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From:
Chrismulfo <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 13 May 1998 00:10:50 EDT
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Jan,
The weight points you give tell an interesting story
Birth weight was 7-5
14 days later she's 26 ounces heavier...but she may have lost a bit first and
made it back up.
14 days later she's 33 ounces heavier.
6 days later she's 8 ounces heavier.

For about the first 4 weeks the baby was gaining more than 2 ounces per day.
In the last week she's cut it back to just over 1 ounce per day.  So something
has changed.  You don't say when she began two feeds in a row on the same
breast.  That may have had an effect on the baby.

You know my opinion of the usefulness (NOT) of calculating how many ounces of
milk a baby needs based on body weight.  When we don't know the caloric
content of the milk (see lots of discussions of creamatocrits in the last few
days!), we really can't say how many ounces the baby needs, can we?

If the milk is relatively low in fat, and therefore in calories, the baby will
need more volume to meet her caloric requirements.  The fact that the mom has
a lot of milk and can pump 3-4 ounces from each breast makes me suspect that
the baby is not making it to "dessert" before she gets full---maybe she has a
smallish stomach capacity and she stops at 2 ounces because that is her limit.

So I think you're on the right track with your "2 feeds in a row per breast"
plan.  Maybe even go for 3 in a row, if breast comfort allows.  Mom should be
aiming to reduce her production so that baby can really "finish" a
breast....and I bet that baby would stay content longer with higher fat feeds,
too!

1.9 ounces in 6 minutes sounds like a pretty rapid MER and milk intake by
baby.  But, hey! if she's happy....

Has mom been pumping on the side to store milk for later?  Or was she
switching breasts a lot in the first weeks?  Or maybe she's just genetically a
Holstein, not a Jersey---lots of low-fat milk instead of less, higher fat
milk.

Felicitations on the wedding.  I hope you're all keeping things in
perspective!    Chris

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