How many ounces of milk should a 13 day old premature baby be drinking.?
Friday, March 19th, 2010 at
7:07 am
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Tagged with: Baby • drinking • Many • Milk • ounces • premature • Should
Filed under: Premature Babies
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Its usually an oz per 2.5 pounds of body weight. I’m unsure if its the same for a premie though.
Most experts suggest you nurse or feed your baby whenever she seems hungry.
A newborn baby may need to be fed as often as every 2 hours or perhaps more frequently for a while. In the beginning, mothers may want to try nursing 10 to 15 minutes on each breast, then vary the time as necessary. During the first month, formula-fed babies will most likely take about 2 to 3 ounces of infant formula at each feeding. Call your baby’s doctor if you need to awaken your newborn frequently or continually urge your baby to suck.
You can be assured that your baby is getting enough to eat if she seems satisfied, produces about six wet diapers a day, sleeps well, and is gaining weight regularly. A rigid feeding schedule is not important; you and your baby will eventually establish your unique feeding pattern. Your baby knows (and will let you know) when she is hungry and when she has had enough. Watch for signs that your baby is full (slow, uninterested sucking, turning away from the breast or bottle), and stop the feeding once these signs appear.
As your baby gains weight, she should begin to eat more at each feeding and go longer between feedings. Still, there may be times when she seems hungrier than usual. Continue to nurse or feed on demand during this time. Nursing mothers need not worry – breast-feeding stimulates milk production, and your supply of breast milk will automatically adjust to your baby’s demand for it.
By 2 to 3 months of age, a breast-fed baby will probably want to nurse six to eight times a day. A bottle-fed infant at 2 months will require about 4 to 5 ounces of formula at each feeding. By 3 months, she’ll probably take another 1 or 2 ounces per feeding. At 4 months, 30 ounces of formula takes care of a baby’s nutritional requirements for the day.
Signs of Underfeeding and Overfeeding
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends weighing infants and evaluating breast-feeding 48 to 72 hours after a mother and newborn leave the hospital.
The following are possible signs of underfeeding:
the baby’s skin remains wrinkled well into the first month of life, and the baby’s face does not seem to fill out (this may signal inadequate weight gain)
the baby does not appear to be satisfied, even after a complete feeding
If you are concerned or notice any signs that your baby is not getting enough nutrients, call your baby’s doctor.
Hi! My son is now almost 6 weeks old so I was recently asking the same question. How much, how often… Considering the fact that your baby is a preemie (my first was too), she may not require to eat as much as some babies. How much have you been giving her lately? I advise that you experiment with it. Try to give her at least 2-4 oz every four hours. Don’t wait longer than four hours though until she is on a more regular feeding routine. Once she starts taking about 4 oz every feed, then it is ok to let her sleep a little longer. If you are using the kind of formula that is already mixed like Similac or Isomil, then give her 3 oz instead of 4 if you know she won’t take that much because there is no sense in wasting it and it gets really expensive! I use soy formula and mix mine just because its a little more affordable but that is really up to you and what you think is best for her.
Of course if you are breastfeeding then your body will give her what she needs naturally and counting ounces isn’t necessary. But if you are like me at all you would want to know EXACTLY what she needs. I was afraid to nurse my daughter because she was premature and I wanted to be sure that she was getting plenty of milk and I never could know for sure from my breast. I was so worried that I put her on the most expensive formula we could find. She turned out all right though. But this time around I am little more relaxed about things and I have learned from experience that there is no use in worrying. Just offer her 2-4 oz every 4 hours and see how she does. When she gets to the point where she wants to be fed after two hours then it needs to be increased a little. She will be fine.