How much formula for a 2wk old

[bunnyrabbit]

Could anyone tell me wow much formula a 2 week old baby should have for a feed?

BR

Bunnyrabbit ... either you don't live in Europe or you are up in the night!!

I was breastfeeding my DS at 2 weeks BUT I started bottles at 6 weeks ... and used Gina Ford (Contented Little Baby Book) from 9 weeks to help me.
According to Gina Ford's book (the edition I have is the early one ... she has brought out a new one since then so the advice might be different) ....
P.75 "Health Authorities advise that a baby under four months would need 70ml (2 1/2 oz) of milk for each pound of his body weight; a baby weighing around 7lbs would need approximately 510 ml (18oz) a day. That amount would be spread into six/seven feeds a day" So basically if your 2 week old baby weighs 7lbs the size of the feed should be about 3oz.
She has this complicated chart on the next page where she describes how each feed (depending on the time of day) should be slightly different but that is too complicated for me!
So ... I would go for 3 - 4oz and see how your baby goes with that.
Also ... I seem to remember there being a chart on the tin that had recommended amounts according to the age/weight of the baby ...

I am in Europe unfortunately had a crisis of concience early this morning thinking that the baby was starving so gave him 2oz of formula but wasn't sure if that was enough/too much.

Thanks so much for your answer. He is just 7 lb so I know I didn't over feed him.

BR

Did you try breastfeeding him first? Believe me, I do know how you feel - after a shaky start (including being told by a midwife that my baby was 'starving' I did have my confidence shaken and went through awful times thinking I didn't have enough milk and had to give him formula (he's already had it in hospital - unnecessarily IMO now). It was purely a confidence thing. In the end my laziness won out and I put him on the breast rather than go to the bother of making a bottle. Confidence is the key here. Do you think using Domperidone would help you feel more confident about your supply? I personally wouldn't hesitate to take it and one of my close friends took it with some success. You can buy it over the counter!

Those stupid winkies! Of course I didn't put one there on purpose.In fact, I cried my eyes out when she told me that and I just panicked. I do not,however, think he was starving. It's hard to trust your body to breastfeed.

bunny, mine is 2 weeks old and takes 4.5oz per feed regular as clockwork about every 3 - 4.5 hours. He was 8 lbs on SUnday - probably about 5 lb 4 now.Hope that helps...

I mean prob 8 lbs 4 oz now!!

hope he hasn't lost 3 lbs!

Tah guys.

Gave formula for two reasons: DS has lost weight and HV said he was hungry and that me being unwell (very bad mastitus) may have affected my milk. So I Breastfed him and then gave him some formula yesterday,which he then threw up. I wanted to prove to the HV that it was becuase he was full, not becuase he couldn't take the formula. Secondly my nipples are particularly cracked a bleeding and I had to admit to myself that it wasn't going to help me or him at 3.30 this morning to get completely stressed out by the pain.

So it's done, he had fomula. Which I suppose is a good thing as it now means that my parents can baby sit. Just mean my breasts will explode when I go out!!

PPH how are you managing with moving off the boob?

BR

not bad actually, milk supply pretty low anyway so no exploding tits around here! bit engorged but not unbearable. have been expressing a bit which probably helps as well.
you sound like you were doing much better than me at it all, do keep going with the bf if you can and if you want to, but if you don't then just have a good cry for a little while if necessary and then look forward not back. that has helped for me.
best of luck br, it is all a bit stressful and emotional, isn't it?

Oh god yes.
I spent 3 extra days in hospital cos DS wouldn't feed so am sooo determined to keep going as long possible.

Do be honest, I don't mind if he wants to feed every hour, or all through the night, I can even put up with the mastitus (doesn't hurt anymore when he feeds), it's my nipples that are the real problem as it means that instead of enjoying feeding my little bunny I have to grit my teeth and breath deeply. Hopefully my new positioning will help, and the BFC said she'll come round tomorrow and check me out if things are still bad tonight.

Without you guys on Mumsnet, and the NCT, I doubt very much if I'd still be breastfeeding.

BR

Ouch, bunnyrabbit, sounds very painful. Good luck. It does get easier - usually!

Hi Bunnyrabbit, my DS didn't gain weight during his first four weeks of life (found out it was due to a tongue-tie). My nipples were v. v. v. sore and in the end I gave my boobs two days off at my MV's advice- DS had formula and expressed milk, and I expressed after DS had his feed. The expressing helped maintain the supply and gave my nipples a rest - enough time to pretty much heal. I missed the bf-ing like crazy and was glad to get him back on me again - didn't realise I was actually enjoying it until then! I also had to remove the plastic insert on the electric b-pump to make things more comfortable. Worked fine without it.

HTH

Hi there .. I am new here on mumsnet (joined on advice of community midwife who said it was really helpful, and she was right !) ... i also have a formula question ... my dd was born at 6lb6oz five weeks ago, and is now 6lb14oz ... the HV said at last visit that i should be topping her up with formula ("as much as she will take but try 4oz for a starter" last thing at night, as my milk quality is apparently poss not great due to tiredness, and ds is a lazy feeder (she only feeds for 15 mins total with breaks). I think it is more likely to be that ds is still titchy, and finds it v. hard to suck for long periods.

I gave her 4oz formula last night and she guzzled 3oz then was completely spaced out till she went to sleep for about 5 hrs.

