Guidelines for amounts of milk?? Anyone know?

[Downtowngirl]

Sorry if I'm being stupid and this is somewhere really obvious already on the site, so pls let me know if it is, but I can't find it after a brief look...

Does anyone know of a chart or similar that gives rough amounts of milk (breast or formula I guess...) for ages or weights of babies per day(24 hours)

I am asking because I have a large 3 1/2 month DD who is sleeping badly... I don't think it's cos she isn't getting enough food, because she is fat and happy (and still growing) but EVERYONE is telling me to give her a big old bowl of baby rice before bed to help her sleep. Ditto formula. I don't want to!! She's not even 4 months yet...

I want to try expressing milk before I feed her so that I can see if she is getting enough.. only problem is I have no idea how much is enough, or too much even..

I don't know about formula (think guidance is on the pack) but for breastfed babies the indicators they are getting enough is that you are feeding on demand, they are weeing and pooing regularly and putting on weight, even slowly but surely. I don't think measuring the amount of milk would help at all. It sounds as though she is getting enough - your supply should keep up with her demand!

Theres a calculator on Kellymom - but unfortunatly the amount you can express does not correlate to the amount you are producing.
You are right - if shes fat, happy and growing, she's getting enough milk. Solids or formula are unlikely to improve her sleeping, and she's too young for baby rice anyway.
If you are looking for some practical sleep advice, the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley is really good.

I don't want to measure either, I just want to silence my critics and reassure myself really, after going 3 1/2 months without expressing I really can't be bothered to get into the whole sterilising thing- maybe you are both right!

CMOT- how come it doesn't correlate? Does your baby drink more than you can express then?

No Cry book- just bought it yesterday- love it!

Though it didn't stop a mum who saw me reading it in a cafe saying 'the only way to stop your baby crying is earplugs- that way you can't hear them so no crying' Ha!

Thanks guys, I'll check out kellymom too...

Downtown - DS was a big baby and a crappy sleeper (still isn't that great at 18 months ). It's so hard isn't it when all around you are pushing to wean? But remember, DD is your baby, you make the decisions.

I waited until 6 months, it felt right to start weaning when DS was sitting up and grabbing food out of my hands, rather than at 4 months when he was still all wobbly head and milkyness .

Oh, and your baby is a lot more efficient at getting milk out than a pump, so expressing is not a good 'measure' of your milk production. HTH, sounds like you're doing a fab job

It takes AGES for sleep to settle down at the early stage - I'm sure you are doing your very best with feeding, just make sure you keep eating and drinking enough to keep your strength up! And try not to listen to everybody else's opinion - she's your baby and you sound like you know what's what. Isn't it amazing how everyone else thinks they are an expert about YOUR child??!

If those around you really care about you and want to be helpful, they can do things like taking DD out for a walk whilst you have a nap, cook you a nice meal, do the hoovering...

I found things like that helped make sleep deprivation easier to cope with