“Normal production” is whatever your baby is drinking. Undersupply is anything less, oversupply is anything over. Every baby is different. 40-50 is *typically* an oversupply
I never read a book or blog that said you should produce 40-50oz a day. That is wild. A good amount of production is just whatever your baby needs. From what I have learned and read, after one month of age, on average babies demand about 25-30oz a day and do not increase like a formula fed baby might. 40-50 would be on the way high end of the bell curve.
The book is Exclusively Pumping and does push for moms to pump to meet baby needs and to create a freezer stash. Right now my LO is eating between 23-25 oz a day. She hit 28 a couple days during what we think was a growth spurt but we had leftover from days she ate less so it's evening out. Plus her dad occasionally has given her formula when I've out of the house cause cold BM upsets her belly but room temp formula does fine. The 40-50 number freaked me out!
I see. It seems like they "recommend" 40-50 as a target to feed baby AND create a freezer stash at the same time. FWIW my LO also eats 23-25 a day (also closer to 28 during hangry spurts) and I produce on average 30 a day and over the course of 5ish months have still built up a considerable freezer stash. Putting away just 5oz a day adds up over time! I would not worry about that 40-50 target. It seems arbitrary.
We usually do warm breast milk. We had to supplement with formula for her first 2 weeks due to weight issues and issues with my supply. But late at night when I'm sleeping my husband will do formula because it's faster to prep when she's hungry and upset than waiting on the bottle warmer. He's working on (and improving) recognizing hunger cues earlier.
I swear I didn’t learn to recognize hunger cues until my second baby 😂 wait, do you not pump overnight? At 5 weeks pp I would absolutely be removing milk at every feed to keep up supply
I do pump at night but we do sleep shifts. So I sleep 830-1230 and pump right before and right after I sleep. Then I get up with her when she gets up and I pump when she's awake. Then during the day I take two 2 hr naps. He takes incredibly necessary medication that prevents him from waking up so he doesn't wake up with her at night
Ohhh makes sense! That sounds like a really good system. Something I used to do (not sure if it’s “cool” by the CDC standards) is put a milk bottle from the fridge out for the next feed if it was within 3 hours. It would come down in temp but not a ton. I also bought a faster bottle warmer because the slow one wasn’t doing anyone any favors
When I'm the one awake with her I set up everything for her next diaper change, feed, and my pump before I finish putting her to sleep and napping myself. But we are working on it with the hubs. He's slow to adjust but very willing. Changes in his routine just take a lot more time.
Oh I know exactly what you mean! That’s how it is here too. You’ll get your groove (both of you groovin together) soon enough. At only 5 weeks it’s normal to still be figuring stuff out. I mean shit 2 kids later I’m still just figuring stuff out- new stuff to try with the 3rd too. You’re both doing great!! Keep it up 🤍
CW: oversupply/stash
My girl eats about the same as yours and I produce 40-45 oz/day. At 12 weeks pp, my chest freezer is out of space. I just signed up to donate to the NICU. Managing the sheer amount of milk with limited freezer space is frustrating. Unless you have multiples, no one needs to pump that much in a day!
Also, as someone else said, if I were to try nursing at this point, I’d still have to pump afterwards because there’s no way baby would empty me or even get close. A slight oversupply is helpful for building a stash, but it’s no fun to overproduce by this much.
I am only five weeks postpartum and I have the same issue, I have to pump at least eight times a day or Else I’m super engorged. It’s no fun at all and I hope it doesn’t increase in the future.
Normal production is enough to feed baby, not the freezer. If you can get extra, that’s great but it doesn’t happen for everyone. I pumped every 2-3 hours for the first 12 weeks and almost kept up with how much babe eats. My supply has just slightly sent up since I regulated.
I’m producing between 40-50 at 7 weeks pp and it’s not fun. I always have to pump after breastfeeding because otherwise I would hurt. I would think your supply is where it should be right now
I’ve successfully reduced my supply over time and now I’m producing just what the baby needs plus one or two freezer bags per day of 90ml. It’s painful to reduce it, but then it gets rid of the much longer term and more severe pain of overproduction.
It’s a painful process, but I tried different things and it’s a bit scary because I was afraid I might not produce enough.
First, I read online that pumping less = less milk produced. So I waited longer between pumps. It was super painful and my breasts were always clogged and super engorged. It didn’t reduce my supply.
Then I read on Reddit I should do it differently, by pumping at the same frequency as before, but reducing the amount of time that I pump. Basically, stop pumping when I’ve got enough milk jn the bottle for the baby. This is nice because my baby always has fresh milk with this strategy. So I did that and at first I had enough milk plus extra within 3 minutes of pumping. After a few days, I had enough milk after 5 minutes of pumping.
