Breastfeeding - how many minutes to the ounce???

10 replies

meysey · 05/08/2004 09:32

I am still breastfeeding my DS2 at 6 months but he is getting solids and cutting down on the milk. How do you work out how many ounces the baby is getting, so I can make sure he is still having enough? Is there a simple formula of minutes per ounce or something?

I have not got time to express it all and measure...

OP posts:

Tissy · 05/08/2004 09:36

I'm not aware of a formula, sorry. As women and babies vary so much, I doubt if anyone could tell you with any degree of accuracy. If he is feeding well, and growing, pooing and weeing, then he will be getting enough.

HTH

aloha · 05/08/2004 09:41

Tissy's right. There is no formula like that. The way you tell is by looking at your baby. If they are content, weeing and pooing and gaining weight all is fine. Afer all, as Tiktok (a Mumsnetter and breastfeeding counsellor) says, even if you could tell how much breastmilk they were getting, you still wouldn't know if it was the right amount for your particular child - they are all different. And expressing wouldn't really tell you anything. Babies are much more efficient at removing milk than expressing machines, so even if you could only express, say, an ounce, it wouldn't mean that your baby wasn't getting, say 8oz. And anyway, if you have been breastfeeding for six months and your baby is fine, you are obviously good at it between you, so there is no reason why you shouldn't continue to be.

Pidge · 05/08/2004 09:48

Yup - if only it was so simple! Babies feed at greatly different speeds, plus I suspect mums produce the milk at different speeds too. I was a notorious jet-streamer!

Main thing is to follow your baby's lead and not worry about ounces at all. Easier said than done, I know. I was constantly trying go guess how many ounces my dd might be getting at each feed.

throckenholt · 05/08/2004 09:49

everyone is different - there is no formula to work it out. Some babies get masses in a few minutes, others take ages. They probably vary at different times of the day.

Just let him have what he wants, offer him water as well - if he wants it he will take it.

If you don't think he is having enough milk then breastfeed before giving him solids.

Original poster

meysey · 05/08/2004 10:23

thanks for all the reassurance. guess i've been trying to get too technical. yes baby seems fine though his rate of weight gain has slowed a bit and HV says to feed him more so that has got me a bit paranoid.

OP posts:

hercules · 05/08/2004 10:26

Simple solution there - dont get her weighed! DD (nearly 10 months) eats well, feeds well, bags of energy, active, happy etc but hvs were concerned about her weight gain. Had the same with ds. Many hv s arent happy until they've convinced mums to give formula unnecessarily.

aloha · 05/08/2004 10:34

Agree, just don't go to the baby clinic.

aloha · 05/08/2004 10:35

And of course his weight gain will slow! Otherwise he'd be 100feet tall and zillions of stones by the time he was an adult

MarmaladeSun · 05/08/2004 14:13

LOL. I had to grin when I read the messages about HVs not being happy until they have persuaded you to give formula, and their obsession with weight gain. My daughter was born 3 weeks ago at home weighing 9lb 6oz, and I breastfed her straight away. We both took to it very well, despite my previous 'failure' at feeding my first 2. When she was weighed after about 5 days, she had gained 2oz, and after 2 weeks she had put on nearly a pound! My HV was speechless, as breastfeeding is not supposed to work so well! At least her visit was short as the whole feeding speech was unnecessary.

tinytoes · 06/08/2004 23:05

my hv was the same I had to really battle not to give formula,its so wrong
we never got along after that she was such a dumb ass!!

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