BF - How long/How many oz?

FebruaryBebe

I found that if I feed DS 7-8 mins on each side - he has just enough. More than that and he spits up all over, less than that and he's miserable. 

When he has a bottle of pumped milk, he'll eat about 4oz.  

I talked to the doctor about reflux and he suggested he may be overeating. He said 2oz of pumped milk is enough. This seems way too low. I'm supposed to tell my daycare how much he should get when he starts next week. How much does your LO get? 

shkdo0701

I usually just feed on one side then the other next feeding it's been helping with the reflux and spitting up. My guess is 2 oz is probably good.

AMG&PTD

Does he spit up when he drinks the 4 oz from the bottle?  I don't breastfeed but truthfully 2 oz for a 2 month old does seem low.  DD is 7 weeks and drinks 4 to 6 oz per feeding and she is 50th percentile for both height and weight so she is not overly large.  I say if he drinks 4 oz from a bottle without spitting up then go with that. 

Mrs.BoomBoom

I go to a weekly group and weigh before and after a feeding.  I feed 4 oz total and for me it takes 10 min on each side.  There are some in the group who only need 5 min on one side to feed 4 oz.

natgkelley

My pedi said that he should take about 3-4oz in a bottle....I asked to clarify for when I went back to work. As for feeding I stopped timing...I feed until he either gets antsy or falls asleep then I switch.

mreinard

You cant compare volume of BF to FF.  Studies have shown that children take in the same volume of breastmilk from 1 to 6 months.  After 6 months that volume starts to decline with the introduction of solids.  Most BF babies take 24-30 oz of breastmilk a day.  So if your baby eats 8 times a day thats about 3-3.75 ounces per feeding.  If your baby eats more it's obviously less. If your baby has reflux issues then you may want to feed her a smaller volume more often.  I send my DD to daycare with 5 bottles with 2.5 oz in them (she still eats every 2 hours) and she is fine.  Here is a link to more info for you! Good luck!

https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

FebruaryBebe

mreinard:

You cant compare volume of BF to FF.  Studies have shown that children take in the same volume of breastmilk from 1 to 6 months.  After 6 months that volume starts to decline with the introduction of solids.  Most BF babies take 24-30 oz of breastmilk a day.  So if your baby eats 8 times a day thats about 3-3.75 ounces per feeding.  If your baby eats more it's obviously less. If your baby has reflux issues then you may want to feed her a smaller volume more often.  I send my DD to daycare with 5 bottles with 2.5 oz in them (she still eats every 2 hours) and she is fine.  Here is a link to more info for you! Good luck!

https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

Great link! 

Thanks for all your help everyone!