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September 2015 Moms
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Breastmilk Bottle Feeding: How Many Ounces?

jen83mnjen83mn member
in September 2015 Moms
We started introducing one bottle of breastmilk a day to our little guy (he's 3-1/2 weeks old). How many ounces are you feeding your babies of breastmilk at a time? We feed him every 2 hours during the day and every 3-4 at night.

From what I've read, 2-2.5 oz every 2 hours is pretty standard, but then my friend said her baby was eating 4-5 oz of breastmilk every 2 hours at 3-4 weeks old. That seems like a lot! At 4 months old, her boy was eating 12-14 oz with each bottle of breastmilk.

Any insight would help! Thanks!
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Re: Breastmilk Bottle Feeding: How Many Ounces?

  • jizzypuffjizzypuff member
    I think it must depend on the appetite of the baby I feed my little girl 3 ounces at most when she wants it. Usually she will eat 2 and a half ounces of breast milk. (She's only four days old)
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  • blondehairblueeyeditalianbabyblondehairblueeyeditalianbaby member
    We introduced a bottle at 3 weeks. She takes between 2-3 oz. We have only been giving 1 bottle a day right now.
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  • thinkpink101thinkpink101 member
    Mine is a voracious eater. I can't keep up just nursing. He will nurse and then eat 4-7 ounces and then be starving again 2 hours later. He's been doing this for at least 1.5 weeks and he's 3.5 weeks now. If you try to not feed him more he will start mauling your face/shoulder etc and when he realizes he's not getting anything he will scream bloody murder until he's fed.

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  • ElleMF728ElleMF728 member
    I think at 3 weeks we were between 3 and 4 as well.  Now at almost 6 weeks he eats between 5 and 6 oz.  It seems like a lot to me, my first took a lot longer to eat this much but he isn't spitting up and he is obviously hungry. 
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  • bumptinkbumptink member
    My 9 day old is eating about 3oz every 2.5-3 hours! He sleeps longer at night and someone I "top him off" by letting him breastfeed for a few minutes.
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  • jen83mnjen83mn member
    ElleMF728 said:

    I think at 3 weeks we were between 3 and 4 as well.  Now at almost 6 weeks he eats between 5 and 6 oz.  It seems like a lot to me, my first took a lot longer to eat this much but he isn't spitting up and he is obviously hungry. 

    Are you able to get 5-6 oz. at each pumping session, and is that right after breastfeeding or a pumping session when baby is taking a bottle? If my little guy is going to be eating that much with each bottle, I'm going to have to pump a ton more to keep up!
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  • KanishaTKanishaT member
    My LO is 8 days old and eats around 2oz. during a feeding. I think it depends on baby's appetite, sometimes he eats more or a lot more often, sometimes he can be fine after an ounce of milk.
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  • LoveNCoffeeLoveNCoffee member
    At 3-6 weeks we were at 3 oz per feeding with our older daughter 4 oz by 8 weeks and then I always packed 6 oz for daycare beyond that. I pumped and breastfed for 16 months and dd1 never exceeded 6oz per breastmilk bottle.
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  • dmbfan46835dmbfan46835 member
    My pedi said my 2 mos he should be taking 4-6 oz at each feeding. Right now little man will do 2-4 depending on the time of day and he's 4
    weeks today. I also pump while I bottle feed and then like PP, top him off from the breast with hindmilk to get him more full and sleepy.

    This morning I pumped at 1 am, 4:30 and 9 am. At the last pumping I fed him a bit from both breasts and got about 8 ounces from pumping.
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  • jen83mnjen83mn member
    dmbfan46835 said:

    My pedi said my 2 mos he should be taking 4-6 oz at each feeding. Right now little man will do 2-4 depending on the time of day and he's 4
    weeks today. I also pump while I bottle feed and then like PP, top him off from the breast with hindmilk to get him more full and sleepy.

    This morning I pumped at 1 am, 4:30 and 9 am. At the last pumping I fed him a bit from both breasts and got about 8 ounces from pumping.

