probably a stupid question but..

[guinea36]

does a ebf baby being fed on demand know how much milk to take for her needs?
My 4.5 month old DD seems to take very little for hours and hours, despite trying followed by a big long feed.
She is following her weight charts fine and is on the 80th percentile but seems to a bit leaner than other babies her age - she is very long.
She has got a few rolls of fat her and there but is not a chubber - so I can't help but wonder whether she should be getting a bit more or I should be offering a bit of formula as well...

Essentially I would say YES (for a baby born healthy at term) -- except perhaps in the very early days, when bf isn't well established and some babies have difficulty latching etc and might not transfer milk well. Once bf established, if following centimetres nicely, nothing to worry about. Studies have shown a wide variety of patterns of feeding of ebf babies; some having many short feeds, others fewer, others longer - some more at night, others less - but generally they "sort themselves out" to meet their needs. Congrats!!!! It sounds like she knows how to feed. Doesn't seem like there is a "need" for formula, unless there's a specific reason you want to do it (eg work and don't want to pump) besides this.

CENTILES!!!