fat in breast milk

My 3 month old has been exclusively breast feeding and seems to be meeting most milestones. When he has been weighed he has been 9th percentile then 5th. His Dr isn't worried. I'm wondering if my milk isn't fatty enough for him. The other night he had been sleeping 8 hrs so I got up and pumped 4 ounces.  After the milk separated the layer of fat on top seemed pretty thin. Is that normal? How much fat should be in the milk?

[KarenDiane]

Hmmm... good question. When I look at my breastmilk, it seems thin to me. But I pumped 6 oz. a couple of hours ago, when I looked at it just now, only the bottom 1/2 ounce is watery. A friend of mine is breastfeeding her almost 1 year old. At his 9 month check-up, he was very low on the charts and had only gained an ounce in 3 months. She is a vegetarian and health-food enthusiast. The Dr. told her she needed to add more fat to her diet.

[nola0805]

That is an interesting question. I have no idea how much fat is supposed to be in breast milk but I can say that the layer of fat on my milk tends to be thin as well and my almost 3 month old is at the 96th %ile for weight.  

What color is your baby's poop?  If you baby is getting plenty of fatty hind milk, then his poop will be yellowish in color.  If he is not getting enough fat, his poop will be greenish and frothy.  The fact that your doctor is not worried is a good sign.  The fact that he has gone from the 9th to the 5th percentile does not mean that he has lost weight or is not growing properly - it just means that his rate of growth compared other babies his age has slowed a bit and this may be perfectly normal for him.  What is more important is that he continues to gain weight each week and that his weight is proportionate to his height.

[Ecologic]

My boy was at 75% for weight at 4 months old and now he is only at 60% at 6 months old (and 95% in height), he still gets a lot of breastmilk but also a bit more formula.

I have noticed that the color of my milk is not the same for my 2 boobs! Weird!! The right one, which is the one that always has the less milk, had also the clearer milk - always.

If you are worried, you can add a bottle of formula to his diet, given after a session of breastfeeding. Or maybe you can try to lengthen the sessions? And yes make sure to eat healthy and to drink a lot of water, that can only help with your milk!

[tiredbuthappy]

Honestly, if he is sleeping 8 hour stretches, meets all milestones, and if the ped isn't concerned, then I wouldn't worry. The difference in percentiles is actually pretty insignificant, considering the difference in percentiles is a matter of a few ounces. For example, if your little one hadn't pooped before this visit, he probably would've been closer to 9th %. Doctors see this minor variation as typical and he is still on the same growth curve as before, which is what they are looking for.

I also found that the amount of fat in each session varied greatly. Some sessions were almost all thick, and others were really thin. Depended on how much I drank, how long between sessions, etc... If you are truly curious about how fatty your milk appears, I would do many more samples from different times of day.

[30something13]

Yes as long as they are meeting their milestones they are fine, There is NO way to change to fat content in your milk either, your milk is what it is!