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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

How much is she meant to have?!

37 replies

babylove123 · 17/12/2008 14:01

I have a 2.5 week old that i've been bf from day one. She is my first child. I have to say, it took around 5 days for my milk to come in and then it was slow so we had a rough 10 days...

Shes now feeding around every 2 hrs, about 12 mins and then she unlatches so i cuddle her for 10 mins and then if shes still awake, i offer her another feed which most times she does for a further 7/8 mins until shes very sleepy. However how much is she feeding from me?! I expressed for 20 mins and only got 50ml out....she gulped that down from the bottle and wanted more. Does she suck more than the expressing can?

The reason im asking is she was 7lbs 6oz when born, went down to 6lbs 9ozs. Is now back to 7lbs 2ozs but HV is worried a bit. However we're implementing new tactics which appear to be working as she was only sleeping 3/4 hours during the day......therefore HV says shes prob getting plenty from me but is burning it all off.

What do you think? How much should she feed at 1 sitting so to speak? Is there an idea on how many mls they have at a feed?

Thanks

OP posts:
mawbroon · 17/12/2008 14:15

Don't worry yourself about the number of mls she has had. Even if you did know, it's not really a very helpful piece of info. Feed your dd when she needs it.

Is she peeing/pooing regularly? Her weight seems to be going in the right direction and it is not unusual for babies to take a few weeks to regain birthweight.

What did the HV suggest btw? I am just worried that she might not be clued up and has told you to do something which is not helpful!

There is no correct answer to "how long should she be feeding". All babies are different. Some will get everything they need in a few minutes, others take longer, and others would stay on the breast all day if you let them!!

mawbroon · 17/12/2008 14:16

Oh, forgot to say as well - what you express is absolutely no indicator of your supply.

Can I ask the reasons why you are expressing just now? It might just be an extra hassle that you could do without just now, depending on why you are doing it.

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 14:22

Babies are more effective at getting milk out than expressing is. It is completely normal for newborns to drop weight in the first week as long as they come back up. You can't really know the volume of milk she is getting but you can't overfeed a bf baby so as long as you regularly offer her a feed then you'll be fine. Mine was feeding hourly in the beginning, just loved to be latched on! If she is feeding regularly and having wet nappies then she is getting plenty. You sound like you are doing great!

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 14:22

Babies are more effective at getting milk out than expressing is. It is completely normal for newborns to drop weight in the first week as long as they come back up. You can't really know the volume of milk she is getting but you can't overfeed a bf baby so as long as you regularly offer her a feed then you'll be fine. Mine was feeding hourly in the beginning, just loved to be latched on! If she is feeding regularly and having wet nappies then she is getting plenty. You sound like you are doing great!

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 14:25

Second mawbroons question, why expressing? if you mean to continue bf then giving such a young baby a bottle can result in nipple confusion and just cause more problems in the long run

Original poster
babylove123 · 17/12/2008 14:25

Hi,

thanks for your response. She wees probably 8 times a day, big wees too. She poos between once and twice a day, but has a few tiny ones during the day (think its when she breaks wind!)

The HV is nice, shes ok, she told us she'd re-weigh her next week and if shes still the same then to substitute 1/2 feeds a day with a bottle to get the higher nutrients in.

However ive been trying to get her to sleep more during the day and it appears to be working, shes been asleep twice today since 8am, first one for 1 hr 40 and again now for 1 hr so far.

OP posts:
cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 14:30

Sounds like she is getting plenty. Does the HV recommend substituting feeds with formula or ebm?

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 14:30

Sounds like she is getting plenty. Does the HV recommend substituting feeds with formula or ebm?

Cies · 17/12/2008 14:32

You DO NOT need to bottle feed if you don't want to.

Just feed your dd as often as she wants it.

Have you looked at Kellymom website? Lots of info there on what's normal in bf.

MrsBadger · 17/12/2008 14:35

your dd sounds lovely

and the answer is: as much as she wants

substituting formula feeds for bm feeds will not help - if she needs to gain weight the trick is ti get her to bf more, not to give substitute milk.

am slighty; worried re the new 'tactics' - the extra sleeping hasn't cut the number of feeds, has it?

BarnMummy · 17/12/2008 14:37

Babylove,

Sounds like she's weeing and pooing fine to me (not a medical opinion, by the way, just a mum of 2).

Breast milk supply adapts to demand: it's really early days and your milk supply will still be sorting itself out, so please try and avoid formula if you want to carry on bf, because if you give your baby formula she won't be suckling from you and your body won't be stimulated to produce more milk.

Have a look at kellymom: www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing.html

Sometimes I find Kellymom a bit extreme, (I support people having a choice in feeding their baby) but the information is useful.

Hope that helps!

