Lea Rivera Todaro <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
 
> Baby's age: 3 weeks
> Growth: 1.5 ounces a day on average (well above birth weight)
> 
> Baby is not on a schedule and transfer 2-3 ounces per feeding.  Mother is
> able to pump only one ounce regardless of when she pumps (before a feed,
> after a feed or instead of a direct feed). 

It is completely normal and typical for a mother to pump one ounce at a
time when she's also feeding the baby. What's the reason for the test
weighs, if the baby is feeding and growing so well?

> She has begun to pump only because she wants to.

So there's no urgency or need, and the mother's supply is ample, and she
is pumping normal amounts - there isn't a problem here that I can see.

> She describes her pumping as "the flow starts and then at about an ounce
> it just stops.  It does not start again if I go longer." 

How much longer? Some mums get multiple let-downs when pumping, some
don't, and either way when the milk supply is normal and the baby
growing well I can't see anything tangible worth worrying about here,
except possibly an excess of interventions and assessments. Which is
great, because it's the easiest thing to fix! 

Anxiety, however, can be a bit more difficult to deal with. I might be a
little concerned about the situation when a mother is spending so much
time pumping at three weeks just "because she wants to". Is there a
deeper issue below that? Is someone telling her she "should" be pumping?
Is she ambivalent about breastfeeding in some way? Is someone in her
environment making breastfeeding around other people an issue? It seems
to me that unless she is going to be forced into early separations, this
is the time to be with the baby, not the pump.

Lara Hopkins

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome