Do you produce too much milk?
It seems that having too much milk is a champagne problem, but it is a problem anyway.
Before explaining how to handle too much milk, I first want to define what it means to have too much milk. But before I can define “too much milk”, I want to define what is average or normal. Defining normal is important for two reasons: One, to determine if you really have excess milk production. Two, if you is it so A mother who produces too much milk should offer it as a disclaimer every time she talks to another breastfeeding mother. For example, during the dreaded “how much are you pumping” conversation, the oversupplied mother may say, “I am pumping six ounces (or more) of both breasts combined. objective, I’m a superproducer. “It’s just not fair to average breastfeeding moms to think that their combined three ounces of both breasts is too little, because it isn’t fair at all.
Also, note that you cannot determine whether or not you are oversupplied for up to two weeks minimum, ideally closer to four weeks. In the first few weeks, your body is still trying to calculate how much milk you want it to produce, so you can easily and quickly increase or decrease.
Well then, what is normal?
If you have an average milk supply and are exclusively breastfeeding (that is, not supplementing formula or feeding solids), your baby is likely to gain five to seven ounces per week. Most of the time, your baby accepts both breasts at each feed, although sometimes he may want only one. That is usually first thing in the morning when your breasts feel fuller.
If you pump within 15 to 20 minutes of completing a breastfeeding session, you will probably get one to two ounces combined. If you express milk instead of breastfeeding, about two to three hours after your last breastfeeding or pumping session, you will collect about three to five ounces of both breasts combined. Every now and then, if your baby gets a good amount of sleep or if you accidentally go four to six hours without expressing milk, you can get a combined six ounces.
If you have an average supply, once your baby is between five and six weeks old, he will most likely not “feel” like you have to pump or feed the baby at the two to three hour mark. In contrast, your breasts start to get a bit angry around the four to six hour mark.
If you have encountered a quality IBCLC two weeks after delivery or later and have carried out a weight transfer, your baby has likely eaten 45 to 60 milliliters from the first breast and an addition of 15 to 30 milliliters from the second. .
Moms with an average milk supply as usual don’t complain that your baby “snorts,” “chokes,” or “coughs” at the breast. Your babies may show small signs of spitting up, but not with every feeding and not in large amounts. However, it is notable that babies can spit up for many reasons.
Finally, moms with an average milk supply enjoy a pretty textbook breastfeeding pattern. Their babies ask to eat every two to three hours throughout the day. The baby often feeds for the classic fifteen to twenty minutes with the first breast and another ten to fifteen minutes with the second breast. Moms with an average supply generally report having a baby who “hangs on the breast and uses it as a pacifier.” This is because once the baby is done eating, there is nothing left but a delicious nipple to suck on and take a nap.
So what is oversupply?
If you have too much milk, your baby is likely to gain eight to 16 ounces per week. Most of the time, your baby accepts one breast at each feed. It is rare for your baby to accept both breasts, although if he does, it is almost always at night that his breasts feel softer.
If you express milk within 15 to 20 minutes after completing a breastfeeding session, you will probably get three to five ounces of the breast that the baby did not drink from and one to three ounces of the breast that he did drink from. If you pump instead of breastfeeding, about two to three hours after your last breastfeeding or pumping session … well, this is where your true oversupply will show us what you can do. If the average is three to five ounces combined and you get it from each Mom, you have an excess supply. If you get more than five ounces from each breast (and, ahem, you don’t have twins), then you have, let’s call it, a aggressive oversupply. Your body thinks it is feeding three or four babies, not one. Every now and then, if the baby gives you a good amount of sleep or if you accidentally go four to six hours without pumping … oh wait, this probably rarely happens to you because your breasts will wake you up before the baby hits you. wake up.
If you are oversupplied, you are probably constantly aware of the fullness of your breasts and your need to breastfeed. You can barely get to the three-hour mark without convincing your baby to breastfeed (maybe even before he’s ready) because you need the relief.
If you are oversupplied, you can rely on your pump at least once or several times a day if the baby is not doing a good enough job to soften you up. You may be too familiar with plugged ducts and mastitis.
If you have encountered a quality IBCLC at two weeks postpartum or later and have performed a weight transfer, your baby probably ate about 90-120 milliliters (three to four ounces) of the first breast. If that baby dared to try second breastfeeding, they may have (accidentally or intentionally) drank an additional 30-60 milliliters (one to two ounces) before tapping.
Oversupplied moms report that their babies are “fast breastfeeds,” sometimes finishing in as little as five to ten minutes! They report that their babies seem to drink very fast all the time. Your babies will cough and sputter if they let their guard down even for a moment and disrupt their sucking, swallowing and breathing patterns. (I like to joke that there are bones in mommy’s milk when this happens.) Over-supply moms worry they are “drowning” their baby. Milk is often everywhere. All the time.
Your babies may or may not spit up. Some babies can handle large amounts of food like champions, others will regularly overeat and quickly “vomit” the excess. And yes, I 100% believe that breastfed babies can overeat if they drink a large amount of milk that gets into their mouths faster than they think.
So do you think you might be oversupplied? Keep reading.
The next question we must ask ourselves is: “So what?” Is the oversupply causing a problem in your life and / or your baby’s life and requires attention?
If you have a happy, fat baby who may or may not happily vomit on himself, your baby has no problem with his milk supply.
If you have breasts that feel full most of the time, but have made a habit of taking turns at every other meal without needing to be pumped up, your breasts have no problem with their oversupply.
OBJECTIVE…
If you have a fussy, splashing, vomiting baby …
If you have a baby with lime green poop …
If you have a baby who appears to be gassy from swallowing a lot of air while breastfeeding …
If you are a slave to your bomb Y your baby …
If you have chronic and repeated mastitis …
If you have hundreds of ounces in your freezer and there is no room for ice cream …
You may have an oversupply problem.