How much breast milk should my wife be pumping so I can help?

I am a new father and wish to help my wife with those late night feedings newly born daughter (currently 3 days old). She is currently trying to breast feed and also pumps to help bring in the milk. How much should she be pumping so i can bottle feed her?How much breast milk should my wife be pumping so I can help?
It is very thoughtful of you to want to help out. I would say it is best to stick to one type of feeding until a couple of months old for your baby sake. Breast feeding is hard enough, adding a bottle into the mix could be confusing for the baby and could make it more difficult to breastfeed. To help out maybe you could get the baby out of the crib and get her changed and bring her to your wife. But if your wife has to do both then I would say be prepared for a 3 to 4 oz bottle per feeding just to be safe. Though she may only drink 2 to 3 ounces. You won't really know until you actually have to feed and you can monitor how much she is taking in.





Congrats and best of luck!


Hope that helpsHow much breast milk should my wife be pumping so I can help?
Breast feeding is a supply and demand endeavor. The more your wife pumps, the more milk she will have. If your baby is only three days old--hold back on the pumping. All your baby is getting is colostrum currently. Your wife could be over-stimulating production, and put herself in great pain when her milk comes in ---IF she over-stimulates her production. She will feel like she is a watermelon trying to fit into a grape skin! If you want to help at night--just have her pump on the unused breast during the last two feedings. This should give you enough to help out in the night. Also, once her milk comes in in 'full force';--she may not be able to go through 8 hours without breastfeeding, until the milk production is established, and she is not getting engorged. A good support is LaLecheLeague. It is an all volunteer organization that has trained leaders, and can help you with all sorts of problems and questions. I referred the students in all of my childbirth classes to them for 12 years, and they were great.
In reality, taking over nighttime feedings isn't a help (yet). In the first 6-8 weeks, your wife needs to nurse overnight to establish her breastmilk supply. After that, she'll still want to nurse overnight (she'll feel full otherwise), but the occasional night where she's exhausted you could step in to feed some pre-pumped milk. You'd only need a few ounces for one feed.





Ideally, you should help in other ways. With regards to the baby, after the baby wakes up in the morning and has nursed, let your wife stay in bed for awhile longer and take baby to be changed and for ';Daddy';-time. Do what you like most: put her in a baby carrier and carry her around the house, take her for a walk in her stroller/buggy, put her in bouncy chair or swing and sing/read/talk to her, etc. etc. etc. You'll find the activity you are comfortable with.





During nursing sessions you can bring you wife water, make sure she's comfortable, praising her achievements and even giving her a shoulder massage to keep her relaxed.





The rest of the time, do the majority of house-hold chores: order or make dinner or do it together, do the shopping, do laundry, clean up, etc. Do it willingly.





Also, check the below links regarding breastfeeding. If you get educated on how breastfeeding works, if she hits a bad patch, you can be the coach and pep talk her through it. Point her to the resources that exist online so she can help herself. Find a La Leche League group near you and go together to a meeting.





Good luck with your new baby!
you are sweet. my husband is the same and he kept asking me about him bottle feeding the baby so i can rest. but unfortunately you cant help just yet. The above answers are correct. You dont want the baby to be confused with her nipple and the bottle's. Breastfeeding have to be established before introducing the bottle which at about in between 6-8 weeks. Though your wife could and should pump to ease her (soon to be engorged) breast, the milk should be kept in the freezer for the future. not now.





what you could (and what my husband did to help me during the early days) do are change the diapers, pick up baby from cot to put next to your wife and put baby back in cot after feeding especially in the early mornings. Help out with cleaning baby items. take care of the baby while your wife takes a nice long shower, a massage, take a walk, a nap. give the baby his/her morning bath.





in short, do everything you can other than feeding the baby just yet. you will be able to do that later but for now, dont worry about it. focus on helping your wife heal emotionally and physically. make her feel special, hold her. talk to her. make sure shes eating right. etc. she will appreciate it.





but for future after the 6 weeks mark. (im at 7 weeks, so i just started bottlefeeding the baby). I let my husband feed the baby approx 3 oz per feeding at night. anymore, my daughter will vomit the milk back out. Your daughter might drink less, or more. I started with 2.5 and once she took in 4.5oz. But on average (for now) shes taking 3 oz.





Good luck and congratulations :)





edit: if you do want to help with the feeding. try spooning the milk to the baby. this takes time and practice but it will avoid nipple confusion.
You shouldnt be giving bottles until 3 weeks, Nipple confusion is real and is a real pain- its heartbreaking! There are so many other ways you can helpbut for now feeding shouldn't be one of them. Pumping is a great way to help build supply for later though. To help build supply for extra after every nursing, you take baby and let her pump each breast for 5 minutes. Not much is going to come out but it will eventually. When you do give bottles- she must pump around same time as you feed (so you're actually creating work for her.). The first 3 weeks baby to breast as much as possible, and the first 6 weeks really important for establishing a good milk supply.





Sounds like you'll be a great dad! Congrats and take lots of pictures!
Bottle feeding at night is not good for the above reasons but also remember, in order to maintain her milk supply, she would need to get up and pump at the time you bottle feed. So there is no point in it. If she skips 6-8 hours without emptying her supply will dwindle and it will set her up for a mastitis breast infection from not emptying.


Help her with everything else: meals, housework. Leave the feedings to her for now.
I agree with the above answer. At this stage, he should be nursing at the breast only. I would wait until about 4-6 weeks before introducing a bottle. She doesn't even need to be pumping at this point. That's only going to add more stress to what is already a stressful time for her. If she nurses her baby whenever he shows hunger cues and nurses her without limits, her milk will come in just fine and her supply will build to meet her needs. There's no need to pump right now.





You can help with diaper changes, bathing, or just holding and cuddling.
First of all Kudos to you helpful dad. Okay your wonderful wife should pump after she feeds baby for 10min. If she can. Tell her to use lanolin cream for her nipples they will get sore before they get tough. She should wake and pump when she feel full also she should try just breast feeding for the first 2 weeks still pump too but save the milk. then after 2 weeks... Incorporate the bottle. Its a Challenge but its worth it. + you don't have to pack bottles and formula Just grab a change of cloths a few diapers and the wipes and your off.
Ha, that doesn't help at all! She needs to get up and nurse that child each time for now, to ensure a good supply and that the infant is well nourished.





Help by doing the laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, walking the dog, taking the infant when she needs to shower or take a nap. For now your wife needs to concentrate on her relationship with that child - your turn will come just not now.
I too would wait longer. Bottles are easier to feed from for the baby and she might choose bottle over mon. When baby and mommy are both comfortable and good at breastfeeding (couple weeks) then she can pump as much as she wants. Its not as easy as it sounds so be patient and understanding. Her guideline should be whats comfortable for her and not stressful. Congrats on new baby! its a wonderful time enjoy!