Thank you for all your great posts. I will share these great thoughts with the mother. I think she will be reassured. 
It would be nice if we had more research about nutrition for IUGR babies. I also would recommend they feed ad lib at this point, like many of you have stated. I would say that I have definitely found though, that recommending target volumes for jaundiced, preterm babies, or poor feeders has helped many mothers in the beginning get the baby feeding better. They often really appreciate getting specific guidance and dislike vague responses when it comes to when and how much to bottle-feed a baby that is bottle-feeding poorly. 
I also feel hospitals in recent years, have often been pushing way too fast with large volumes in the first few days of life. This IUGR baby actually worried me quite a bit on the first day because he was such a poor feeder. We were giving colostrum and small volumes of donor milk, but having a hard time getting him to bottle-feed. It took 30 minutes to get him to take 5 or 10 ml. I wondered if we were going to need to put an NG tube in him. But after the first day, he started slowly bottle-feeding better. It just made me think about the fact that it's probably normal for babies to given 24 hours to wake up and figure out how to feed at breast or bottle.
I think the Pediatrician and Dietician are doing the best they can with the information they have. It's hard because there is limited research and more is needed. Sometimes we have to rely on common sense as well to fill in the gaps. I think that is right about IUGR babies making up for lost time. I have a friend that is a NICU nurse and she said that typically when they figure out how to feed themselves they make up for lost time and eat like they've been starving. I also had thought that he would probably need to catch up a little more before he's a great breastfeeder. Term IUGR babies seem to catch up faster than the typical preterm infant.
Yes, 25 to 30 ounces daily total volume is typical by about a month. I bet this baby will take about 2 months or a little more to get there. I remember a study that looked at preterm infants who were bottle-fed breast milk and they found that by a year they had all caught up and met their developmental milestones, but the formula fed babies didn't. We know that the milk that a preterm baby's mother makes is different and helps them catch up. Could the milk for an IUGR baby also be different and help them catch up? As soon as the baby is going to breast well, it's going to be taking as much milk as it wants anyway and we won't worry about it.
Thanks again for all your helpful posts.
Tricia,



  

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome