[AmyT]

I'm babysitting a new baby. She's about 7 weeks old right now and she is EBF...or was until I started keeping her last week. It took us all week to just get where she will take the bottle for me, now since she has never had a bottle we don't know how much she should be taking right now (and I can't remember back that far). So for those of you at home with new babies...1) How old is your baby 2) Do they take formula or breastmilk 3) How much do they drink and finally 4) How often do they eat? She is a great baby and NEVER fusses...she sleeps for hours and hours (if I let her) and I just don't want to be not giving her enough. Any insight is welcome! THANKS!!!

[erika182]

Hmmm, well all LO are different, but anywhere from 6 to 8 bottles a day. 3 to 6 oz.

Aiden just turned 3 months old and takes 6 bottles a day drinking anywhere from 3 to 5 oz a bottle. One of those bottles a day has been breast milk........but after this week my supply of breast milk is gone

Hope that helps.

[AmyT]

Thanks Erika. Yeah it's still hard to tell how much she is drinking because she will breastfeed her before bringing her (around 6am) so I don't know how much she ate that morning. She's been going 4-5 hours at a time for me though (usually once in morning 10ish and once around 2-3ish). I know her mom said she feeds her pretty soon after getting home (around 6). We have worked up to about 4-5 oz per feeding...but last night for her dad (her mom had to work late) she drank 7 oz! I was thinking that was a little too much for her, but then I started doubting if I was giving her enough. I know her mom still feeds her at 10pm and 2am also, so I guess that would give her the 6 "bottles" a day. Her mom is super lucky with her supply though because I feed her 8-10oz while she is at my house and her mom is able to pump anywhere from 11-15 oz in one sitting while she is at work!!!! I would have killed for that kind of milk supply!!! She is freezing it so that we will have it for the future.

Sorry to hear you are almost out of your supply Erika, but 3 months is a GREAT start on life with breastmilk!!!!

[fishysticks]

Parker is 6 weeks old, formula fed, and during the day eats every 2-3 hours, and eats anywhere from 2-3oz.

The consensus in my PR is that while most babies are eating about 3-3.5 every 3-4 hrs.. the way Parker is eating is still pretty normal.
every baby is SO different.. if she's hungry she'll definitely let you know.

I think the only thing I would be concerned about is that you'll give her more than her mother does and she'll demand more than mom can make for the nursings. But it sounds like mom doesn't have trouble with supply at all, so that's not really much of a concern.

I think you're probably doing fine. My DD is 7 months old, but I remember when she was that age she drank 2-3oz every 2-3 hours.

[AmyT]

Well it looks like the general idea is about 1 oz / hour...however that works out (either 2-3 oz every 2-3 hours or the 4-5 oz every 4-5 hours). Sounds like she is doing ok. I think her mom was just concerned that she was able to pump more than she was eating therefore thinking she should be drinking more at this point. Like I said before she is a very laid back baby and barely even fusses when she is getting hungry (complete opposite of her brother who cried non-stop for 10 months!!!) I guess I was just having some of that "new mom" nervousness (even though I'm not the new mom) Thanks for the input girlies!!!!

j is 4 months and will eat 4 oz if i give him a bottle [breast milk]. he eats every 2-3 hours