How Much EBM for 4-Month Old?

When I pump, I usually pack the milk in 4 oz bags and then any extra I may have, like an once or two, in a seperate bag. That way, if the baby seems hungry after the 4 oz, you have smaller snack sizes available.

The rule of thumb is 2.5oz per lb per day. Of course you dont know how much he is getting while you are nursing but if you assume it is evenly spread over the feedings, then you can work out how many ozs in the bottles. You can use that as a baseline and then see if he is still hungry.

Jessica,

My son is also 4 months old (born 8/14/07) and is soooo laid back and happy too! He was drinking only breastmilk, but was drinking at least 30 ounces a day plus getting nursed 2 - 3 times. I talked to his doctor and we started him on cereal to help fill him up. A typical day feeding goes like this:

Up at 5:30am and nursed on both sides (after I had pumped at 1AM or so).

Cereal w/1 ounce at 8:30am

5.5 - 6 ounces at about 10:30am

Cereal w/1 ounce at noon.

5.5 - 6 ounces at 1:30pm

5.5 - 6 ounces at 4:00pm

Cereal w/1 ounce at 6:00pm

Nurse at about 8:00pm - both sides

Some days, he will add an extra bottle in during the day. As long as your little guy is growing, going #1 and #2 in the diaper and seems happy...I think you're pretty safe.

T.

I received a breakdown from a breastfeeding moms going back to work class. For my 3 month old son weighing about 16 pounds, it states he would eat about 3.5 - 4 oz a feeding every 2 hours. I gave about that much to his sitter (plus more just incase he ate more) and he is averaging 4 oz every 2 1/2 hours. Babies generally eat more from a bottle, so you have to keep that in mind. I am trying to pump and feed my little guy at the same time with each feeding to increase my milk supply so I won't run too low or out! This website has some guidelines http://www.breastfeeding-basics.com/html/collecting_and_s...

Babies let you know when they are hungry. You know when he wants to nurse he will do the same things each time just pass these secret messages on to your child care provider. He may snack off and on all day for them but when you get home I'm sure he will eat a hardy meal. Don't worry to much he will let you all know his demands quickly.

When my son was that age and I was working he got about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 oz every 3 hours. I too nursed him at home so that helped to keep up the supply. What helped the most for pumping was to pump more times rather than less (i.e. more stimulation). Pumping is not as effective as bf so keep up the great job nursing! If your caregiver is complaining about there not being enough bm then start looking for another one asap. Some people tend to "overfeed" babies just to shut them up instead of finding out what's really wrong (not always easy). Hopefully this is not the case. All the best to you and your little bundle of joy!

My little girl took about 4-5 ounces of formula every 3 hours at about 4 months old.

http://www.fourfriends.com/cgi-bin/milk.pl

Here is a great calculator that can give you an idea of how much he takes in per session. It is normal for a baby to take less by bottle, because they prefer the breast and will wait for it. My daughter never took more than 5oz of expressed bm. At 4 mos, she was only taking 3oz every couple of hours.

Jessica:

I would start with 2.5 - 3 ounces.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Parenting Coach and Board Certified Lactation Consultant
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

Here's the easiest way to figure it out, weigh him in a diaper before you feed him and after (don't change the diaper). You will see exactly how much he takes at a nursing session. He probably takes more from a bottle because it's there even if he doesn't need it. It can very a lot.

If you need some place to weigh him, let me know. I can send you to a few different places. The shop at Clarion has a scale and the support groups at Community do as well (you don't have to have given birth there to go to group).

DO NOT start solids, there is no reason. There is no evidence that starting cereal or other solids "fills him up" anymore than breastmilk and breastmilk has far more calories so it actually doesn't make sense to say that solids would make a diference. I can get in to the science of it if you are interested. Keep exclusively bfing to at least 6 months like you are! :)

My son never took more than 6 oz of EBM even when he was 14 months. I think because they eat more frequently when on breastmilk that may be why they don't take as much. I would think 3-4 oz for a baby that age should be sufficient. I can't remember exactly how much he took at that age as it's been 3 years, but I know he was still using the small bottles at that point. OH, and just wanted to add, my son was also on the big side...always in 90 percentile on growth charts so that would be a fairly hearty appetite. I would nurse him before and after work and at bedtime as well.