How much breast milk do I need to save up?

Question

My mother-in-law wants to babysit our baby for a whole weekend. I'm breastfeeding and not sure how much milk I need to save up before I can let her babysit. I'm not even really sure how much he's supposed to eat a day since I just let him nurse until he's finished each time and have no idea (in ounces) how much he is eating each time.

Answer 1

I would say, "Thanks a lot, MIL, but breastfeeding is really important to me and to the baby. We're not ready to be separated for that long."

Seriously.....I have no idea how old your baby is, but you could have a baby who is on a nursing strike or who is weaned by the end of the weekend. Is it really worth it? What would be the point of leaving the baby with MIL for a whole weekend? So she can fulfill some fantasy of being a mom again? Can't she just spend a few hours with her grandson during the day? Give you a short break of only a couple of hours for dinner and a movie? Heck, does he even take a bottle?

I would absolutely NOT do this if it were my child.

YOU are the parent. If nursing is important to you, just say, "thanks but no thanks grandma.....would you like to have him for 4 hours on Saturday while we do dinner and a movie?" Honestly, don't worry too much about hurting grandma's feelings on this one. It's what's important to your BABY.....not what grandma would like.....that needs to be considered.

Answer 2

Ask your pediatrician how much a baby the same age as yours would eat at a normal feeding. If he's in the 0-6 month stage, it could be anywhere from 3-6 oz per feeding. Your doctor will have a good idea of how much he might eat from experience with other mothers. Or if you have time before the big weekend, pump a couple bottles and see how much he takes from a bottle at one of his regular feedings. It's also important to adjust the baby to a bottle in the weeks before, so this can give you an idea of how much to save up. Just make sure you have enough for each feeding and maybe an extra bottle or two. Have grandma keep a few bottles in the fridge and freeze the rest. They thaw easily when it's time for another feeding, and it can be stored longer. It's better to have too much than too little.

Answer 3

Depends on the mother-in-law. My mother-in-law stuck a bottle in my babys mouth every time he whimpered. My husband and I were gone for about 4 hours and he had consumed 4 - 8 oz bottles. He was only a few months old. How old is your baby. Really 8 oz should be enough for every 3 hours. But it is always good to have too much than not enough. Breast milk is digested quicker. Make sure she doesn't use the microwave...but heats it in a bowl of very warm water.

Answer 4

I would definitely make sure baby will take a bottle before sending him overnight without a breast to nurse on. Some babies will only nurse if it's been too long to learn how to bottle feed. As far as how much you should give him, that really depends on him. When my son was 3 months old he was eating 6-8 oz per feeding and my pediatrician said it was too much, but I fed him less, he would scream until he barfed. I would suggest starting him on one or two bottles of pumped milk per day (it'll also take some time to get your breasts used to making more milk for pumping) to judge how much he'll be drinking. Good luck!

Answer 5

Wow I didn't let my baby stay the night until her little sister was born and she was nearly 2 years old! Personally I wouldn't let anyone keep the baby overnight especially if she was still exclusively nursing.

That said, every baby is different. And it also depends on their age. For 2 days, I'd send a minimum of 100 ounces for a whole weekend (just in case), frozen in bags to be thawed when needed (50 ounces per day). I'd probably want to send closer to 120 ounces just in case she got baby while he was growth spurting.

While baby is gone, you need to be sure to pump to keep up your supply while he's gone. You might see a drop in production while he's away (you might not notice since you don't typically pump from the sounds of it), but it will get right back up again after he's back.

Answer 6

maybe you could go to the dr. office and ask if you can weigh the baby then nurse and weigh again. it will give you a rough idea. this is how we knew how much my son was getting before he was nursing all the time. alot of breastfeeding clinics do this as well because you don't have lines on your breast to measure how much the baby's are getting. have a fun weekend but don't be surprised that you will miss your baby and cut it short. it's happened to everyone i know the first time they left their babies! you're lucky to have someone to care for your baby so you can have a break and hopefully for something nice like a hot date with your dh. have fun!

Answer 7

Pump as much as you can between his feedings and freeze it. You have no way to know for sure how much he'll drink, have you ever given him pumped milk from a bottle before? My daughter wouldn't take it from a bottle no matter how hard we tried. Also, over the weekend your mother-in-law has him, you need to pump about as much as he would have normally drank on his own, since you don't want your milk supply to diminish and you don't want to get engorged.

Answer 8

I agree with S.O. Pump all you can because there really is no way of knowing. I am sure it would depend on the age of the baby as well. Be sure you pump while away from the baby so you keep your supply up.

Answer 9

save as much as you can !!

you can also freeze it it wont go bad just mark the date on it so you know when it was froze

Answer 10

just leave a case of Miller Lite. it tasted great and is less filling