July 2015 Moms

How much breastmilk is your LO eating?

So I am now back at work, and LO is eating breastmilk from the bottle with her daddy. I am wondering if she is eating enough during the day. She is typically eating what I can pump (which is about 3.5 oz on average 4X while I am at work 12+hours.) So she is eating on this schedule give or take her mood of course:

0530: Breastfeed
0830: 3.5 oz from bottle
1130:3.5 oz from bottle
230p:3.5 oz from bottle
530p:3.5 oz from bottle
1000p: dreamfeed from breast if I can wake her enough
0230a: nightfeed  from breast

She is gaining weight OK, but I keep hearing people comment about how little she is and it makes me wonder if I am not giving her enough while I am at work. Wondering what is working for the rest of you!

Re: How much breastmilk is your LO eating?

  • How old is your baby? A month ago 3.5 was where he was at. He is 12 weeks today and he can put back 4.5-5 oz each bottle feed... Though I don't really know what he's getting when I nurse.
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  • My baby's is 2 1/2 and can drink 5-6 oz at a feeding ☺️
  • she's nearly 11 weeks.....

    Sounds like I should see if she will eat more for Daddy per feed and I will work on my freezer stash.
  • KellyMom has an article about this and says average is 25 oz so divide that by the amount of feedings. There is even a calculator. I'll link the article.
  • My lactation consultant said to figure they need an ounce an hour when away from you.... And maybe leave a couple extra ounces to be sure.
  • ^^Mine seems to be eating way more than that. He eats 4 x 4 oz bottles while I'm gone 8am - 5pm. I'm having a hard time keeping up pumping with what he eats. He's 12 weeks today so maybe it's a growth spurt? I have my freezer stash but if he doesn't slow down I'm going to have to try fenugreek again. He was just 5 lbs at birth so I figure he's trying to put on more weight. My mom is asking me about stretching out feedings by putting rice cereal in the bottles but I'm not going to do that at this point.
  • My LO just turned 12 weeks today, I do not know how much she drinks when I nurse her but when I give her a bottle she does not drink more than 3 oz and eats about ever 3 hours. I just went back to work and she has like three 3 oz bottles and on my lunch I go see her and sometimes she nurses some times she does not. When I take her home she nurse only so idk how much she drinks in total in a day.. I also feel like she does not eat enough but she is gaining weight good. Two weeks ago she was weight 12lbs 13oz.
  • My little man is just over 2 months...he's eating 4-5oZ every 3-4 hours. I exclusively pump. He had a dr visit today and weighs 12 lbs 13oz!!! Big boy!!!
  • Mine drinks 5 5 oz bottles per day, sometimes a 6th but not always. I read that from month 1-6, babies will generally drink 18-30 oz, depending on the baby. As long as LO falls in that range and seems satisfied, I don't worry too much about it.
  • My LO drinks 4-4 1/2 oz bottles every 3 hours or so.. During the night he will usually go 4-5 hours. He's gaining weight slowly( he had pyloric stenosis), but the doc is happy with it and he is a little pee and poop machine!
  • 3.5 oz is ok!
  • Mine is 11 weeks and takes 4oz every 3 hours. I'm curious if you're supposed to go by the formula guidelines for amount as they get older. Or is it different with pumped breastmilk????
  • I send 3 5oz bottles to daycare (about 9 hours). I nurse before we leave and he's usually not hungry until about an hour after we get home. At home we just nurse...so no idea what he's getting there!
  • I'm having the opposite problem--just started at daycare this week and my son (3 months next week) is eating way more than I can pump in the same amount of time! He's been eating 20oz in 9 hours and I can only manage about 10-12 while I'm at work. I drop him off with about 16oz pumped from the day before including a middle of the night pumping session but the daycare has to thaw out some of the frozen milk I left too. I'm debating wether I need to start supplementing with formula. Any advice?
  • qtjo5qtjo5 member
    edited September 2015
    I send 4 3 oz bottles to my in laws when I go to work and he eats them just fine. I know his night feeding is give or take. He will eat anywhere from 2.5 oz to 4 oz. He was 13 lbs at his 2 month appointment so I know he is eating enough.

    ETA: he still eats on demand from the breast, and will eat every 3 to 4 hours and Idk how much he takes from the breast.
  • @blastula you've probably heard it before, but are they pace feeding your little one? That's double what he should be taking. General rule for breastfed babies is 1-1.5 ounces each hour you are away. Also breastfed babies rarely need an increase in the amount of milk they get because breastmilk changes to meet their needs. They should not be eating more than 4 maybe 5 ounces per feeding. There's great i for on kellymom.com.
  • I linked the KellyMom article about this. It's not the same as formula as far as how much they need.
  • Yes! What @randa923 said!
  • My son drinks anywhere from 30 to 35 ounces... He is 2 months old and eats every 2 to 3 hours during the day. At night he eats twice both 5 ounces. I wish he ate less... I pump exclusively and I make just what he eats. The doctor said all babies are different and some can eat up to 40 ounces.

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