I’m a stay at home dad. She leaves18oz per day – he is 6mths;needs more milk than she can make? any suggestion?
Byi’m a stay at home dad. My wife only wants our son to have her milk. She leaves 18oz per day but, at six months, he needs more now. She says she can’t produce more? is this true? What can we do to make more milk?
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11 Comments
January 27th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
I think you need to talk to your pediatrician and see what he says.
January 27th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
She can nurse while she’s at home and you can start to offer him some water in a cup and some solids.
Useful: http://www.kellymom.com/newman/17feed_baby_working_moms.html
That is, if “only wants our son to have her milk” means “no formula.” If she wants him to remain exclusively breastmilk fed with no solids past 6mo — why?
January 27th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
Breastfed babies only need about 25oz. of milk per day, so it’s unlikely that your son needs more than 18oz. while your wife is gone (assuming she works a typical 8-hour day). A breastfed baby will typically take in 2-4 oz. every 2-4 hours.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html
Your wife should be able to nurse about 3 times per day (or more) when she’s home — first thing in the morning, right after work, and right before bed (and/or overnight). This may help eliminate the need for so much milk during the day. Since your son is 6 months old, you can also offer solids during the day to help him go a little longer.
If she really wants to make more milk, she’ll have to pump more often — in the evenings, on weekends, at work, whenever. I’m not sure how often she’s pumping now, but the best way to increase it is to pump (and nurse) more. She could also try eating oatmeal, which I’ve heard can increase the milk supply.
Hope that helps!
January 27th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
it is possible that she cannot pump him more. I had the same issue with my second child…my job did not really allow me to pump more than about 2x per day, and she blew through that. What I did was to start topping off her bottles with formula. If she took 4 bottles that were 6 ounces each, then each bottle got 1.5 ounces of formula on top of the 4.5 ounces of breastmilk. Another solution might be for your wife to pump one side while your son nurses on one side during feedings at home. Having the baby near by can increase let down and allow her to express more milk.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
That is a lot of milk for him to need! If she needs to make more than she pumps while at work, she can pump on the weekends or in the evenings. Drinking plenty of water could help, too.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
if he is six months it’s time to start baby cereal and baby food that with the milk should be enough
January 28th, 2010 at 12:41 am
Wow – doesn’t seem like enough. When my daughter was 6M she was having nearly 30oz a day, plus solids. I’d talk to the doctor about supplementing with solids or formula.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:39 am
What my pediatrician let’s us do and my son is four months old he lets us supplement either formula (which might one day happen), or we are allowed to feed him baby cereal, but due to his acid reflex we also feed him baby food. Is he on anything other the breast milk? You can try to feed him some cereal it might help fill him up quicker and also it will allow her breast time to reproduce milk. And if she starts to run out and her breast start to feel like they are drying up she can call her OB and they can prescribe her a pill that will help her milk flow continue. But, at one point or another if she can’t produce enough breast milk she might have to supplement there are formulas that are organic, and that have breast milk products in them. Just becareful before selecting and check to make sure it’s ADA approved because my son was put on Soy Formula it was ADA approved, but the ADA was not specified so it ended up making him very sick and we had him at a Children’s Hospital for three weeks.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:52 am
She can pump more often. I’m sure it’s difficult at work and she does what she can, but she maybe can try to get 1 more session in before bedtime? Has he started on solids yet? The baby food could be the added extra that you need. I think it’s great that she breastfeeds even though she works full-time. I know it’s a lot of work for her so continue to support her in this because it makes that baby strong and healthy.
January 28th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Baby should now be having solids as well as BM.
You can also give the baby an extra bottle of formula.
If you wife wants to produce more milk then she has to bring baby to the breast for that milk. It is baby sucking which stimulates production of milk!!! Much more than pumping!!!
Your wife should be able to feed at least 3 times per day Morning, Home time and bed time. With thsi and some solids and a possible bottle too you should be fine!! But if baby is still hungry and mum won’t let baby have formula or solids then she is gonna have to stay home to feed her child OR she is going to have to come home throughout the day to feed.
It’s not fair to leave you with a hungry baby and no possible way of feeding the child!!
January 28th, 2010 at 3:05 am
Boy is this right up my alley! I too had such a hard time making enough milk I’ve read just about every thing there is too read on breastfeeding and seen a dozen lactation consultants! You know its all supply and demand. If she isn’t pumping as much as she should as work, lots of the times she can’t, but every 3-4hrs is recommended for women with no issues however I was told not to let 3 hrs pass without pumping and they suggested 2hrs between. It’s very hear cuz she’s working and it’s not like she’s at home and can try all these things to increase. However she may be able to try what the call power pumping. You pump 2-3 times a day every 45mins. So in the am or pm she could do this or on weekends. Also she can try fenugreek, it’s an herbal supplement that can increase milk supply also there’s mother’s milk tea (tastes like sambooka when sugar is added, yucky to me). Also I’m not sure if you’re doing any of this or have tried it, but she can pump after every feeding to ensure all is gone. There’s a compression she can try to make sure her let down is flowing properly (I’d Google it and get instructions hard to explain). Also if the herbs do not help with milk she can get meds like reglan and a few others’s that are supposed to increase. Please consult doc before taking any drastic measures! How does she feel about just supplementing the baby with formula for one day that she’s home so she can feed formula and pump to get a supply up for when she’s working? I cannot rely think of anything else off hand; however I will pull out a book for 2 and see if there’s anything I forgot. Is the baby gaining well? Probably just fussy cuz they want more. Just remember it’s an awful feeling when you the mommy cannot provide enough milk for your baby! Esp. when you do not want to formula feed. My son was gaining, but wasn’t getting as much as he should of. He got like 24oz a day then it slowly tapered to I could only give him 2-4 oz a day. Of course we had to at one point; 6mos actually start giving him formula to make sure he got what he needed. I was able to give some milk until 8 1/2 mos. I felt awful about having to give him formula, not only cuz I couldn’t give him what he needed but formula is scary with all the recalls they have and so on. But it’s important that she knows she it is not her fault and she has provided a wonderful start for they baby! Don’t give up hope, hope this helps. Email me anything with any questions at all jessdionne8485@yahoo.com.
Has she seen a lactation consultant? They may be able to help as well.