Breastfeeding moms of 3-5 month babies, how many times a day does your baby eat?

Question

I know that all babies are different but I would like to know how many times a day does your baby eat especially if they sleep through the night. I have a 4 month old baby who sleeps through the night (9pm - 7am) and she eats about 4 - 5 times a day. She is breastfed and I'm always concerned whether she is eating enough even though she is getting wet and poopy diapers and is growing. I don't know why I'm always concerned but I wanted see how much other breastfed babies, who are sleeping through the night, at this age are eating.

Since I am working she has 3 bottles during the day (expressed milk) and eats between 4 - 6 oz in those bottles. I can't tell how much she eats when I directly breastfeed her but it doesn't seem much which is why I'm concerned.

Answer 1

My babies are a study in extremes.

My first ate 2-4 times per HOUR during the day, and every 1-3 hours at night.  My second at that age I was lucky if he nursed 6-8 times in 24 hours, and was sleeping 10-12 hours with only one feed (around 4 months he went to a more normal sleep pattern of waking all the time).

Your baby is eating 12-18oz per day while you are gone -that's probably far too much.  A breastfed baby between 6 weeks and 6 months eats around 19-30oz per day.  So you can see that if she takes 18oz in 8-9 hours she may not eat well when you are home.  Of course the less the baby nurses directly the harder it is to maintain your supply, and the more you have to pump which is harder to do.

If your baby is gaining weight well then she is getting enough to eat, however I think some changes could make your life a little easier in a long run.  I think you should either work with the care-provider to reduce the amount of milk she is drinking from bottles, or preferably get rid of the bottles altogether.  And also see a lactation consultant and make sure she is latching as well as she could be.    Also if you do not co-sleep it can be very helpful to at least room-share.

http://mother-2-mother.com/normal.htm#br...

Normal Breastfeeding Patterns After Eight Weeks:

The following suggestions are "average" recommendations - keep in mind there is no "one size fits all" for nursing frequency. Some babies have predictable patterns, others nurse on irregular pattern. Some mom/baby pairs can go longer than others between nursing sessions depending on mom's storage capacity. A mom with larger storage capacity might note that her baby goes longer between feedings, and a mom with smaller storage capacity might note her baby nurses more often. (Remember, storage capacity is not related to breast size.) It is helpful to keep note of baby's weight gain and elimination patterns when "judging" whether or not baby is nursing enough

From eight weeks (2 months) to a year, here are suggested minimum number of times a breastfed baby should be nursing, in a 24 hr span:

From 2 - 4 months baby should nurse at least 6 times in 24 hr period

From 4 - 7 months baby should nurse at least 5 times in 24 hr period

From 7 - 12 months baby should nurse at least 4 times in 24 hr period

Growth spurts will likely occur at around 10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, again at 6 months, at 9 months and again around a year. Increased nursing can also be the result of the approach of a new developmental stage, illness, teething, or a result of change or usual routine, or increased stress or activity at home

Some mothers become concerned if baby begins to nurse in very short sessions. Most breastfeeding experts advise that if the baby continues to have plenty of wet diapers, regular bowel movements, is gaining weight well and meeting developmental milestones, then baby is getting enough breastmilk. Even sessions as short as five minutes can be normal, as long as baby continues to grow and do well.

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsleepth...

Human children are designed (whether you believe by millions of years of evolution, or by God, it doesn't matter) -- to nurse *very* frequently, based on the composition of the milk of the species, the fact that all higher primates (Primates are the zoological Order to which humans belong, higher primates include monkeys and apes) keep their offspring in the mother's arms or on her back for several years, the size of the young child's stomach, the rapidity with which breast milk is digested, the need for an almost constant source of nutrients to grow that huge brain (in humans, especially), and so on. By very frequently, I mean 3-4 times per hour, for a few minutes each time. The way in which some young infants are fed in our culture -- trying to get them to shift to a 3-4 hour schedule, with feedings of 15-20 minutes at a time, goes against our basic physiology. But humans are very adaptable, and some mothers will be able to make sufficient milk with this very infrequent stimulation and draining of the b*****s, and some children will be able to adapt to large meals spaced far apart. Unfortunately, some mothers don't make enough milk with this little nursing, and some babies can't adjust, and so are fussy, cry a lot, seem to want to nurse "before it is time" and fail to grow and thrive.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkc...

The research tells us that exclusively breastfed babies take in an average of 25 oz (750 mL) per day between the ages of 1 month and 6 months. Different babies take in different amounts of milk; a typical range of milk intakes is 19-30 oz per day (570-900 mL per day).

We can use this information to estimate the average amount of milk baby will need at a feeding:

    * Estimate the number of times that baby nurses per day (24 hours).

