I have a 5-6mo baby who is breastfed. Her mom brings me two 3 ounce bottles because that is what she pumps when she is at work. She comes at lunch to feed also.

The 3 ounce bottles are not enough and I have mentioned this to dcm. She thinks that since that is what she pumps then that is what baby needs. Is that right?

So between 8:00am - 5:15 I give this baby only 6 ounces of milk, no food.
I have a 1mo that is eating 4oz every 2-3 hours!

I added an ounce or two of formula to a baby bottle to test it and she gulped it all down. She IS a happy baby and is on the small side.

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I didn't bf my kids either, but every bf kid I have here always has a surplus of frozen milk in my freezer. If they don't pack enough for the day or are having a growth spurt, I just use what's in there, and tell the dcm to give me more the next day. Is dcm open to supplementing with formula in the event that she isn't producing enough, or open to baby foods?

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I breastfed all my babies and that is nowhere near enough! I'm not sure about my second child.....she never took a bottle so I never knew how much she truly got. My first child, though, I had to return to work outside of the home and therefore had to provide my mom with sufficient pumped milk. It was really stressful making sure I had pumped enough because she would drink a lot from the bottle. If I can recall correctly, at 6 months old, she was already drinking 6-8 oz bottles every 2-4 hours or so.

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http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

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That Kellymom calculator is a great resource. I would say 6 oz is not enough at this point. You can try slowing her down during a feeding and giving her some breaks. Sometimes a breastfed baby will gulp their bottles and not realize they're full... But yeah, your intuition is probably right. Just because she is only pumping that much while she is gone doesn't mean that is how much baby needs. Many people pump less than what baby is able to eat because the pump is not as good as a baby at getting milk out.

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No. She seems to think what she makes will be equal to what baby needs. I asked her to bring bigger bottles but she hasn't.

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She comes at lunch to breastfeed. So baby is getting 6 oz plus a breastfed lunch right? Or does she not always come?

When do you feed her the bottles?

Is she eating solids yet?

As she is either eating, or close to eating solids? I would supplement hunger in this way at 5-6months. You want her to be ready to bf at lunch time and not already full, which will continue to help mom produce.

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Looking at the time frames she could still be getting enough.

9 hour period.

BF before arriving

3 oz morning

maybe BF 4 oz at lunch

3 oz afternoon

maybe BF another 4 oz after work

This would be approximately 14 oz in a 9.5 hour period (not including feeding before arriving), and she could be getting more milk during the BF sessions

Giving you more milk would probably mean that baby and mom wouldn't be ready to breastfeed.

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Mom should get in touch with a lactation expert. That is not enough milk, IMO. I don't give parents a choice when it comes to supplementation. Either they have enough milk for their child to eat on demand at my home, or I WILL be supplementing with formula (and they do have to sign a form giving me permission to feed formula in the event they do not provide an adequate milk supply).

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I agree. She needs to provide enough milk for her child to eat on demand. I don't think that's enough for the baby. Is baby cranky?

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I have a 3 month old and she takes 2.5 oz, three times a day while she is here. Mom BF right before bringing her (or feeds her here) and right at pickup. She sometimes has to pump in the evenings as well to have enough. I do have a frozen stock as well. Is baby content or is she crying for feedings early?

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I bf all my kids and either dcb would like the comforting factor of nursing longer or it's not enough. My guess is not enough. Have mom give you a few extra bottles and offer more milk. I bet she will finish it. Just because mom is pumping a certain amt, in no way means that's what baby would get if she was nursing

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Do you think it's possible she's on the small side naturally, or from not getting enough breast milk?

I'd think if she was hungry she would cry for more....right?

My first did. She was 9lbs. 13oz. at birth, and whatever the reason for my lack of breast milk, I had to supplement. Seriously, once she got that instant gratification from a bottle and formula, she refused me
But the formula and bottle was able to support her continued growth. She was a moose!

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GREAT resource!

Babies are much more efficient at getting milk than a pump is, so judging a feeding by how much is pumped won't be right. I'd ask mom for more milk each day, or plan to supplement with formula.

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Baby ate 4oz at 10:00am today and was screaming her head off for 20min when her mom finally got here at 12:30 today.

I have asked mom for bigger bottles but she won't bring them. The bottle I have for this afternoon is actually only 2oz!

Baby is on the small side. BF right before drop off at 8:00, 3oz bottle mid-morn, BF at 12:30, then another bottle around 3:00.

Yesterday 1mo baby ate 20oz here! Granted he had a bottle right after he got here and right before he left but 6oz vs 20oz?

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This is where you don't allow mom to refuse.

"I'm sorry mom, but I'm not allowed to refuse a baby nutrition. I'm required by law to feed babies ON DEMAND. Which means as often as they want as well as enough to satisfy hem at each feeding. I'm going to either have to insist that you provide me more bm or that you agree to allow me to supplement your baby with formula. Those are the only two options here"

The frequency in feedings you are describing sounds great but the amount isn't satisfying baby.

I refuse to starve a child because the parents refuse to send more milk. End of story.

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I agree. I BFed and had to pump for my first 2 while I worked. You need to insist that she bring extra milk (fresh or frozen bags for storeage) and explain like the PP did. Let her know effective immediately you will not be able keep the baby hungry and will have to refuse care if adequate BM is not provided each day. Let her know you won't always necessarily give the milk, but that you cannot allow her to cry from hunger anymore. Or mom can provide formula for cases the baby needs more than the BM provided. But I would definitely refuse to care for her screaming child- if she can't be there to nurse on demand she needs to have more milk to tide the baby over. Poor thing!

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I have a new baby here who's BFed and she takes (4) 2.5-3oz bottles a day plus solids twice a day here. Mom brings that much fresh plus I have several bags of frozen milk in case she needs it and back up formula in a dire emergency.

I had a baby the same age 2yrs ago who drank (3) 6oz bottles a day plus solids.

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My 7mo DCB drinks 3 8oz bottles plus food between 8am-5pm.

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Are you on the food program? If so, for that age you are required to provide 4-8 oz for breakfast, lunch or supper, and 4-6 oz for each snack.

And also, beginning at 8 months, if not sooner, you are required to serve cereal and vegetables/fruits. If you make the cereal with BM, that requires a bit more to be provided also.

Can you use that to back up your request/demand for more milk?

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I would expect a 5 month old to be eating between 3 and 4 oz every 4+ hours. Eating three times a day at daycare sounds right. 6 oz, plus another 3-4 that she is getting from mom sounds right.

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Is that 1 month old eating formula? That sounds like way to much for a bf baby. Formula is so different than bf. My bf babies never ate more than 5 oz of bf at a time even when they were close to a year old. The breastmilk changes as baby gets older, so you don't really have to add more ounces, like you do with formula.

Unless the baby is super cranky and you know for sure the baby is cranky because of being hungry, I would give the three oz bottles.

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that doesn't sound like much- especially if baby is crying for more.

I exclusive pumped for my twins. At that age, they wanted 3-5 ounces every 3-4 hours. If I couldn't pump enough , they got formula.- usually 1-2 bottles/day. I wasn't going to deny them food because I couldn't pump enough.

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I would suggest having her do pumping session in the evening. For my first child I was a little low on the supply side, but when I pumped in the evening (I did it during her longest sleeping stretch), it helped me maintain my supply during the day... If I didn't pump at night I would need to use my reserves. It also may be easier to pump relaxed at home vs a higher stress work environment. I was amazed the difference in pumping relaxed (and thinking about baby) vs stressed, rushed, or distracted made... it was a wake up call to how I nursed too.

You need some reserves and/or to be able to supplement if/when needed.

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