Expressed breast milk question

[littlemisscomper]

So I have a question guys. It's common knowledge that breast fed babies need more regular feeds compared to formula fed ones, but is that to do with volume or calories or consistency? If you express bottle feed, do you need to do it as often as if it were from the breast, or do they take on a larger volume that satisfies them for longer? I guess it's quicker and less tiring for baby to suckle from a bottle, so they expend less energy and therefore don't require the calories that cluster feeding from the breast provides?

Aptamil's website says a 8.5 pound, 2 week old baby should be on 5 4oz bottles in 24 hours. If it's breast milk in the bottle is it fewer ounces more frequently, the same ounces more frequently, or just 4oz 5 times in 24 hours as with the formula?

Thanks!

Hi @little!

I have an 8wo ds who is fed (almost exclusively) breast milk from a bottle. I have never managed to EBF for any length of time, due to dodgy latch, so I can’t really compare the EBF, but I will say that ds happens to be quite settled and a fairly good sleeper so far. Nothing ridiculous like when you hear of these amazing sleepers who sleep through the night from day one, but he has only woken maybe once or twice in the night since he was born. He’s very happy and content and gaining weight like anything.

The trade off is that I have to juggle caring for ds plus my older dc while also being attached to a pump a minimum of four times a day, (and I’m lucky that I can get as much milk as I do in that many pumps - from what I’ve read online lots of women seem to pump more than that).

And then some women I know manage to just bf their babies and they are just as settled as ds is. I know a EBF baby who slept through the night from 5 weeks old! I think it depends on how good your baby is at getting milk from the breast. In my case, ds can’t get enough to last a minute, let alone hours, which is why we pump. It wasn’t my first choice, but it is working for us so far. It’s also lovely that dh can give him a bottle! Gives me a break and dh enjoys it too.

Oh sorry and he has 6-7 bottles a day, but sometimes has snacks in between. My dd was more or less ff though (mainly ff with some bfs) and she was the same. Actually she was less settled if anything and took smaller amounts with lots it feeds