Hellobee Boards

I think it is on the low side, but Idk if it's "too low". I checked kellymom & it showed from 1+ mths old the tummy size is 2.5-5 oz... When bottle fed P ate 2.5 oz for what seemed like FOREVER so I imagine she probably didn't get a whole lot more when she was nursing.

Glad that you have some info to give the IBCLC tomorrow though! I'm sure that can help in her assessment & plan of action! You're doing great!

ETA: Also idk if I'd be too focused on how long he's nursing b/c nursing is so much more than just nutrition. He could have been nursing for comfort some of that time as well as eating some..

@Pepper: 4 oz, whoa that's a big difference! Lol Feeding technique could be possibly attribute to that too though. When my mom bottle fed P she'd eat about that much but then I told her some different techniques & it dropped back to 2.5. Kellymom mom has some "tips for bottle feeding breastfed babies" that you cab check too.

Also just about weighed feedings...doing just one can give a skewed pic, because he might have taken in only 2 then, but 3 or 4 at his next feeding. The best way to do it is to do weighed feeds over 24 hours or 48 hours so you get the full picture!

^ Oh yea, that too! Bf babies can get the calories the need throughout the 24 hrs so just bc he did eat a lot that feeding doesn't mean he didn't eat well the feeding before or the ones that's followed.

@hilsy85: yup. And if your LO is a frequent feeder (say 8-10 sessions in 24 hours), then 2-3 ounces in a session still equates to a decent amount of milk

You really need to do approx an entire day of weighed feedings to really get a good estimate. That's the only thing that's not great about them. The only time they really prove anything is when Mom's are only passing really small amounts. That one though is really in the average.

My guy always only had around 2oz-3oz, but he nursed very often and would hit his 24oz per day requirement. With that said he usually never took more than 3oz when properly fed a bottle of bm You should check kellymom for how to feed a breastfed baby a bottle. Sometimes a little guidance is helpful to make sure you're not overfeeding at the bottle

Personally....if your babe has fallen off the weight charts, I wouldn't worry about overfeeding with a bottle at this point. My LO dropped from 50 to 38% in weight in 1 month and I got some conflicting information from my Ped and the occupational therapist I take my LO to for her tight jaw issues--(I basically exclusively pump). The OT had recommended the paced feedings other bees have mentioned here and I had been doing it, but my Ped pointed out that my baby wasn't drinking enough in a day and wasn't gaining enough and that I didn't need to do paced feedings--in fact, she suggested switching to a faster flow nipple.

I was really conflicted at first, because I've read SO MUCH here on HB that if you are breastfeeding, you should do paced feedings with bottles. I still go to a weekly breastfeeding support group even though I am pretty much exclusively pumping at this point and the ladies there helped me figure out what my ultimate goal was--was it to breastfeed my baby or was it to feed my baby as much as she needed?

I realized that TO ME, the important thing was that she was getting enough to eat. I don't care if it's coming from my nipple or if it's pumped milk coming from a bottle. So I stopped doing the paced feedings and just decided to exclusively pump. She's slowly--very slowly--starting to drink more.

Honestly, at this point I feel guilty that I was doing paced feedings for the month I did it because apparently I have a picky eater and I think I was training her to eat less. She was regularly only eating about 19 oz a day, and a couple of days as little as only 12-14 oz. =(

She still isn't up to 24 oz (she's 12 weeks this Friday), but at least now we average 21-22 oz of bm from a bottle a day.