    * Then divide 25 oz by the number of nursings.

    * This gives you a "ballpark" figure for the amount of expressed milk your exclusively breastfed baby will need at one feeding.

Example: If baby usually nurses around 8 times per day, you can guess that baby might need around 3 ounces per feeding when mom is away. (25/8=3.1).

[...]

Is baby drinking too much or too little expressed milk?

Keep in mind that the amount of milk that baby takes at a particular feeding will vary, just as the amount of food and drink that an adult takes throughout the day will vary. Baby will probably not drink the same amount of milk at each feeding. Watch baby's cues instead of simply encouraging baby to finish the bottle.

If your baby is taking substantially more than the average amounts, consider the possibility that baby is being given too much milk while you are away. Things that can contribute to overfeeding include:

    * Fast flow bottles. Always use the lowest flow bottle nipple that baby will tolerate.

    * Using bottle feeding as the primary way to comfort baby. Some well-meaning caregivers feed baby the bottle every time he makes a sound. Use the calculator above to estimate the amount of milk that baby needs, and start with that amount. If baby still seems to be hungry, have your caregiver first check to see whether baby will settle with walking, rocking, holding, etc. before offering another ounce or two.

    * Baby's need to suck. Babies have a very strong need to suck, and the need may be greater while mom is away (sucking is comforting to baby). A baby can control the flow of milk at the breast and will get minimal milk when he mainly needs to suck. When drinking from a bottle, baby gets a larger constant flow of milk as long as he is sucking. If baby is taking large amounts of expressed milk while you are away, you might consider encouraging baby to suck fingers or thumb, or consider using a pacifier for the times when mom is not available, to give baby something besides the bottle to satisfy his sucking needs.

    * If, after trying these suggestions, you're still having a hard time pumping enough milk, see I'm not pumping enough milk. What can I do?

http://www.workandpump.com/reversecyclin...

The keys to making reverse cycling work for you are 1) Making sure your baby gets enough to eat, and 2) Getting enough sleep. Both of these can be solved with the same strategy: Having your baby sleep close to you.

If your baby is close to you at night, a few neat things happen.

Your baby eats more: If your baby is close to you at night, you'll probably find he eats more during the night. The reason for this is that when your baby wakes up, you're more likely to wake up with him and feed him. He also may wake up more often with you close by. Babies who sleep alone sleep more deeply (a risk factor for SIDS) and tend to eat less at night (needing more bottles during the day).

You get better rest: Wait a minute, I just said your baby would wake up more, that you would wake up more - how does this make for better rest?

The secret is that you and your baby get into similar sleep cycles. When your baby is in a separate room, he wakes up on his sleep cycles, you're on yours, and there's no coordination - so he might be waking up when you're in your deepest sleep (when it's a lot harder to wake up and harder to fall back asleep).

How to bottle-feed the breastfed baby

...tips for a breastfeeding supportive style of bottle feeding

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottl...

Alternative Feeding Methods

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/alter...

Baby doc uses  paladai to help newborns in Philadelphia

http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/jun/19us...

http://www.indiacurry.com/children/palad...

What is Paladai?

Paladai is an open cup with a long snout

This is an oil lamp used in South Indian Hindu temples for various religious ceremonies. This is an open cup with a long spout. The spout terminates in a grove. Paladai is also used as a milk feeding cup for the infants. The infant uses the tongue to l**k the milk from the groove. The tongue action is same as used by the infant while nursing from the breast.



In United States, Indian doctors recommended use of Paladai by premature infants. As the Indian news media picked up the story, Paladai became a symbol of cultural pride among Indian mothers. It is almost a 'must show' item among Indian mothers living in United States.

Answer 2

My son breastfed all the time, at least every 3 hours at night and in the day it seemed like he ate every 2 hours. So compared to my son your baby eats less, but every baby is different and as long as she is gaining weight and has enough wet and poopy diapers then there shouldn't be anything wrong. Welcome to motherhood - you will always be concerned about something, that's a good thing it shows how much you care for you baby.

Answer 3

My daughter just turned 5 months and eats 7-8 times a day.  She used to sleep from about 7-5ish each night but around 4 months started waking up again.  She now goes from about 7-1:30ish, eats, and goes till 5:30ish.  Since we do bottles while I am at work she has started to reverse cycle and take less from the bottle and more when we are together to nurse (hence the extra night feeding now).  Her bottles are anywhere from 3-5 oz.

Answer 4

It sounds normal for your baby to eat 4-5 times a day. All babies are different and since your baby is growing and having lots of poopy diapers then you shouldn't worry. My 4 month old sleeps through the night and eats about 5 times a day and is breastfed. The doctor says she is perfectly fine.