Most moms who are nursing ( more at this link
https://artscolumbia.org/category/nutrition-essays/ )full-time are able to pump around 1/2 to 2 ounces total (for both breasts) per pumping session. Moms who pump more milk per session may have an oversupply of milk, or may respond better than average to the pump, or may have been able to increase pump output with practice. Many moms think that they should be able to pump 4-8 ounces per pumping session, but even 4 ounces is an unusually large pumping output.
It is quite normal to need to pump 2-3 times to get enough milk for one feeding for baby (remember that the pump cannot get as much milk as a baby who nurses effectively).
Many moms are able to pump more milk per session when they are separated from baby. Milk pumped when you are nursing full-time is "extra" milk -- over and beyond what baby needs. Don't get discouraged if you are trying to build up a freezer stash when nursing full time and don't get much milk per pumping session -- this is perfectly normal and expected.
It is very common to have more milk than baby needs in the early weeks, which regulates down to baby's needs over the first few weeks or months. When your milk supply regulates (this change may occur either gradually or rather suddenly), it is normal for pumping output to decrease. For moms who have oversupply, this change often occurs later (6-9+ months postpartum rather than 6-12 weeks).
It is normal for pumping output to vary from session to session and day to day. Having an occasional low volume day is not unusual.
During a growth spurt, don't be surprised if baby drinks more expressed milk than usual, making it harder for mom to provide enough expressed milk. Growth spurts are temporary - try increasing nursing and adding a pumping session or two at home until the growth spurt is over.
Menstruation or ovulation can result in a temporary drop in milk supply. You might also notice cyclical dips in milk supply before your period returns, as your body begins the return to fertility. Hormonal changes also cause milk supply to decrease during pregnancy.
Remember that the amount of milk that you pump is not a measure of your milk supply!
Your baby seems to be getting an awful loty of milk, a BF baby can be overfed with a bottle very easily, they are confused by how fast they can finish the bottle and still feel hungry and then are fed more and then their tummy hurts so they fuss so they are fed more, its a vicious cycle. Daycares are bad for this. Your baby needs about 1 oz and hour of BM nutritionally, its not formula
How much milk do babies need?
Many mothers wonder how much expressed breastmilk they need to have available if they are away from baby.
In exclusively breastfed babies, milk intake increases quickly during the first few weeks of life, then stays about the same between one and six months (though it likely increases short term during growth spurts). Current breastfeeding research does not indicate that breastmilk intake changes with baby's age or weight between one and six months. After six months, breastmilk intake will continue at this same level until -- sometime after six months, depending in baby's intake from other foods -- baby's milk intake begins to decrease gradually (see below).
The research tells us that exclusively breastfed babies take in an average of 25 oz (750 mL) per day between the ages of 1 month and 6 months. Different babies take in different amounts of milk; a typical range of milk intakes is 19-30 oz per day (570-900 mL per day).
We can use this information to estimate the average amount of milk baby will need at a feeding:
* Estimate the number of times that baby nurses per day (24 hours).
* Then divide 25 oz by the number of nursings.
* This gives you a "ballpark" figure for the amount of expressed milk your exclusively breastfed baby will need at one feeding.
Example: If baby usually nurses around 8 times per day, you can guess that baby might need around 3 ounces per feeding when mom is away. (25/8=3.1).
Heres the calculator to help
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkc...
