BFing/expressing/how many ounces of milk?

[sallyrosie]

how much milk do babies need? I BF my first child so have absolutely no idea re amount needed. I am also BFing this time round but trying to express as well to give myself a bit more freedom and let DH join in the feeding but have no idea how much he should have 'per meal'
He's almost 3 weeks old - how many oz would be a normal amount?

I used the guidelines on the formula boxes which said about 120ml. I think that is about 4 oz. HTH.

I expressed an entire boob to make sure it was a good mix of fore and hind milk so ended up with a bit more that ds wanted.

I asked this a while ago and was given this link:

milk calculator

sally - I started occassionally expressing for my DS when he was a bit older than 3 weeks, but if I was going out for a few hours and leaving DS with DH, I would express first thing in the morning when you have the most quantity (just AFTER his first morning feed though not before !) then again around mid day and then again in the afternoon. That way he would get a full bottle ! Don't forget bm is very high in fat, so if you do both boobs 3 x a day, he should get a full bottle that will defo. fill him up at a feed.

Also don't forget that babies tend to drink more from a bottle than they would from the breast. DS used to guzzle down a whole bottle of ebm, only because it is easier through a bottle than sucking, so it is very difficult to judge what is ENOUGH ebm for a feed.

Read www.kellymom.com, it has some good hints on expressing.

Sorry to butt in, but how do you know a baby drinks more from a bottle than from a breast? I've never heard that before and am intrigued as there is surely no way of knowing the quantity of milk a baby gets from any one breastfeed, so surely they're not comparable...?

mouse - yes there is a technical reason for it.

The natural sucking motion on the breast and sucking from a teat are very different. A bottle fed baby (whether formula or ebm) finds it easier to get at the milk in a bottle as it almost pours into his mouth. Sucking from the breast requires a different and very active sucking motion and a great deal more effort.

Babies are lazy sods and they will tend to drink more than they actually need from a bottle !

Please see kellymom and other bf websites. I think they all mention this.

I exclusively bottle-fed ebm to FunkyDude, he was very clear when he had enough and would stop drinking. It is easier to get milk from a bottle but you do not over feed them that way.

Your body work on a demand and supply cycle i.e. whatever takes out at a feed will be what is available at the next feed that is why we are capable of feeding through a growth spurt without too much trouble (your body takes about 3 days to adjust).

Mum - yes I wasn't suggesting you could overfeed a baby with ebm if you are not careful.

It is not like formula, you are right, because it is your body that is supplying the milk and your body will only produce as much as your baby or babies require, spot on !

I was just pointing out that it is easier for a baby to get milk out of a bottle, so if they finish a whole bottle of ebm in minutes like my DS used to, that is not an accurate indication of how much they usually take in at each feed from your boobs.

Equally, the measuremnets supplied by formula companies, are not a good indication IMO of how much ebm a baby needs to get full. Formula and ebm are very different in composition.

thanks for all your help!

At the minute he takes about 3-4oz from a bottle which is what my boobs produce when expressed (about 2oz per side). I guess this is probably adequate as he seems satisfied afterwards and spits the teat out when he's had enough.

I'm expressing morning and evening to boost my supply and saving most of the milk - I seem to be producing enough to feed as well as they feel full before a feed and he is happy after feeding.

Thanks again!