How do you know how much to feed your newborn?

Steph - posted on 10/20/2009

i feed my baby(3.5wks old) 10 mins on one side or until he comes off the nipple then burp him and then feed him on the other side until he has had enough and then burp again. he usually will spit up a little but from what i know most babies will.

also i have only heard great things about the nipple shields, my nipples hurt so bad the first week i bought some but he wouldnt latch on...with ur bubs on bottles too tho they may latch onto them much easier. good luck

Sarah - posted on 10/17/2009

Just depends on the baby, i breast and bottle feed my baby, i know she only gets about 1oz of breast milk then i supplement with anywhere between 2oz and 6oz of formula usually every 2-4 hours. I was pumping as well, thats how i know she only gets about 1oz of breastmilk. I found the breastfeeding, then bottle feeding then pumping every 2-3 hours just got too much. I just feed her when she's hungry and stop feeding her when she stops sucking. She's nearly a month old now, but was 8.5pound when she was born. If your not sure how much she's getting when she feeds you can try getting her weighed on baby scales, feeding her, then weighing her again, you can convert the differance in weight before and after the feed to figure out exactly how much breast milk she's getting. At the end of the day so long as she's gaining enough weight and wetting/dirtying enough nappies you know she's getting enough.

Heather - posted on 10/15/2009

My daughter is 5 weeks old and is fed from a bottle (both breastmilk and formula). She generally eats 2 oz of formula, though has been known to eat as much as 4 when she's starving. With BM, she can eat 3-5 oz. at a time. She'll usually go 2-4 hours between feedings. I just feed her until she doesn't want to suck on the bottle anymore. She lets me know when she's full....

Tara - posted on 10/15/2009

And he does spit-up sometimes. There is no way to avoid that, as far as I know.

Tara - posted on 10/15/2009

I can't say that a nipple shield eases the pain (especially since I have not felt the pain of not using the shield), but it definitely works and the pain does subside. I don't feel pain now. I know Tyler is full when he stops eating. He will eat from one breast and then stop sucking. Then I burb him and then he is ready for the 2nd breast. So I feed him until he is full again and then burb him again. We have a good routine going now.

Taneshia - posted on 10/15/2009

But how do I know when she's full... before she's too full and starts spitting up?
Nipple shields? Does that ease the pain of nursing?

Tara - posted on 10/15/2009

I would just feed my son until he isn't hungry anymore. It would be about 2 oz per breast, so a total of 4 oz if from a bottle. He is 6 wks old now. I too had to feed my 1st child from a bottle and pumped my breastmilk. But that was because I didn't know about the nipple shield. You can buy it probably anywhere but I found it at Target. It works great and I am able to successfully breastfeed my son. It is so much easier than pumping and feeding. No bottles to wash and the milk is all ready at the perfect temp. Good luck to you!

LaToya - posted on 10/14/2009

when spits up of because she is full i just breast feed my for like 15 to 30 at a time but every baby is different i would stick to the 2-3oz every two hours your baby will let you know if they want more i have 4 kids and they all were are difference my first at a lot he was put on cereal at 1 month my last baby eats 2 oz every 3 hours and she is almost a month old.