Pumping strategies

[Stringy]

So this baby has been an all day cluster feeder but night hasn't been bad. She will wake and eat well on one side and then pass out for a few hours. Which leaves the other side pretty full. I've been pumping it mainly so someone else can give her a bottle sometimes- and it's probably also time to start freezing. But it kind of sucks.

Should I force her to have the other side (she sleeps thru most diaper changes)?

Keep pumping?

Also how much are you freezing in a bag? Im thinking about 3 oz for now? I don't really know how much a bottle is at this stage.

[frecklesnbrains]

As long as she's gaining weight I wouldn't force the other side. It's a good opportunity to pump if you're full on the second side and you know it will be a while before she wants to nurse again.

My baby has the same pattern - cluster feeds all day long but then generally sleeps 5 hours x1 then 3 hours x1 overnight. He's in the 6 week growth spurt right now and I'm having difficulty keeping up with him during the day so I added a MOTN pumping session when I can routinely get 4-5 ounces.

[packerfan4life]

LO almost only ever feeds off one side at a time. Pumping motn seems like way too much effort. I have frozen in 1, 2, and 3 oz aliquots. I have no idea how much to expect LO to take in a bottle at this point.

[manybellsdown]

I hate pumping so that will bias any answer I could give about the MOTN. But I think freezing in 2.5-3 oz increments would work well. When I exclusively pumped for a couple of days, he would drink 1.5-2 oz (a couple times 2.5) at a time with paced bottle feeding. He was only 4-5 days old at the time.

You could also do the calculator on kellymom for a baseline suggestion, though it might be hard to guess the number of feeds per day with all the clusterfeeding: kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

[csat]

I know that pumped breastmilk is somewhat different from formula as far as calculating amounts (I think?) but for comparison my DD at 5 weeks old (11.5+lbs) takes between 3-5oz of formula in a bottle at a time, roughly 20-25oz a day.

[happyday]

I would recommend storing in 2oz increments. I found that I normally pumped what I was going to give the nanny to serve, one day ahead. So what I pumped on Monday was what she ate on Tuesday. The only time I pulled from my stash was when I couldn't pump enough and needed to add an oz or two to what I had pumped. (Or, if we had a sitter).

Storing in large amounts would mean milk would be wasted bc once it's thawed, it has to be used faster.