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how much formula milk to give a newborn ?

  1. #1
    Rosewood is offline Registered User
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    how much formula milk to give a newborn ?

    How much formula milk did/do you give to your new born ? I have a 2 week old and giving both forumla and breast milk, and do around 6 sometimes 7 feeds every 24 hours. When giving formula, she has around 3oz. Does that seem exessive ? If I'm mixing both in one feed, then I give around 2oz formula and 2oz breast milk. I'm worried that I might be overfeeding.


  2. #2
    strong is offline Registered User
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    I'm no expert, but my baby was formula feed from birth. At around 2 weeks old I was giving her 100-120mls per feed (6 feeds a day). I think they say you can't overfeed, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. Better to be giving more than not enough.


  3. #3
    jdang is offline Registered User
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    Talking Rosewood

    I used the following general guidelines:

    Day 1 - 5 : 1-3 oz every 3-4 hrs
    Weeks 2-3: 3-4oz every 3-4 hrs
    1-3 months: 4-5oz every 4 hrs
    4-6 months: 4-6oz every 4 hrs
    7-9 months: 7-6oz 4 times a day wz other fluid/food
    12 months: 7-8oz 3 times a day

    Obviously, not all babies will flw the above. As your new baby & you get to know each other better, you'll learn from her cues when she wants more or had enough. BTW, congratulations!


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    Rosewood is offline Registered User
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    thanks.. thats very helpful


  5. #5
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    Graham is offline Registered User
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    We're not giving our baby formula yet, he's getting expressed breast milk in a bottle while my wife is at work. We'll probably start supplementing with some formula in about a month or so if my wife is unable to keep up with expressing.

    Our baby is nearly 3 months old, but usually only drinks between 3 to 3 1/2 ounces every 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Occasionally he'll drink 4 ounces, but that is very rare. Sometimes he'll only drink 1 1/2 ounces and then refuse to take any more. This is a bit worrying, especially as at this age it's my understanding that he should be taking 4 to 5 ounces per feed.

    And sometimes when he's breastfeeding, he'll only be willing to feed for 5 minutes before he starts struggling and crying and refusing to suck, especially during early morning feeds. Night time breastfeeds are usually better and longer.

    We are trying not to worry to much as he seems healthy and happy and it's impossible to make him eat anymore than he wants to anyway.

    I guess he's just a light eater, just like his Mum. Definitely does not take after me in that department.

    Graham

    Last edited by Graham; 09-01-2004 at 03:25 PM.

  6. #6
    LLL_Sarah is offline Registered User
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    Dear Graham,

    Please don’t worry about the amount of milk your son is taking in a feed – it sounds just about right for a breastfed baby. It is important not to compare the amounts a breastfed baby drinks with the amounts recommended for artificial feeding.

    One of the biggest differences between the two feeding methods is the amount the baby drinks. On average a breastfed baby will drink about 750 ml in 24 hours from being about one month old to about six months old when solids are introduced into the diet.

    This is not the same with artificial feeding. Artificial milk is always uniform – it always has exactly the same number of calories no matter how old the baby is. Thus the only way to increase the number of calories the baby gets as he grows is to give more and more milk.

    Breast milk is constantly changing. It changes from the beginning of the feed to the end, it changes from the beginning of the day to the end of the day and it changes as the baby grows.

    Another important factor is that there is much less wastage in breast milk. Much more of the nutritional value of the milk is used by the body. This results is much less waste – you will notice this if you compare nappies/diapers of breastfed and artificially fed babies.

    As your wife has been successfully breastfeeding for three months there is no reason to worry that she will not be able to “keep up with the baby’s demand” because the quantity of milk required will not change. The milk will change to suit the growth of the baby but this will happen naturally.

    Best wishes,
    SARAH


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