many months.

Right now I'm struggling with quantities. How much milk should I be giving to daycare? We were in a nice groove of 18 oz/day, 3 6oz bottles. Now that solids are in the mix, I'm not sure where to go. The last few weeks I've been pumping more like 13-15 oz/day, so I've been thawing some of my frozen stash to make 18. I suspect my fertility may be coming back (sorry if TMI). I haven't had my period yet, but could be coming? My friend got hers around 8 mos. I wonder if that's why my supply has decreased, or if that just happens naturally.

I know there's no magic number of ounces, but I'm kind of stumped as to what to do. Do I bring 2 larger bottles to daycare, such as 7 + 7? I'm afraid to bring too little one day and DS will be upset. But I can't keep thawing 2-3 ounces out of frozen, it won't make 1 year, which is my goal.

He gets a small jar of food at daycare, and another at home. We nurse before work and nurse to sleep.

I tried to browse/search some older topics here but didn't get too far. Oh, and what exactly is pump weaning? Does the LO eat EBM during the week, or formula? I can nurse on weekends.

A bit stumped here. :o
Thanks in advance!

[wendibird22]

With both of my DDs when they started food their BM intake remained the same. Both girls consumed 12oz of EBM while at daycare and I didn't find that changed at all even as solids increased. Around 9mos I noticed a dip in supply too and found I was pumping just enough to get by, sometimes a bit less.

Maybe you could try sending just what you pumped along with a bit extra but with instructions to only use the extra if your LO shows clear signs that he is hungry. So, I'd send 18oz, but have 3oz clearly identified as "extra" and see if he can go without it. Obviously if you have to thaw some stash to have the 18oz I'd be sure that the thawed milk was included in the 15oz and not in the extra 3oz so that if this plan is successful then you can freeze the 3oz and the thawed isn't wasted. Many BF babies will take any BM you give them, even if they are full, because they love to suckle.

Another idea would be to add a pumping session or two either at night or on the weekends. I did have to do this a few times that my supply to a real hit. It was temporary but effective in keeping my stash from depleting totally.


As for pump weaning, once your LO is no longer taking BM while away from you you would slowly stop pumping either by dropping a session or by decreasing the length of sessions until you are no longer pumping. I pump weaned at 14mos for DD1 and 12mos for DD2 and still continued to nurse nights and weekends. During the workday both girls drank cow's milk.

[marymoo86]

I don't remember if it was mothering.com or kellymom but I did read a post/article that stated the amount of BM shouldn't change from the average of 1oz per hour that DC is away from you. If DC is receiving more, then it is sending signals to your body to produce less as the natural ebb and flow is affected. The thought is that the ebb or lower output would be the bottles at daycare and that DC would fill up more at the breast.

it was this posting that was linked:

http://custommademilk.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/the-one-ounce-per-hour-rule-of-bottle-feeding-during-mombaby-separation/

[Momto1]

I know there's no magic number of ounces

Actually, there kind of is a magic number. One oz per hour of separation is the rule of thumb for BF babies. See here: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

If I were you (and I have been in your shoes, only I was never able to pump as much as you are!), I would send what you pump during the day. So if you pump 15 oz, send 3 5-oz bottles. If you pump 12 oz, send 3 4-oz bottles. I wouldn't go up to 7-oz bottles.

Chances are your body is adjusting to produce what your LO needs. I'd trust your body and send what you produce, since even with your lowered pumping output, you are still well over the 1-oz per hour rule.

I also would be careful about pulling from the freezer stash. I love this link that explains why it's dangerous to pull from the stash: http://www.workandpump.com/freezerstash.htm

Good luck, mama!

[Schmitty21]

Thank you ladies!! :applause:

Wow, in all my online research, I never came across that 1 oz/hr rule of thumb. Or maybe I did in the early weeks but quickly forgot it.

The workandpump site looks excellent. I'm pretty familiar with kellymom, so it's great to have this one as another great resource. Thanks Momto1.

It's great peace of mind to "send what I pump" as many of you have said. I am nervous b/c he is used to having the 18 during the day, I don't want him to freak out. Buuuut that's the tough love right? He's a good nurser, and I'm grateful for that. We can make up for it in the AM/PM, or during the night if nec.

Grateful for your help,
Sarah