Hi,
At mother's group we were discussing short b/feeds and many mums were concerned their babies weren't getting enough milk as their babies were on the breast anywhere from 2-5 mins at a each feed. The early childhood nurse said a study had been done by ultrasound that showed a 4 month old was able to get 240mls from ONE breast in about 3 minutes!!! This sounds amazing! Has anyone heard about this study? Can it be true?
I haven't heard of the study but I hope it's true! My DD only feeds for 10 mins 1 boob, so I'd be happy to know that that is enough!
I think the other way they do it is to weigh the baby immediately pre-feed and then straight after the feed and the weight chenge (provided there has been no output from the baby) is the amount they have consumed?
It could definitely be possible, especially if the baby only fed from one breast at a time. My DD had weight gain issues in the early days so my lactation consultant weighed her (naked) before and after each breast to see how much she was getting. It's a pretty reliable way of finding out as the total weigh gain pretty much equates to the amout of breastmilk in mls - pretty cool hey :) You need to place a time limit on each breast though and you need the proper baby scales to do it. Back in those early days, my poor DD (who was a terrible sucker) was only getting 30mls a side - poor bubba! Any wonder my little girl wolfed down her top ups of EBM!!
WOW! That is amazing if it is true.
Wouldn't surprise me though - there are so many wonderful things about BF. And I am sure that there are many more amazing aspects that haven't even been discovered yet!
That is amazing and I do hope that it's true. My little one is a power feeder, 5 minutes maximum these days - gone are the days when we used to spend 5 hours on the couch feeding!!
Sue xx
I think know which study it is referring to but I don't know the exact amounts. It certainly could be possible. Many babies feed very quickly after the first weeks, and some reduce the number of feeds as well. Yet a study (the same one maybe) used ultrasound to show that babies actually drink about the same amount daily from 1 month to 6 months. So in many cases for babies to still be drinking 750ml or more a day after 8 - 12 weeks, they must be getting a lot in a short time.
Certainly from my experience, DS1 never fed for longer than 5 minutes even as a newborn. Yet he put on tonnes of weight - 400g a week at first. So he must have been getting a lot in less than 5 minutes!
Perhaps it's not just the quantity, but the quality of what we produce!! :)
That's pretty darn cool!
We did the weigh before and after with DD and she only put on 20grams :(
So while it isn't completely accurate as they also burn energy while they feed, it gives a "indication" of amounts they are getting.
Beema hun, that is true too, although really more so for a younger baby. Also it is worth noting that weigh tests are not the most accurate way to know what's going on. Often mum's are going to be a bit tense knowing they are being "tested" so often let down is affected and the results are not indicative of a normal feed :hug: You have done an awesome job.
makes pefect sense to me! I remember when ds ws 6 weeks old, I had to pump (having a few drinks, new years, he had EBM) and I filled a 240ml bottle from one breast in abot 10 mins, and then another half that from the next (I was pretty "full" by that stage too though)
Probably definitely true. At 5 months, DD1 only fed for 5 minutes and her bottles of EBM were 300mls, which we timed once, she drank it from spout teat in 3 1/2 minutes. DD2 only takes 150mls at 5 months but her bf only takes about 2 minutes. She sucks so hard and gulps so fast.
I think it's totally possible! Have you ever had a let down while expressing? The pump could barely keep up with what my boob was putting out so I knew my babies were getting that down their throats every feed :D Awesome!
Have to note that I didn't always get a let down while expressing so didn't get that volume every time but I always got a let down with baby attached!
Wow, that is amazing!!!!
My little man is 3mths and he feeds for 20mins each breast every feed.....he feeds every 4hrs during the day but goes 7hrs+ overnight.
Well that's it then! I'm not worrying about my 5 min feeds anymore!!!