    Thanks! Did your pedi mention how often to feed him then at 2 months with 4-6 oz at each feeding? Is that still every 2 hours or spaced out to 3 hours apart?
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  • dmbfan46835dmbfan46835 member
    She said pretty much when he's hungry and giving cues, which should be more like 3-4 hours during the day and then up to 6-8 hours at night. I do t believe the latter part at all! 6-8 hours?? That sounds like heaven, I hope that's true!
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  • ReneeJ2011ReneeJ2011 member
    My 3.5 week old takes 2-2.5 ounces every 3 hours if he is getting a bottle. We breastfeed unless I'm not there. When we breastfeed he eats every 2-3 hours and when I pump I get 2-4 ounces out of each side (usually a total of 5 ounces)
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  • ElleMF728ElleMF728 member
    jen83mn said:
    I think at 3 weeks we were between 3 and 4 as well.  Now at almost 6 weeks he eats between 5 and 6 oz.  It seems like a lot to me, my first took a lot longer to eat this much but he isn't spitting up and he is obviously hungry. 
    Are you able to get 5-6 oz. at each pumping session, and is that right after breastfeeding or a pumping session when baby is taking a bottle? If my little guy is going to be eating that much with each bottle, I'm going to have to pump a ton more to keep up!
    No I'm not, I'm definitely having a hard time keeping up with him.  I'm trying to up my supply but got a cold which was a set back :(  I'm trying to build it back up but still need to supplement with formula.  I can get enough for a full bottle from one pump session in the evening and my early morning pump (between 3a-5a) Otherwise I need to pump extra or give him some formula.  
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  • louloubelle84louloubelle84 member
    A breastfed baby needs 1-1.5 oz per hour. If your baby is drinking more than that, look into paced bottle feeding https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/feeding-tools/bottle-feeding/.
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  • meggipi5meggipi5 member
    Average is 2-4 oz every 2-3 hours. It's easier for babies to overeat when bottle feeding. It also depends on how big they are and how much their tummies can hold. 

    I would start with 3 oz bottles. If she seems unsatisfied, go up to 3.5 or 4 oz for next time. 

    DD1 would guzzle bottles, but never ate more than 6 ounces at a time in her first year, so a 4 month-old taking 12-14 oz a feeding seems wild to me!
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  • ElleMF728ElleMF728 member
    louloubelle84 said:
    A breastfed baby needs 1-1.5 oz per hour. If your baby is drinking more than that, look into paced bottle feeding https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/feeding-tools/bottle-feeding/.
    I do these things, except switching sides mid feed so I could start doing that, but we pause frequently to burp every 1.5 or so and even stop midway to do a diaper change.  We never feed by a schedule, always on demand and never force him to finish a bottle so he frequently leaves some of it.  He still eats a ton.  
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  • momofsweetpsmomofsweetps member
    My little guy is 1.5 weeks old and he eats 2-3 oz when he gets a bm bottle.
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  • jen83mnjen83mn member
    Thank you all! We tried a different bottle today than yesterday and did 3 oz. instead of 2 oz. We used Philips Avent Natural Bottles Stage 1 yesterday and he just chugged the entire 2 oz. in less than a minute! I was not impressed with that nipple and it did not seem slow-flow at all. He barely even had to suck.

    I tried the Munchkin Latch Stage 1 bottle and nipple today and it made a world of difference! He actually had to suck to get the milk and it took him probably 10-15 minutes to finish the 3 oz., much more in line with how long he breastfeeds. He seemed much more content and happy during and afterward too :)
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  • CerisrichardCerisrichard member
    One thing i found with ds1 whrn i needed to pump for him was that he increased his intake from the bottle as it is just as easy to get the milk towards the end of the feed as at the start, whereas they have to work harder with breast feeding. I would see how much he takes the first few times then don't necessarily increase it straight off if he finishes his bottle quickly cause it might just be this. Only if he is still showing hunger signs i would offer more. Also the midwives told me newborns should be sleepy after a feed and this was definately true for ds1 at the start so if he is full he should drop off to sleep. We were told there is no set amount you can expect a breastfed baby to take as they vary so much, just to feed on demand.
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