how much is LO eating? bf, ff and supplementers please come in

aldog70 · October 2011

we have been working on a slow weight gain since birth. ds had lost nearly 1lbs from birth to 1wk old. ds is a lazy nurser. he would nod off at the breast within 5 seconds of latching on. we tried all the tricks to keep him up without much success. we started with supplementing every other feeding with 1oz. when this wasn't working, i started to attempt to pump, nurse and supplement. pumping right after nursing to help with supply. i have seen the LC 4 times to make sure all is good with my latch. he is latching on fine. it seems that he just needed to gain some weight to be a better nurser. he nurses well now but we are supplementing with 4 oz bottles after every feeding(every 3-4hrs during the day, he is sleeping for a 6 hr stint, nursing and then a 4hr stint...so i call that STTN) he had finally got back up to birth weight at 6wks old and was 9 lbs 10oz at his 2mo check. we have a weight check at 3mos. in the meantime, i am trying to pump but honestly, he nurses for 35-40mins, takes 15-20mins to drink the bottle so pumping gets done in the morning and then again before bed. i have been lurking on the 0-3, august 2011 and BF boards and it seems that ds is eating alot!!! i won't lie, i BF for the money saving. ds is my 4th child and i am a SAHM(i work for 4hrs/wk for my dad and bring ds with me). i haven't had to buy much in the way of formula as i had 5 cans from enfamil & silimac and then my pedi gave me 6 smaller cans of good start. but we are down to the last 4 cans of formula. i am trying to pump enough to supplement but i only get 2-3oz total at the first pump and then any other time i pump i only get 1oz total.

i am curious about how much everyone's LO are eating in a day. i am hoping to cut back on the supplements so that i only have to use the EBM i get but worry that he won't gain enough.

TIA

+diana82+ · October 2011

She eats 20-24 ozs per day over the course of 5-6 5 oz bottles (sometimes more smaller bottles if it's a weird day).

animalcrckers · October 2011

LO only gets bottles while i'm working (i pump) and she's taking 3 5oz bottles while she's there. plus nursing once in the morning and usually twice at night.

MelissaS5338 · October 2011

DD gets 3 5oz bottles at DC and then I usually nurse her 3-4 times while at home. I would guess around 27-32oz. a day. She likes to cluster feed before bed and feeds about 2-3 times in the middle of the night.

Susan&Skip · October 2011

He eats between 25-30oz a day and most days 5 bottles but a few days 6 if its been an off day.

Temp123197812503460 · October 2011

If you feel like he is a good nurser I would seriously consider reducing the amount you supplement by a little bit over time an encourage him to get it from the breast. I had a slow gainer, but I really wanted to EBF, so as soon as I felt like he had made a big difference in his nursing I aggressively cut back the supplement and while it did slow his growth a little over that week or two, he quickly picked up the nursing, my supply responded and he is a champ nurser these days. I was careful to count wet diapers, and make sure to feed him anytime he seemed like he would take it (ie not sticking to any schedule of 2 or 3 hr between feeds) plus lots of non nutritive sucking (so no other pacifier), lots of water and mothers milk tea for me. Good luck!

ladybugpjb · October 2011

I EP - DS eats 4oz per meal, 5-6 times for a total of 20-24oz per day.

wintermama11 · October 2011

For the past three weeks, DD has been eating 28 oz/day (7 bottles with 4 oz each). However, she's sleeping longer at night (10 hours last night!!) and I think we'll be dropping down to 6 feedings a day. I might up it to 5 oz per bottle because she's starting to act like she's still hungry at the end of her feedings, so that would bring her to 30 oz/day. She's a hungry girl!

eesome · October 2011

She is consuming 4oz per feeding, and eats 7 times a day = 21 oz a day.

She is 90% breastmilk and 10% formula (my supply has dropped since returning to work). So-- she gets one formula bottle a day. I also only get about 2-3 oz per pumping session. If I'm lucky, I'll get 4oz, but that's rare now of days.

RunningMom08 · October 2011

DS eats a LOT. He will eat over 30oz a day; sometimes 38. I EP, but don't really pay attention much. I was concerned about how much he was eating. I asked the pediatrician and he said that DS's weight gain was fine, and that my BM might not be very high in calories which is why he eats more. He takes 3.5 oz per feeding (usually won't take more) so I end up feeding him every 1-1.5 hours during the day. It's exhausting!

futuremrsmcnichols · October 2011

I EP and offer 4oz to LO at each feeding. Sometimes she eats all of it, sometimes she will eat 3 or 3.5oz. During the day, she eats roughly every 2 hours and then STTN for about 7hours, wakes to eat, then back to bed for a few more hours. We are getting roughly 7 feedings/day right now, so I offer her 28oz/day, but I'd say she probably consumes about 25ish or less. Sometimes I am able to get her to latch at our last feeding of the night, but In a day, I pump approx. 35oz (a bit of an over supply).

catahoulatte · October 2011

Geez. My DS is a pig.

I EBF when I'm home, and pump/supplement with formula when needed for work. DS eats 6 oz every 3-4 hours from the bottle. He is a poky eater while BF-ing, usually taking 30-40 minutes, so I don't know how much he's getting then- I would guess 3 oz or so judging on how much I get when I pump.

It could or could not be related, but DS rarely naps and doesn't STTN. Maybe because he is alert and active so much throughout the day, he eats more than average? He was only in the 40th percentile for weight at his last appointment.

BonitaKaz · October 2011

I feel like DS isn't eating enough. He eats about 20-24 oz/day. But doesn't seem to be hungry and is sleeping 8-10 hours at night.

starrlove7 · October 2011

I was wondering this too. I work 5 hours on Sundays, leaving him with 8oz. But SO said it isn't enough and DS was still hungry. I have no idea how much he eats with me because I EBF

Rachey1082 · October 2011

exactly this, even being in the 40%.

CatahoulaMom:

Geez. My DS is a pig.

I EBF when I'm home, and pump/supplement with formula when needed for work. DS eats 6 oz every 3-4 hours from the bottle. He is a poky eater while BF-ing, usually taking 30-40 minutes, so I don't know how much he's getting then- I would guess 3 oz or so judging on how much I get when I pump.

It could or could not be related, but DS rarely naps and doesn't STTN. Maybe because he is alert and active so much throughout the day, he eats more than average? He was only in the 40th percentile for weight at his last appointment.

brwneydtexasgal · October 2011

I EP and DS eats 3.5-4.5 oz 7 times a day,about every 3 hrs during the day with one 6hr stretch at night from 11pm-5am. So in total about 28 oz per day give or take a couple of ounces.

aldog70 · October 2011

somewhereincali:
If you feel like he is a good nurser I would seriously consider reducing the amount you supplement by a little bit over time an encourage him to get it from the breast. I had a slow gainer, but I really wanted to EBF, so as soon as I felt like he had made a big difference in his nursing I aggressively cut back the supplement and while it did slow his growth a little over that week or two, he quickly picked up the nursing, my supply responded and he is a champ nurser these days. I was careful to count wet diapers, and make sure to feed him anytime he seemed like he would take it (ie not sticking to any schedule of 2 or 3 hr between feeds) plus lots of non nutritive sucking (so no other pacifier), lots of water and mothers milk tea for me. Good luck!

thanks!! i am taking fenugreek now and plan to try the oatmeal for bkfast. i am hoping to have him only on BM before thanksgiving

thank you everyone else for the info.

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