How to estimate breast milk production?
January 8, 2010 12:03 PM Subscribe
Is there a simple way to estimate how much breast milk my baby is consuming?
I'm trying to keep track of my son's daily caloric intake, but I don't know how much breast milk he's actually drinking. Is there some sort of rule of thumb or a way to estimate based on how much time he spends nursing? It doesn't have to be very exact, I just want to get an idea of how many calories he's taking in.
If it matters, he's 9 months old and nurses about 4-6 times a day. He typically nurses for 20-40 minutes at a time.
I'm trying to keep track of my son's daily caloric intake, but I don't know how much breast milk he's actually drinking. Is there some sort of rule of thumb or a way to estimate based on how much time he spends nursing? It doesn't have to be very exact, I just want to get an idea of how many calories he's taking in.
If it matters, he's 9 months old and nurses about 4-6 times a day. He typically nurses for 20-40 minutes at a time.
You could weigh him if you have access to a scale accurate enough to measure very small increments.
But unless there's a very good reason for doing so, it's not normally recommended to worry about calorie intake for an infant. Plus, the caloric content of breastmilk fluctuates quite a bit through the course of a day based on the baby's needs.
posted by padraigin at 12:08 PM on January 8, 2010
But unless there's a very good reason for doing so, it's not normally recommended to worry about calorie intake for an infant. Plus, the caloric content of breastmilk fluctuates quite a bit through the course of a day based on the baby's needs.
posted by padraigin at 12:08 PM on January 8, 2010
It seems like it would be pretty hard to estimate a breastfed baby's caloric intake. The measure for whether an infant is getting enough breastmilk is usually the number and frequency of wet diapers. If there's enough of those and the baby's gaining weight everything should be fine.
posted by wabbittwax at 12:17 PM on January 8, 2010
posted by wabbittwax at 12:17 PM on January 8, 2010
The only way is through weighing before and after and assume 1 oz of weight equals 1 oz of breastmilk consumed. Other than that, it varies too much.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 12:18 PM on January 8, 2010
posted by otherwordlyglow at 12:18 PM on January 8, 2010
I don't think there's any firm relationship between breastfeeding time and breastfeeding intake, since different babies may have more or less efficient milk-extraction techniques. Kellymom gives 19-30 oz/day as the standard intake for an exclusively breastfed baby, with the average being ~25oz/day.
If you want values for your particular baby, though, as padraigin says, your best bet is probably to get a very precise scale and weigh the kid before and after each feeding.
posted by Bardolph at 12:20 PM on January 8, 2010
If you want values for your particular baby, though, as padraigin says, your best bet is probably to get a very precise scale and weigh the kid before and after each feeding.
posted by Bardolph at 12:20 PM on January 8, 2010
Do you have a lactation consultant? If there are concerns about your milk supply, your LC can rent you a (very precise and very expensive) scale that you use to weigh your baby before and after a feeding to estimate how much he's eating. (Typically used with newborns, however - I see your son is old enough to be crawling, so this might not work.) However, the most reliable way to gauge intake is weight gain - if your baby is gaining weight normally, you're fine (remember that BFd babies tend to be leaner than formula fed babies, so make sure your pede is using the BF chart and not the "standard" chart). If he's gaining normally, he's fine.
Why do you want to track this? Is it because you're transitioning him to solids? As long as his weight gain is more or less on track you probably don't need to worry.
posted by anastasiav at 12:21 PM on January 8, 2010
Why do you want to track this? Is it because you're transitioning him to solids? As long as his weight gain is more or less on track you probably don't need to worry.
posted by anastasiav at 12:21 PM on January 8, 2010
Response by poster: Why do you want to track this? Is it because you're transitioning him to solids? As long as his weight gain is more or less on track you probably don't need to worry.
Here's some more detail. I'm tracking this because he seems to eat an enormous amount of food for a baby his size. He eats three solid meals a day, and I try to feed him pretty high calorie foods (eggs, lamb, sweet potatoes, beans, and, cheese). He weighs just under 14 lbs, which is really small for 9 (almost 10) months old. He's hasn't gained more than a pound since he was 6 months old. His Pediatrician has him coming in for monthly weight checks, and he may want to do some blood tests if he doesn't gain some weight. He has an appointment on Monday and I'd like to give the doctor some more information about how much he's been eating, and including calories from breast milk would be helpful.
I really comes down to how much milk you are producing. Have you measured that using a breast pump yet?
This seems like the only way to do it. We thought that estimating based on how much formula he'll eat in a sitting would work, but he sucks it down so fast. I think pumping will probably be the best way to get an idea, I just didn't want to deal with the hassle.
posted by lexicakes at 10:18 AM on January 9, 2010
Here's some more detail. I'm tracking this because he seems to eat an enormous amount of food for a baby his size. He eats three solid meals a day, and I try to feed him pretty high calorie foods (eggs, lamb, sweet potatoes, beans, and, cheese). He weighs just under 14 lbs, which is really small for 9 (almost 10) months old. He's hasn't gained more than a pound since he was 6 months old. His Pediatrician has him coming in for monthly weight checks, and he may want to do some blood tests if he doesn't gain some weight. He has an appointment on Monday and I'd like to give the doctor some more information about how much he's been eating, and including calories from breast milk would be helpful.
I really comes down to how much milk you are producing. Have you measured that using a breast pump yet?
This seems like the only way to do it. We thought that estimating based on how much formula he'll eat in a sitting would work, but he sucks it down so fast. I think pumping will probably be the best way to get an idea, I just didn't want to deal with the hassle.
posted by lexicakes at 10:18 AM on January 9, 2010
The doctor's office will have a scale precise enough. They'll weigh him just before the appointment. Once you've talked to the doctor, ask if you can nurse him and then weigh him again. I'm sure they'll be fine with it. Then you'll have a rough idea how much he's getting per nursing.
posted by palliser at 1:22 PM on January 9, 2010
posted by palliser at 1:22 PM on January 9, 2010
A new-parent couple I know puts pumped milk into a vial with volume measurements printed on the side. The baby then suckles from the vial via a small plastic tube the dad puts on his fingertip (this was also a way of splitting the feeding chore between the parents so the mom could sleep for more than two hours at a time). They recorded the volume the baby consumed during each feeding before giving the "I'm done" face and averaged it out. Maybe you could use a similar bottle with formula a few times to get an idea of the volume he's taking in?
I should note that their standard deviation was huge and the amount the baby was consuming seemed random. This method also ignores any limit that your production is placing on the size of his meals.
posted by hayvac at 11:17 AM on January 11, 2010
I should note that their standard deviation was huge and the amount the baby was consuming seemed random. This method also ignores any limit that your production is placing on the size of his meals.
posted by hayvac at 11:17 AM on January 11, 2010
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posted by lrkuperman at 5:47 AM on January 9, 2010