Quantities of ebm for newborns?

[Iloveautumn]

Hi, I am expressing for my newborn and wonder if anyone knows a general rule of thumb for how much they take per feed?

The midwife very helpfully referred me to a tin of formula!

Thank you!!

There are rules of thumb calculated on the baby's weight, but they are very rough, Iloveautumn. More helpful, perhaps, is to know what the average intake of a newborn is of colostrum and from memory it's about 7 mls at a time from day one, but it increases day by day.

Easiest thing for a newborn would be to express what you can, and give your baby what he seems to want....you will not express huge amounts anyway.

How old is your baby and what is the cause of having to express? Is your baby having any 'direct' bf?

Hi, thanks for that, I should have said he is 10 days old so my milk is in.

I read on a forum somewhere 60-70 ml per feed but I guess its more about quantity per day?

I wouldn't bother expressing unless really necessary -- i.e. baby in special care etc...

I only expressed when it was unavoidable due to work when DS was 6 months, and think I left 120 ml per feed and he seemed to take the whole lot...

Thanks, Iloveautumn.

Why are you expressing?

It's a hassle and normally unnecessary unless there is a real prob with the baby's sukcking and swallowing, or if the mum has a serious issue with nipple inversion or something.

Hi, thanks but I'm happy with the decision to express and don't want/need to discuss it.

But it would be really helpful to get an idea as to how much I should expect him to drink. If that information isn't out there then fair enough.

I've been (almost) exclusively expressing now for 4 months, and I gave him as much as he wanted but never coaxed, if that makes any sense. Just demand fed him as if he were being breast-fed. He took about 60ml a feed by a couple of weeks old, I think. He's a big chap (16 lb at 16 weeks) and eats about 120 ml a feed now.

I've also been told that ebm often has less fat in than directly fed bm as the hindmilk letdown is less effective. This can also mean that an ebm fed baby eats more often, and a bit more in volume than a bf baby the same age. But they should need less than a ff baby, because a lot more is digested - loads of formula is just excreted out in the nappy.

Expressing is an almighty pain. I don't have much choice, as he has problems that make effective milk transfer almost impossible, but if I could bf I would love to. You get all the hassle of ff, with the added hassle of having to produce the stuff first. It's worth it, but definitely a faff.

Sorry, just saw you'd posted while I was typing - wasn't meaning to question your decision. As I say, I'd start off by offering what he wants and taking it fromn there. Bm isn't subject to the ff hygiene problems as it is sterile, and actively antibacterial, so there's no problem with topping up bottles if he's still hungry, and (as long as it's within a short time frame, obviously) you can even reheat expressed milk twice.

He fed at roughly 2 hourly intervals from the start, too. Still does, though he goes 4 hourly at nights now.

Hi Qally,
thanks that's really helpful and just what I wanted to know.

I know it's a faff cos I did it for 8 months for my first son!! But I have forgotten so much and needed a refresher.

Thanks again!

Yep - your decision, Iloveautumn, of course. I was only asking because some women really do express unnecessarily for a variety of unnecessary reasons

I agree with what Qally says - actually quantifying what the baby needs at any one time is not really possible. The research indicates that ff babies tend to take more in terms of volume, but this can be a poor guide to what your individual baby needs at any one particular time.

The rough rule of thumb for formula is to multiply the weight of the baby (in pounds) by 2.5 to find the total volume (in fl.oz) the baby will take in a day - so as a ballpark figure, that might help you a bit.

Thanks Tiktok - that's helpful!

I appreciate you were trying to help - it just felt like the info was conditional on giving a good enough reason for expressing...