How much milk should a 10-week old baby be drinking?

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ren1909

Registered User
My baby is 10 weeks old and I am feeding her breast milk during the day and formula for the mid-night feed. How much should she be taking for the whole day?

My breast milk supply is falling rapidly - I can only pump 2/3oz each time and maybe 4oz first thing in the morning. I am really worried cos I have to go back to work soon... Pls help!
 
I think in terms of how much, it really depends on how much your baby weights. For breast milk my midwife gave me the following formula to work out

weight of baby ( in kilos) x 155 divided by number of feeds per day.

This is a rough estimate and works only for expressed milk. Most formula packaging will give you an estimate for how much to give a baby based on weight and age ( remembering that you give them more formula than breast milk).
In terms of how much your expressing - I don't think your doing bad! I have been told if you can express 3oz the baby can get 4oz as they are much more efficient than the pumps. You'll probably find if you work out using the guide above that you are expressing just an ounce or so less than the amonut your baby needs.for a full feed. I am still breastfeeding my 16wk old and it really depends on lots of things how much I can express - its a pain to do but means Daddy can feed baby when I work on Saturdays!!
 
you supply is probably dropping because it sounds like you are only pumping. like the above poster said, suckling is MUCH better than pumping.

if you can, try to let the baby suckle first thing in the morning, then again at the time that you expect to be home from work. pump in the middle. then suckle for the rest of the evening and night time.

that is the only way to maintain your supply, as far as i know.

good luck!
 
Thanks for your advice! I do let my baby suck but her latch on position is not very good hence my breasts were in a lot of pain before so I changed to more frequent pumping. Also I find that she does not take enough milk when she gets it directly from my breast and she will become hungry very quickly. This doesnt help with the night time cos I want her to sleep through the night that's why we are using formula instead as it is more filling. I am worried that my supply will drop completely when I go back to work!
 
ren1909, I'd suggest that, if you want to continue breastfeeding, you'll need to do two things:
1) rectify the latch-on. As Cara says, pumping will be difficult to maintain - almost noone manages over an extended period. If it's painful, it's wrong. Seek help.

2) Once you have your baby latched on properly, feed her on demand - at night as well. If you do this - and that may mean feeding every 1 or 2 hours for a while - your supply will increase.

You can maximise the quality of your sleep at night by sleeping with your baby which is less dispruptive than getting up to feed her.

Hope this helps. Read a few books, or contact LLL for help.
 
A six week old fully breastfed baby drinks about 750 mls in 24 hours and a six month old fully breastfed baby drinks about 750 mls in 24 hours. This is one of the ways that breastfeeding and formula feeding differs. The quantity stays the same but the quality changes to suit the age of the baby with breast milk whereas the quality stays the same but the quantity the baby drinks increases with formula feeding. So your baby should be drinking about 750 mls in 24 hours.

Most mothers find that the amount of milk they can pump is the most if they pump every two or three hours – that means between 8 and 12 times in 24 hours (the same amount of times as if they were breastfeeding). Some mothers find that they can manage longer between feeds and still get lots of milk but most can’t. This is one reason why it is dangerous to compare what you can do with the next mother – you are different people so you will get different amounts.

As mentioned before direct breastfeeding is much easier to maintain the milk supply than pumping. One reason for this is the different hormone levels you have when directly feeding compared to pumping. Both your prolactin and oxytocin levels will be much higher when you feed directly.

If you are having problems latching (i.e. pain or the baby isn’t sucking well) get face-to-face help from a lactation consultant or LLL leader. They will be able to assess your breastfeeding and suggest ways to improve your situation.

LLL Leaders
www.lllhk.org
SARAH 2548-7636
MAGGIE 2817-7475
ROCHELLE 2947-7147
MARGARITA 2257-6757
余婉玲 (MAGGIE YU) 9048-1701 (Chinese help)
e-mail: [email protected]

Clinics
Breastfeeding Clinic at Matilda Hospital - Monday afternoon (by appointment - call 2849 1500 or 2849 1595) manned by IBCLCs

Well Baby Clinic at Matlida Hospital - Tuesdays and Thursdays (drop in - call 2849 1500 or 2849 1595) manned by Nurses who are also IBCLCs

Well Baby Clinic at Canossa Hospital - call 2522 2181 - has an IBCLC in charge of clinic.

Government Maternal and Child Health Centres - http://www.fhs.gov.hk/english/centre_det/maternal/maternal.html
Often they have IBCLCs working there and all staff have at least 18 hours of breastfeeding lectures.

Private IBCLC

Yvonne Heavyside - call 2544 3399 - health visitor and IBCLC

Everdawn Midwives - call 2705 9322 - run by Mrs. Chee, IBCLC (plus lots of other letters)

Annerley Midwives – call 2983-1558 – web site http://www.amidwife.com/

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
According to our pediatrician, the milk intake should be "more or less" the baby's body weight in pounds x 75 ml. of milk.
 
In exclusively breastfed babies, milk intake increases quickly during the first few weeks of life, then stays about the same between one and six months (though it likely increases short term during growth spurts). Current breastfeeding research does not indicate that breast milk intake changes with baby's age or weight between one and six months. After six months, breast milk intake will continue at this same level until -- sometime after six months, depending in baby's intake from other foods -- baby's milk intake begins to decrease gradually.
The research tells us that exclusively breastfed babies take in an average of 25 oz (750 ml) per day between the ages of 1 month and 6 months. Different babies take in different amounts of milk; a typical range of milk intakes is 19-30 oz per day (570-900 ml per day).
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

The guidelines your pediatrician gave are for formula fed babies. As I said earlier the quantity of milk goes up for formula fed babies. The formula is always the same, whether you make it when the baby is one month old or six months old it always has the same number of calories. Thus the only way to give more calories to your growing baby is to give more milk.

Breastfeeding is very different. The milk is always changing. It changes from the beginning of the feed to the end of the feed, from the beginning of the day to the end of the day and also as your baby grows. So for breast fed babies the quantity stays the same.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
ren1909, although some people find that their babies sleep longer after drinking formula due to it taking longer to digest, many people find it makes no difference. I've never given formula to my babies at nighttime, but have not found that the amount my babies have eaten or drank has any effect on how long they sleep. My firstborn once had a marathon sleep after refusing her bedtime breastfeed! They have usually tended to sleep longer when they have been in a relaxed frame of mind before they go to bed.

So observe what effect formula has on your own baby's sleep habits before assuming it will help your baby sleep through the night. Particularly given that skipping that breastfeed at night is bound to affect your supply, not to mention that breastfeeding in the night is easier than preparing bottles!
 
For some, taking fenugreek capsule & blessed thistle capsule and drinking Mother's Milk Tea help to increase their milk supply. Also, when you pump, use the 10-10-10 method. Good luck!
 
Thanks for all you help! Your advice is very useful! i am not sure how long i can continue breast feeding after i go back to work but i will try my best! What is 10-10-10 method?
 
I work and have been breastfeeding and pumping from the office. Just relax and if you don't have enough milk, supplement with formula. My baby only drinks about 24oz a day but is in the 90 percentile so don't worry.
 
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