Hi mummies! I am a SAHM of a (almost) 6 months old girl who is on total breastfeeding (DL). Lately, I've been receiving snide remarks from certain people saying I don't even know how much my baby drinks at each feed and I'm silly for not giving FM to baby. I latch on demand eversince she started rejecting bottles and I don't see a point in forcing bottles on her since I'm her main caregiver anyway. My question is - Is it possible to tell how much she drinks per feed? If i am DL her for all her feeds, should i still be pumping to maintain supply or will latching on demand work the same? Thank you!

Hello! I'm SAHM for almost 6 months too. My girl also rejects bottle and DL on demand. And I stopped pumping and building stash because she don't take the bottle and I will ended up pouring away liquid gold 💔. I guess when we have been DL for this long and baby has been putting weight and not crying after each feed means we're doing fine. I don't know how much I'm feeding too. Just latch on mummy! Hungry? Latch on. Thirsty? Latch on. Sleepy? Latch on. Cranky? Latch on. Scared? Latch on. Lonely? Latch on.

Totally know how you feel. My MIL keeps telling me to just use the bottle and formula in a really rude way(err, mind your own business?) it'll be good to introduce the bottle to your LO once a day(just in case you've got to be apart from her for a while). Babies who DL know when to stop. I Guess if she isn't crying for more milk after each feed, Your supply should be matching up to her demands. if she's growing and pooping well, I don't see why you should stop DL her! :)

As long baby is producing enough wet/dirty diapers, is active & growing well I think it doesnt matter how much they drink if your direct latching baby. Im a FTWM, during weekends I only direct latch. Unless very engorge then I'll pump out. Unless you would want to build stash, or you know you will be seperated awhile from your baby and beed someone to feed baby, i dont think you need to pump. Latching on demand is good enough :)

i have been DL my son for 19mo now. Still latching on. Yes people compares his size and his development phase. He belongs to the smaller group of people. I believe as long he is growing well and eating solids well. Latching is perfectly fine. Baby knows their limit on how much milk they can get from mummy boob. As for pumping. if you are hardworking, you can pump to build up supply, but you will tend risk to have an oversupply issue.

U can try feeding her a bottle feed to gauge how much she drinks at a feed. The most professional way will be to weigh baby before and after feeding w a v sensitive scale which lactation consultants will sometimes use. Just latch will be enough unless u meet w times when u are away from baby or when engorged or when baby is having a cranky episode and will not latch. To the certain pple I will just ignore

I used to pump and bottle feed cause my LO couldn't and refused to latch until he turned two months old. Fast forward 3 months later, he is now latching on demand and he has been putting on weight and growing well. I am not worried about how much he is drinking as I latch on demand. Hungry, thirsty, cranky, sleepy or for comfort. As long as he is putting on weight, eating and sleeping well.

I have been DL my boy for the past 6.5 months :) don't worry about supply, your girl knows how much she needs at each feeding and your brain-breast adjusts the milk volume. I find it helpful to schedule his feeds (as compared to demand feeding which is preferred when they are 1-2 months old) to every 3.5-4h so that he will feed fully.

I have been dl my baby for the past 7 months. Not an issue. There is no need to worry about your supply, babies are smart they will know how much they need and our body will produce it. Nevertheless, we need to keep ourselves hydrated if she is gaining weight and growing well. Keep it up! :)

Wow the people pushing fm should just stfu. It really is none of their business how mom chooses to feed her baby as long as baby is fed and healthy

The best advice is: just ignore all of them. Sacarstically. And press on as long as you can.