BarnMummy · 17/12/2008 14:38

Sorry cross posted with Cies!

tiktok · 17/12/2008 14:39

babylove, your HV does not sound clued up at all

If your breastfeeding needs to be more effective, then lets make it more effective - not less effective by substituting breastmilk with formula (formula does not have 'higher nutrients' or more nutrients than breastmilk, by the way). If all she is concerned about is ensuring your baby gets more milk in order to grow, then you have the milk - in your breasts

I don't understand about making her sleep more. This is crazy advice, really it is - she needs to be feeding more because more feeding makes more milk and also, naturally, gets more milk into the baby She thinks she is burning it off and is therefore not gaining weight - utter rubbish, sorry.

It's true that expressing is not an indicator of anything, but it is not correct(cheezcurl, sorry!) that babies are inevitably more efficient at getting milk out than the pump - this is very variable. Some babies are not very efficient at all, and some are massively efficient...

Either way, you do not need to express as any sort of 'test' of your milk supply or your baby's intake.

Your baby's weight sounds on the normal spectrum now, though she lost a lot at first...as you say, the first days must have been difficult. However, she appears to have gained 9 oz in 1.5 weeks (if my maths is ok!) and this is absolutely fine Continuing to feed her both sides often, day and night, will mean you continue on this happy path - and I would seriously suggest you speak to another HV as this one, however nice, seems woefully underinformed

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 14:52

Sorry tiktok, absolutely correct, mean't to make the point about expressing not representing the amount the baby is getting! Agree completely that HV does not sound well informed... if she needs to gain weight then more feeding, not less, is needed. Feed your baby (from your breasts ) on demand and all should be well. Enjoy, its such an exciting time!

wem · 17/12/2008 15:06

Would it be ok if I hijacked this thread v briefly? I was just about to ask a similar-ish question. Sorry babylove, hope you don't mind.

DD is 7 weeks old today and I just tried expressing for the first time. Like babylove it took ages just to get 2oz. How much is dd likely to want, if the aim is for dh to give her a bottle to replace a normal feed?

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 15:18

No way to know except to try and if she wants more you will have to top her up, then next time express more. TBH it will vary from feed to feed as well. Are you happy that breastfeeding is well established?

wem · 17/12/2008 15:25

Yep, breastfeeding'd been going great, she's piling it on I had latch issues at first and got a couple of cracks which didn't heal particularly quickly, but it's all comfortable now.

wem · 17/12/2008 15:26

Is it ok to express a bit, then go back and and try again to top up the bottle?

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 15:48

I hope someone with more expressing experience will aanswer your question. I only express if I absoolutely have to (have done it 3 times and dd is 6.5 months old). Will have to start soon though as back to work in 3 months time, yuk! Is there a particular reason why you want to express?

wem · 17/12/2008 15:54

i want to sleep! Having problems getting dd to sleep independently, she will only sleep if she's held, which has meant me staying awake through the night. DH takes her in the evenings and lets me grab some sleep, but she wakes up after an hour or so and is hungry again. Hoping that by expressing DH can do a couple of night shifts at the weekend.

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 16:07

OMG! I have had exactly the same problem! I cannot put the munchkin down as she wakes up - often almost instantaneously. I have tried everything and I know some people just go 'yes,yes' and think I am not trying hard enough! My dd is 6.5 months and has not slept once without someone holding her in some way. I decided after 2 weeks that life is too short and I take her to bed with me, a bit nerve-wracking at first but if you lie with them in the crook of your arm then you would have to be some sort of acrobat to roll on them. I put her to sleep when she wants to sleep and then when I want to go to bed I just go up and slide down into bed. She dream feeds when she wants through the night but does not wake up and we are usually in bed from 9 or 10 until 7 or 8 in the morning. We do keep trying to put her down occasionally as I am sure it must happen eventually and there are signs as I find I can now get up to go to the loo without her waking up if she is in a good deep sleep. I decided making a rod for my back was less exhausting all round, she sleeps, I get to sleep and everyone is happy! Was thinking of cosleeping anyway but this just forced the issue really. Dont know how you feel about it but if you are that sleep-deprived then I would give it a bash ?

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 16:19

Read this, its no solution but it did help me think differently about dd's need to be held www.kathydettwyler.org/detsleepthrough.html

wem · 17/12/2008 16:33

Blimey, I'm torn between relief that I'm not alone, and slight fear that it's going to last for months and months!

I actually took her into bed with me last night for the first time. Only for a couple of hours and I'm not sure how much proper sleep I got, but she stayed settled, which is definite progress. Just got to get the hang of dream feeds now. I tried when she started stirring last night, but couldn't get the positioning quite right.

Thanks for the link, I'll have a read.

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 16:52

I thought I was the only one too! Maybe I will start a new thread.

It is hard in the beginning, I hadly slept at all but it gets easier. Good luck!

cheezcurl · 17/12/2008 16:52

I thought I was the only one too! Maybe I will start a new thread.

It is hard in the beginning, I hadly slept at all but it gets easier. Good luck!

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