89: Listener Question: Am I Pumping Enough Breastmilk for Daycare?!

Takeaways

• Many mothers believe they are not pumping enough, but this is often untrue

• Breast milk is alive and changes according to the baby's needs

• Older breastfed babies typically need only three to five ounces in a bottle per feeding when they maintain a cue based feeding schedule

• Mothers should mimic their baby's feeding schedule while pumping at work to support milk supply

• Pumping output can vary, and that's normal

• Advocating for proper feeding plans at Daycare is crucial for mothers

Today we are answering a very important question from Heather. She reached out regarding a common concern among pumping mothers, especially those who have returned to work and are sending bottles of expressed breastmilk to daycare. Heather asks, “If I’m only making 4 ounces each pump when she starts daycare, but she increases the amount of ounces she needs in her bottles. How am I going to be making enough for her?”

Such a good question Heather! This comes up so often, and sadly many mothers are led to believe they are not pumping enough for their babies as they get older. And most of the time, this simply isn’t true.

You see, the charts and calculations we have to determine how many ounces of milk our baby needs is usually based on formula - not breastmilk.

So we need to understand some major differences to advocate for our feeding plan when other people get involved, like a well meaning daycare employee.

Formula is made typically to be 20cal/oz. So when we are properly mixing it. It will be 20cal/oz, it will have the same level of macro and micronutrients per oz each time, and when our babies grow, the only way to increase that nutrition is by increasing the volume of milk we offer.

Breastmilk on the other hand is alive. I think we do not talk about this enough, I mean “it’s aliiiivee”. Which is wildly amazing. Just think, your colostrum: is higher in fat, protein, vitamin K, and things your baby’s gut needs those first days postpartum. Including some super cool things that protect their gut from harmful pathogens.

Then, your breastmilk transitions over time to what’s called mature milk which is higher in lactose and continues to protect your baby’s gut while simultaneously seeding its microbiome. Oh and also it provides baby immune support to whatever you’re exposed to as well. This is literally just the tip of the iceberg here, but the point is- it’s alive and it changes with your baby’s needs. So when you breastfeed, your body is taking in information regarding those needs.

In the early days, baby’s volumes are small as to be expected for their little bellies. This means perhaps those volumes between formula and breastmilk are not very different early on if we are truly doing cue based feeding although it still can vary. We should also consider that- many moms are still primarily breastfeeding with only practice bottles here and there those first few months. And so, if their baby is growing well and happy and content we never see their volumes or how much they drink each feed or day. (Which by the way is totally variable. Each feed may be different based on the current need like hunger/thirst/suckling. Each day may be different based on the growth needs of your baby and if they are having a growth spurt.)

Let’s fast forward a bit here and catch up with Heather’s question. Her baby was breastfed, with some practice bottles of expressed breastmilk throughout the week to prepare for the back to work transition which happened at 12 weeks.

Those 3oz bottles, which her healthy/happy/and well growing baby was thriving on- was fine. But of course her baby is nearing 4 months old now and she wants to know: “If I’m only making 4 ounces each pump when she starts daycare, but she increases the amount of ounces she needs in her bottles. How am I going to be making enough for her?”

Good news, you already are! And here’s how you will know you are:

Firstly, know that breastfed babies really don’t ever need more than 3-5oz per feed and we expect babies to continue to be fed based on their cues every few hours. (This means Heather will need to continue pumping to mimic her baby’s feeding schedule.  Now, some moms do find their own rhythm at work and everyone’s supply responds in its own way. Generally, when you leave your breasts full for longer the message is to slow milk production so mimicking your baby’s general schedule while you are away from them is a good basic recommendation). But I digress, breastfed babies who also receive expressed breastmilk really only ever need 3-5 oz in their bottle on average. They will cluster feed, stay longer at the breast, or give you some indication to pump for a few extra minutes to bump your supply if need be but that 3-5 oz bottle of breastmilk is normal moving forward.

Formula fed babies, do often need to go up a bit higher in volume as they near 6 months, but again this is because the nutritional content is what it is. 

But, your breastmilk content is literally changing based on your baby's needs- so what’s in that 3-5oz is specific to your baby’s needs. So Heather. As your baby gets closer to 6 months old, she can still have those 3-5oz breastmilk bottles and thrive!

In addition to this, when you get home from work and nurse her- she’s going to continue to get more and more efficient with how much she can take in a shorter time while breastfeeding. She’ll even likely get more creative in her position while breastfeeding haha and sometimes more socially distracted. But, regardless if she doesn’t get what she needs that day, probably just wake you up at night to catch up.

Granted- increased night wakings are not ideal when you are back to work but the point is that there are several reasons that your 4oz bottles of expressed breastmilk are perfect for your baby. If you feel she needs more, she will probably take it while you are together and nursing. If you still feel you must send a 5oz bottle, you can add an additional pumping session into the day but it’s likely not necessary when your baby is thriving and growing.

Before you know it, your baby will be around 6 months old and developmentally ready to start practicing with supplementary foods and eventually as she gets closer to a year will be taking in enough food to add to her nutritional diet. So again, even a 1 year old who is nursing, eating, and taking bottles is highly unlikely to need more than 3-5 oz when it’s breastmilk. 

And get this, as your baby ages, your breastmilk continues to adjust! Babies adjust for the volume they need and if you breastfeed into toddlerhood the composition continues to change to meet their nutritional and immunological needs.

It breaks my heart to meet mothers who have healthy thriving babies, are putting in the work to pump breastmilk while at work, and then end up supplementing with formula- not because they wanted to or it was part of their plan, but because a daycare provider told them they need 5,6,7,8 oz bottles. Those moms were likely succeeding and were given poor advice.

It’s not that there are no times where supplementation isn’t appropriate- but that’s not what we are talking about here.

So Heather- you are rockin’ it with those 4 oz pumping sessions! Yes a range of sometimes lower and sometimes higher is normal for pumping output. Your breastfed baby will only need 3-5 oz bottles every few(ish) hours based on her unique needs at that time. And no you don’t need to be pumping crazy amounts or trying to match formula schedules. Always come back to this question- how is my baby doing? And how am I doing?