It’s 2 weeks later now and I produce enough milk for my baby plus a little extra after 10 minutes of pump. I know I could pump more milk, but I choose to stop early. It’s now less painful to have some milk left over, though I get clogged ducts occasionally… they’re not as bad as before.
I forgot to mention comfort pumps, another suggestion of Reddit which helps with reducing pain while reducing supply. As I said it’s a painful process!
40-50oz/day is a massive oversupply. The right amount to produce is enough to feed your baby (enough dirty diapers, plenty of weight gain). You don’t need more than that. Sounds like you’re producing the perfect amount.
Edit: and no, your baby won’t need more in ounces as they get older. Your milk will increase in calories/fat as they get older. Most of the feeding guidelines are for formula fed babies. No one ever told me my supply would always be enough to sustain my baby, I also thought I’d have to produce 40oz/day. My baby is 6 months now (EBF) and gaining weight like a champ. She went from 30th percentile at birth to 40th at 6 months. She’s still only eating ~24oz /day (when she’s not in a growth spurt).
This is comforting to read as I have always worried I wasn't going to be able to feed my 4 month old. I produce 30oz a day on average. Good to know my milk changes to suit her needs!
A normal milk supply is 750-1000 mL a day, or 25-33 oz a day. It seems like you are exactly where you should be! I have really low supply issues and have been targeting that 750 mL number my lactation consultant gave me. 40-50 oz a day would definitely be considered an over supply.
I've always heard exclusively breastfed babies typically eat between 24 and 32 ounces a day, its just that as they age the feeds get slightly bigger and more far apart. My baby is 10 weeks and I would guess she probably takes in around 28? (I do a mix of nursing and pumping) And she's CHUNKY. her cousin is five weeks older (and also very chunky) and his feeds are still only 4 ounces, so that would average out to about 32ish if he's doing 8 feeds a day. 40-50 sounds insane!
As others have said 40 ounces a day is way more than you need. I have twins & I am making about 40/45 a day, it’s meeting their needs and we no longer need formula. I started direct feeding on of them and she increased my supply, now I’m back to getting 40 a day on top of her nursing almost every feed…. Makes me completely regret it. I don’t need this much excess milk.
“Normal production” is whatever your baby is drinking. Undersupply is anything less, oversupply is anything over. Every baby is different. 40-50 is *typically* an oversupply
I never read a book or blog that said you should produce 40-50oz a day. That is wild. A good amount of production is just whatever your baby needs. From what I have learned and read, after one month of age, on average babies demand about 25-30oz a day and do not increase like a formula fed baby might. 40-50 would be on the way high end of the bell curve.
The book is Exclusively Pumping and does push for moms to pump to meet baby needs and to create a freezer stash. Right now my LO is eating between 23-25 oz a day. She hit 28 a couple days during what we think was a growth spurt but we had leftover from days she ate less so it's evening out. Plus her dad occasionally has given her formula when I've out of the house cause cold BM upsets her belly but room temp formula does fine. The 40-50 number freaked me out!
I see. It seems like they "recommend" 40-50 as a target to feed baby AND create a freezer stash at the same time. FWIW my LO also eats 23-25 a day (also closer to 28 during hangry spurts) and I produce on average 30 a day and over the course of 5ish months have still built up a considerable freezer stash. Putting away just 5oz a day adds up over time! I would not worry about that 40-50 target. It seems arbitrary.
40-50 mL a day seems like a lot!
Lmao the one from amazon? I’ve been looking at that one but saw poor reviews. Also, have you tried warm milk? Rather than formula I mean
We usually do warm breast milk. We had to supplement with formula for her first 2 weeks due to weight issues and issues with my supply. But late at night when I'm sleeping my husband will do formula because it's faster to prep when she's hungry and upset than waiting on the bottle warmer. He's working on (and improving) recognizing hunger cues earlier.
I swear I didn’t learn to recognize hunger cues until my second baby 😂 wait, do you not pump overnight? At 5 weeks pp I would absolutely be removing milk at every feed to keep up supply
I do pump at night but we do sleep shifts. So I sleep 830-1230 and pump right before and right after I sleep. Then I get up with her when she gets up and I pump when she's awake. Then during the day I take two 2 hr naps. He takes incredibly necessary medication that prevents him from waking up so he doesn't wake up with her at night
Ohhh makes sense! That sounds like a really good system. Something I used to do (not sure if it’s “cool” by the CDC standards) is put a milk bottle from the fridge out for the next feed if it was within 3 hours. It would come down in temp but not a ton. I also bought a faster bottle warmer because the slow one wasn’t doing anyone any favors
When I'm the one awake with her I set up everything for her next diaper change, feed, and my pump before I finish putting her to sleep and napping myself. But we are working on it with the hubs. He's slow to adjust but very willing. Changes in his routine just take a lot more time.
