Boob Scoop

Boob Scoop: Mothers will sometimes encourage their baby to feed longer at the breast to assure greater intake of hind milk, which is the fatty milk that comes at the end of a feeding. However, research indicates that there is no reason to worry about foremilk (which comes at the beginning) and hindmilk. If a baby breastfeeds effectively and feedings are not cut short, he will receive about the same amount of milk fat over the course of a day, despite the breastfeeding pattern. Therefore, there's no need to time feedings. Good milk transfer and steady growth are better indicators that a baby is getting just what he needs.

When warming expressed breastmilk that has been refrigerated, it tends to be easiest to run the bottle under hot water for 2-3 minutes. Once warmed, you can dab the breastmilk with your clean knuckle to assure that it has reached your body temperature. Some babies prefer warm breastmilk, since it reminds them of the temperature experienced while breastfeeding. Other babies are happy to drink mom's perfect food even when it is cool. Sharen Medrano, IBCLC (www.nycbreastfeeding.com)

Boob Scoop: It's not necessary for you to pump at the exact times your baby is feeding at daycare. However, it is recommended that you stimulate and drain your breasts the same number of times as your baby feeds. Pumping both breasts at the same time increases pumping output and decreases pumping time. On average, women double pump for about 10-15 minutes per pumping session. If you find that you can get most of your output before that time-frame, that's fine too!