do i need to up her feed?

[snowy-willow]

Ella is 10 days old and spent the first 5/6 days trying to breastfeed but she became ill as she was not able to latch properly and get enough milk.

She has been on formula for 4/5 days, at first she was taking between 40 and 50ml per feed and I was having to wake her every 3/4 hours to feed. For the last 2 days she has been having 60ml at every feed but has started wanting feeding every 2 to 3 hours instead of 3 to 4, except at night where she goes 3 to 4 hours and I have to wake her for at least one of the night feeds.

The pead at the hospital (she was admitted for jaundice and dehydration and they were trying to help establish breastfeeding) said her maximum should be 150ml per kg per day. This would make approx 495ml per day, Ella is currently having between 480ml and 540ml a day but now she is wanting feeding more often I am worried I will end up over feeding her.

I pre-make her bottles and from looking at the box you can only make bottles up in 30ml increasements (if thats even a word!). When I make up the bottles can I make an extra and then pour a bit into each of the other bottles so I can increase the amount by say 10ml instead of 30? Does that make sense?

 

[you&me]

Hi there...

I always go by 'if a baby empties three bottles in a row then increase the amount offered'.

Please don't worry about overfeeding your baby, if they take more than they need they tend to sick up any excess, so you will soon know...the 'numbers' health visitors and people go by is just an average guideline...each baby is different, and not all will stick to those guidelines.

I don't see why you can't make up the extra amount in another bottle then split it into the other ones

I see your baby is coming up to 2 weeks old?...they do tend to hit a growthspurt around that stage, which may be why they are wanting feeding more often.

 

[blahblahblah]

The first thing to learn when FFing is to expect waste. Once you get your head around that, things get a lot less stressful!

The second thing to learn is that there is no such thing as over-feeding! If a baby has too much, they will just sick up the excess - my LO did that sometimes, when he was older usually with a massive smile on his face!

The amounts you have been told will be the average amount that an average baby would take. Some babies will want a little more, some a little less. There is no maximum - a hungry baby should be fed, end of story.

The best way to make sure your LO doesn't go hungry is to try and always have a tiny bit left at the end of the bottle. If you're premaking, then you could make a couple of extra ounces (sorry, can't get my head round mls!) in a separate bottle and top it up as needed. What I did was make 2-3 bottles at a time - if 2 got completely emptied, I'd make the next batch 1oz bigger.

 

[Cookie1979]

As was said above if baby over feeds she will just sick it back up, so dont worry about her over feeding. I had similar issues, I wasn't producing enough milk (pretty much wasnt producing any) so had to go to formula, at first he was having 20 - 30 mls every 2-3 hours but it didn't take long for that to increase to 90 mls, then 120 mls and now 150mls. I've just followed my babies lead, if he was emptied the bottle and was wanting to feed only after a couple of hours (sometimes less with mine) I would add more to a feed. They say to do baby led feeding, so thats what I did. My boy is in the 98th percentile for his height, so understandably he is a hungry baby...he's certainly gaining well.

Just follow your babies lead, if she is hungry feed her, dont restrict what she takes or worry that she is feeding too much. In the early days I worried that my baby was being a piggy, but the HVs just said if he is hungry feed him...so I did.

And dont worry if she sicks up alot, in the early days mine did quite often, he was such a guzzle monster I dont think his little body could take it, but he'd keep on guzzling!!!

xx

 

[snowy-willow]

thanks for your replies.

I feel very overwhelmed when i comes to FF as it isn't something I had considered when pregnant.

She is going various times between feeds - sometimes 2 hours sometimes 4. I am making sure it is no longer than 4 hours. For most feeds she is emptying the bottle and is content after and doesn't seem to be still hungry. She has 8-9 feeds a day.

We are thinking to stick at 60ml and if she starts to want feeds more often after emptying a bottle we will up it.