Dropping Milk Feeds - Advice Needed Please

[Charlie:-)]

Today my mum has looked after Maia while I went to have my hair done.

I fed her before I went at 10:30am and left some EBM with my Mum as she would have needed a feed while I was away. I came home at 40pm and she hadnt had any milk, hadnt asked for it and was just happily playing.

When I got in and she saw me she still didnt ask for her milk.

I offered her the boob and she had a long feed. So today she has had 4 milk feeds rather than her usual 5.

Normally I offer her the boob every 3 hours and she takes it and she is on 3 meals a day and eats a good amount.

So do I continue to offer every 3 hours or do I wait will she asks for milk?

Alternatively I could offer her boob every 4 hours so that would mean she would get 4 feeds a day, at say 7am, 11am, 3pm & 7pm.

Not sure what to do cause surely if she didn't want milk then when I offer it to her every 3 hours she wouldn't take it, but at the same time I'm returning to work in 10 weeks so need to try and work something out in preparation for going back. Dropping a milk feed would be ideal as I would like to continue to BF when I go back to work.

 

[charlie84]

Hey Hun

I would probably keep offering the boob to her just to keep your supply going as usual, as dropping too many feeds at once can cause you to become engorged and effect milk supply.

If i remember correctly Calleigh was on around 4 feeds a day when she was around Maia's age, so if she is happy with four feeds then go with that.

I wouldnt worry about her not having milk whilst you are not there as my Calleigh doesnt have any milk from when i drop her to nursery at 8.30 till when we get home of an evening at around 5.30. She still feeds at least four times in a 24hr period. Usually morning, after i finish work, before bed and once in the night.

I have been quite amazed at how we have kept up the feeding whilst i have been working full time, and we had to go cold turkey on the two feeds she was having during the day before i went back. But she has just adjusted her feeding habits

Clever these little babies are

 

[Charlie:-)]

I would probably keep offering the boob to her just to keep your supply going as usual, as dropping too many feeds at once can cause you to become engorged and effect milk supply.

Thanks Charlie, im not planning on dropping any more than 1 at the moment to be honest and would prefer to go with the 4 feeds a day rather than her usual 5 which she's on at the moment.

Im hoping that when I go back to work she adjusts to something similar to Calleigh, although not looking forwards to the night feed

 

[charlie84]

You may find she doesnt wake at night for a feed if she is getting what she needs food wise in the day. Calleigh only eats small amounts of food and the milk she does have makes up a large portion of her diet. So if Maia is a good eater she may do fine.

I must say though as long as it is only one wakening i am ok but sometimes that isnt the case and i do find i struggle the next day

 

[Sherlock]

Galen dropped 3 or 4 feeds literally overnight. Daytime ones. But then started feeding more overnight.

I was offering him his normal feeds as it were in the day. As to if he took them was another matter. Often he was just having a quick 2 minute feed and not a full one.

Now we've sorted it a bit and he has 4 big feeds in the day, plus his 3 meals and that its. Goes to bed at 7pm and is asleep till 6-7am.

I'd say it was trial and error and see what she does. And then if its something awkward you can slowly tinker with it if need be to work better. We did that with the big night feeds and he increased his daytime ones back up.