Ask an IBCLC

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Our International Board Certified Lactation Consultant is Marlene Giel, a RN here in Aruba at The Horacio Oduber Hospital. She's been a L&D Nurse since 1995 and did her specialization in Obstetrics&Gynecology. She Graduated in 2002 from the Erasmus Medische Centrum Rotterdam. Always having had a passion for breastfeeding, she took on a new title that of Certified Lactation Consultant since beginning her studies in 2006. She is in the course of completing absolute certification for IBCLC. 

Q: My baby is two months old and is nursing on average about 7 times a day. I'm going back to work an 8 hour shift and I was wondering how much expressed breast milk I should leave for him.

A: In the beginning it is a try out to find out how much expressed breast milk you should give the baby. Maybe the baby will drink only 10 cc but also he can drink 100 cc .

A guideline to use is the following:

A baby should get 150 cc per kg bodyweight per day. For example a baby of 5 kg who is nursing about 7 times a day can have:

5 kg x 150 cc= 750 cc
750 cc : 7 = about 100 cc every time. ( 1 oz is 30 cc )

Because breast milk is easily digested it can be that the baby will drink more than 100 cc every time.