Catherine, the difference between 28 and 40 ounces is quite a bit of a range. And still would allow for less than 6 oz. at a feed if the baby is fed a minimum of 8 times a day. This is where my concern comes from...who determines the longer stretches. Culture or biology? And how does that match up to maternal storage capacity? If a mother's capacity is not that 6-7 ounces, isn't that going to create a perceived problem with supply? And how about moms expressing much less than that amount when separated from their baby? I guess my question is not so much 'can' a baby consume huge amounts at once (we know they can guzzle a bottle of 8 ounces if provided), my question is would they choose to if the feedings were not delayed to match a culturally determined concept of feeding and offering the breast for strictly 'food'? Of course, I do know there is not an answer since we can only find ranges, and those ranges can be as much as 12 ounces a day. For me I also wonder how healthy it is for babies to stretch their feeds and then consume large amounts. If the babies are the ones choosing to stretch feeds, that's one thing, but if it is the pacifier, the swaddle, or the mother than perhaps that is not really what is healthiest for the baby. I wonder about this because mothers are told that after a few months babies can go longer and longer between feeds, they can sleep through the night, etc. and what does this do to production when we consider storage capacity for some mothers is not going to balance with the limited feeds. I have often wondered if part of the problem with obesity and formula fed infants is not the formula itself, but the large volume of feeds spread over longer stretches of time interfering with stopping at 'just full' and eating at 'just hungry' being a baby's choice. Instead we see eat as much as they can hold and make them wait as long as possible to do it again.. I wonder if when we look at obesity in children we need to look at more than what they were fed, but also how they were fed....frequently or longer stretches. Small amounts at a time or large volumes to the point of over full. Just my random thoughts..... Pam MazzellaDiBosco, IBCLC, RLC Looking forward to seeing many faces in Chicago! On 7/15/07, Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Actually, one longitudinal study that did 24 hour test weights several > times during the first year in happily growing breastfed babies did find > that the range for male babies was 28-40 ounces per day. > > Of course, some babies ARE grazers, and will take smaller amounts more > often, but in my practice babies that feed infrequently are taking 6-7 > oz per feeding, and those that are taking 2 oz per feeding are feeding > 12-14 times a day or more. > Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC NYC > > *********************************************** > > Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html > Mail all commands to [log in to unmask] > To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail > To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask]) > To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask]) > To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] > *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html Mail all commands to [log in to unmask] To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask]) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask]) To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]