Okay, so my lactation consultant wants to make sure my supply comes in properly, since my daughter…
Okay, so my lactation consultant wants to make sure my supply comes in properly, since my daughter was only 37 weeks, they can sometimes be lazy suckers, so they want me to pump like 3 times a day, after my daughter nurses... and then feed my daughter via syringe whatever I get... however, here we are at Day 4... after she fed for 18 minutes on one side, and her belly is TOTALLY FULL! I pumped afterward, (for the first time today) and combined I produced and extra 75ml (2.5oz)!!! There is NO possible way I could get her to eat that much extra... so I'm thinking I'm just going to start building my supply, and only pump once a day instead of 3 times a day... so how long can you keep milk in the fridge, and how long in the freezer? I feel like I'm going to be drowning her in milk, if I keep producing like this! Any thoughts or suggestions?
kammy·
Мама сына-младенца
Milk in fridge 24h and lasts for 6 months in freezer. It depends how often shes eating. If you think shes full and she sleeps past 2h she might need to nurse still. But you'll know by diaper count. If you think shes doing well I also would suggest not pumping and letting your milk adjust according to her.
Tiffany·
Мама двоих (младенец)
@kambam, thank you! She's having like 8+ diapers a day, at 3 days her stool had already transitioned to the brownish yellow... and at 2 days she had lost 8.8% of her birth weight, today (4days old) she's only down 6% of her birth weight! The doctor said she thinks she's doing great... we have another weight check scheduled for next week... so maybe I'll pump once a day until then, and just toss my extra milk in the freezer... is there such a thing as too much production? Can I mess my supply up if I pump now? Just want to make sure my girl grows healthy!
kammy·
Мама сына-младенца
Sounds awesome, truly. Pumping now just puts you at risk of overproduction which can lead to clogs or in a rare case, mastitis. If youre nursing on demand there should be no concerns. Hand expression, in my opinion, is the best way to collect milk and doesn't affect your supply negatively.
Tiffany·
Мама двоих (младенец)
@kambam, I'll look up some videos about hand expressing... I have a really strong pump I got with my first... she was born at 33 weeks, we tube/bottle fed exclusively for the first couple months, until she was strong enough to nurse... so pumping was my only option... I feel like I'm a first time mom again! 😅 direct to breast from the start is a whole new concept! 😆 they said to pump on the preemie setting for like 15 minutes... but I'm just pumping like 5-8 minutes... because my milk stops around 4-7 minutes... and I feel like my supply is solid right now! So I'm a little afraid to go that long!
kammy·
Мама сына-младенца
Yeah when I pumped I only did it for a few minutes past 1 letdown because thats all that I made on pump. So, it's up to you really. Trust your intuition and your body.
Tiffany·
Мама двоих (младенец)
@kambam, Thank you! I think you are right, I'm just going to trust what feels right, and not push it too hard... I think my milk is coming in fine... I don't want to make any unnecessary issues for myself in the future... she latches well, and I am nursing on demand, so I think my body will get her what she needs!
kammy·
Мама сына-младенца
Yes mama! Congrats on the new addition!
Avah Cruz·
My son took hours to latch but he got it (in my personal experience),you don't need to pump pumping early on can mess with your supply because it has not regulated, yet. If it were me I would focus on latching as much as possible and only pump if it's absolutely necessary. Good luck! 🍀
Ashley·
Your milk definitely sounds like it's in.