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Sending a breastfed baby to daycare. How much should they eat how often?


My baby is now 7 weeks old and I solely breastfeed her unless we go out during the day and then I will pack a 4 to 5 ounce expressed milk bottle which she will eat all of. My pediatrician said that my baby should eat half of their weight in ounces which would be 5 ounces since she weighs 10 lbs. My question is would my baby still be eating every 3 hours even though she is eating more ounces at a time? And as she continues to grow do you continue to follow the model that it is half their weight? Do you then wait longer periods of time between feedings? I'm trying to gauge how many bottles I am going to need to pack for daycare and how many ounces I am going to need to pump and store while I'm away. Any tips would be helpful. Sorry if this is all over the place! :)

Posted: 01/30/2012 by tnsincavage

Mom Answers

Your pedi is going on outdated advice. Here is some help from KellyMom, who is a lactation consultant and provides only evidence-based information: The general rule is an ounce to 1 1/4 ounces per hour that you're apart, so if you work a 9 hour day, roughly 9 to 11 ounces. Most breastfed babies do not need a bottle bigger than 3 to 4 ounces ever, and that should last about 3 hours. You can sometimes get that lower by nursing at drop off and having them not feed within two hours of pick up, so she'll be hungry to nurse right away. Scroll down that link to under the calculator, where you'll get some reasons babies end up overfed and how to deal with them. Also link to how to bottle-feed the breastfed baby to avoid overfeeding. My daughter was overfed at daycare so she took less from me, and my supply tanked even though I was pumping like mad. It's a cycle you don't want to get into and can avoid with the right preparation.
posted 01/30/2012 by a BabyCenter Member
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Other poster has good suggestions. Here's what was on a pamphlet I got from pediatric nutrionist. A 1-3 month old would eat about 20-36 oz in 24 hours. Which works out to about 4-6 oz per feed five to six times a day. I think it's more specific to formula so not sure if this directly translates to EBM. Plus it's just a guide. Every baby is different.
posted 01/30/2012 by a BabyCenter Member
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