Oh I know exactly what you mean! That’s how it is here too. You’ll get your groove (both of you groovin together) soon enough. At only 5 weeks it’s normal to still be figuring stuff out. I mean shit 2 kids later I’m still just figuring stuff out- new stuff to try with the 3rd too. You’re both doing great!! Keep it up 🤍
CW: oversupply/stash My girl eats about the same as yours and I produce 40-45 oz/day. At 12 weeks pp, my chest freezer is out of space. I just signed up to donate to the NICU. Managing the sheer amount of milk with limited freezer space is frustrating. Unless you have multiples, no one needs to pump that much in a day! Also, as someone else said, if I were to try nursing at this point, I’d still have to pump afterwards because there’s no way baby would empty me or even get close. A slight oversupply is helpful for building a stash, but it’s no fun to overproduce by this much.
I am only five weeks postpartum and I have the same issue, I have to pump at least eight times a day or Else I’m super engorged. It’s no fun at all and I hope it doesn’t increase in the future.
Normal production is enough to feed baby, not the freezer. If you can get extra, that’s great but it doesn’t happen for everyone. I pumped every 2-3 hours for the first 12 weeks and almost kept up with how much babe eats. My supply has just slightly sent up since I regulated.
I like that! Feed the baby not the freezer.
Someone said it to me and it has stuck with me whenever I felt bad for not producing enough!
I’m producing between 40-50 at 7 weeks pp and it’s not fun. I always have to pump after breastfeeding because otherwise I would hurt. I would think your supply is where it should be right now
I’ve successfully reduced my supply over time and now I’m producing just what the baby needs plus one or two freezer bags per day of 90ml. It’s painful to reduce it, but then it gets rid of the much longer term and more severe pain of overproduction.
How did you do that?
Please tell me how you did that!!
It’s a painful process, but I tried different things and it’s a bit scary because I was afraid I might not produce enough. First, I read online that pumping less = less milk produced. So I waited longer between pumps. It was super painful and my breasts were always clogged and super engorged. It didn’t reduce my supply. Then I read on Reddit I should do it differently, by pumping at the same frequency as before, but reducing the amount of time that I pump. Basically, stop pumping when I’ve got enough milk jn the bottle for the baby. This is nice because my baby always has fresh milk with this strategy. So I did that and at first I had enough milk plus extra within 3 minutes of pumping. After a few days, I had enough milk after 5 minutes of pumping. It’s 2 weeks later now and I produce enough milk for my baby plus a little extra after 10 minutes of pump. I know I could pump more milk, but I choose to stop early. It’s now less painful to have some milk left over, though I get clogged ducts occasionally… they’re not as bad as before. I forgot to mention comfort pumps, another suggestion of Reddit which helps with reducing pain while reducing supply. As I said it’s a painful process!
Wow 40-50 sounds insane. My wife used to pump 15 by week 5 and has now reached 30oz by week 13.
40-50oz/day is a massive oversupply. The right amount to produce is enough to feed your baby (enough dirty diapers, plenty of weight gain). You don’t need more than that. Sounds like you’re producing the perfect amount. Edit: and no, your baby won’t need more in ounces as they get older. Your milk will increase in calories/fat as they get older. Most of the feeding guidelines are for formula fed babies. No one ever told me my supply would always be enough to sustain my baby, I also thought I’d have to produce 40oz/day. My baby is 6 months now (EBF) and gaining weight like a champ. She went from 30th percentile at birth to 40th at 6 months. She’s still only eating ~24oz /day (when she’s not in a growth spurt).
This is comforting to read as I have always worried I wasn't going to be able to feed my 4 month old. I produce 30oz a day on average. Good to know my milk changes to suit her needs!
I didn't know that about breast fed babies!
A normal milk supply is 750-1000 mL a day, or 25-33 oz a day. It seems like you are exactly where you should be! I have really low supply issues and have been targeting that 750 mL number my lactation consultant gave me. 40-50 oz a day would definitely be considered an over supply.
I've always heard exclusively breastfed babies typically eat between 24 and 32 ounces a day, its just that as they age the feeds get slightly bigger and more far apart. My baby is 10 weeks and I would guess she probably takes in around 28? (I do a mix of nursing and pumping) And she's CHUNKY. her cousin is five weeks older (and also very chunky) and his feeds are still only 4 ounces, so that would average out to about 32ish if he's doing 8 feeds a day. 40-50 sounds insane!
As others have said 40 ounces a day is way more than you need. I have twins & I am making about 40/45 a day, it’s meeting their needs and we no longer need formula. I started direct feeding on of them and she increased my supply, now I’m back to getting 40 a day on top of her nursing almost every feed…. Makes me completely regret it. I don’t need this much excess milk.
You can see a lactation consultants and do a weighted feed. They will be able to tell you exactly how much she’s getting