Feel a bit like a failed mother - do any of you have any advice, tips and hints, tricks of the trade etc ???

Thanks in advance.

ps sorry about winking face - damned shortcut keys !

ps sorry about winking face - damned shortcut keys !

I will just say that the statement to you that your milk quality isn't great becasue you are tired (does she think most new mums are NOT tired !!!!!!!!!) this is RUBBISH....
I really don't think your HV is helpful if you want to breastfeed exclusively (but maybe you don't)... sorry I need to rant!
Offering the breast more often is one way of increasing your supply... topping up is a good way of decreasing your supply as your body won't know you need to make more !

Welcome to mumsnet - not all my posts are that negative but i am exasperated by silly HV advice !

Sorry Scotsbirds.... I didn't answer your concern about "failed mother".... of course if you are told your milk isn't great - it is understandble that you would be made to feel like a failed mother.... I mean if we cannot produce good quality milk for our babies then what are we good at ???? This is why I would take no notice of her comment. Anyway it is FACTUALLY incorrect!

You want tips ? Feed her often at least every 2h1/2 (if not more daytime) - follow her cue at night. She can feed little and often at this stage - that's normal !
Have some rest when you can, you should make sure you don't drink too much caffeine (tea, coffee or eat chocolate), smoking also affects milk production.

Are you finding breastfeeding comfortable, are you sure your baby is well positioned ? If not, get a breastfeeding counsellor (and by the sounds of it NOT your HV) to check if you are unsure !

I don't know if you know this but there are more calories in breastmilk than in formula and breastmilk is more easily digested (hence on formula they can look a bit spaced out as they just had a big meal which they now need to process). It is common for a tiny baby to accept a supplement of forumla if offered... that doesn't mean he is hungry though. But that's what most mum believe
Your body will know how much milk it needs to make if you let it

Post again if you feel down, mumsnet is great for support and a bit of distraction too

Grrrrr! Another 'health' professional telling mothers their milk quality is poor.

Scotsbird, Pupuce is right - your milk quality is just fine and as long as the baby is feeding often and effectively he will get milk that is just perfect, including all the calories he needs (not heard this about breastmilk being higher in calories, than formula, though, Pupuce - my info is that on average, they're about the same. But breastmilk is certainly easily digested).

A four ounce top up for a baby under 7 pounds is huge and doing that a few times a day would kiss goodbye to breastfeeding....did your HV not think of that??

A baby who's on the small side is likely to need frequent feeding in order to grow well at first. Lots of feeds is good, and sleeping for 5 hours is not - that means there was probablt a gap of six hours between feeds, thus missing out two breastfeeds and reducing the stim. of the breastmilk 'production line' ......result: less breastmilk.

But honestly, it sounds as though your HV neither knows nor cares about this

She may be a lovely person, and kind, and committed. But she doesn't know much about bf.

Tiktok - I had been told this by 2 different lactation consultants and just found a website that said the same.... it is not significant but could be as high as 10%

Hm. Not convinced! I have just checked my text books, and they have different values for breastmilk, varying in studies from 57.7 to 72.2 per 100 ml with the 'generally considered' value stated as 65 cal per 100 ml. My table of UK formula milks shows values 65 to 69 (US formulas may well be different - many first stage formulas have added iron, which may affect calorie content - no idea. In any case, it's a different recipe).

In real life, accuracy would be impossible - human milk varies in fat, for instance, which will bump up/down the calorie value. Formula milk might have a drop more or less of water and a grain more or less of powder.

I think it's safest to say that calorie values are more or less the same - and because it's the baby that drives calorie content, that the calorie value of breastmilk is right for that particular baby at that particular time

Thanks for advice and tips .. I am going to start waking her every 3 hrs if she has not woken herself up .. she still hasnt settled into any definitive pattern of feeding (and I am loathe to go down the Sergeant Major Gina Ford Contented Little Baby Book route) but I think I am going to have to be a little stricter with her and persevere with tempting her into feeding for longer.

My HV is coming back on Friday to weigh dd again, so I am going to drop the formula feed at night and will see how this goes till then. Wish me the best of British !!!!

SB

Fair enough Tiktok
Keep at it Scotsbird.... I am sure you're doing great

And another thing....

It really doesn't matter about calorie comparison, b/c the baby also drives the quantity , taking the volume of milk he needs at any time.

The amount of calories breastfed baby X takes at any one feed may be the same, a lot more or a lot less than the amount taken by formula fed baby Y....but if they are both happy, healthy and growing, they are getting the right calories for them.

Scotsbird, I'm not a breastfeeding counsellor, just a mother who isn't an earthmother (ask Pupuce!) But I'm very pro breastfeeding because of researching things for work and because I b/f my son. Really, your milk 'quality' will be perfect. Ignore your HV, she really is talking rubbish. My ds was born a good weight, lost it initially and is now at two, b/f for more than a year, enormous. Please ignore your Hv's advice, she is simply wrong. You are doing brilliantly. Personally, I would ditch the formula. Breastmilk is wonderful, magical and unique and has amazing powers that are only just being discovered to protect against cancer, depression, diabetes, weight gain and all manner of things. Stick with it! Love, aloha xxx

I can confirm - Aloha is no earth mother
Am I Aloha ????