Hi June,

 

The formula I was taught, as were most of us it seems, is to take the baby’s
weight in pounds and multiply it by 2.5 to get an estimated amount of milk
baby should be taking in in order to gain and thrive.

 

If baby weighs 7.5 pounds (or 7 pounds 8 ounces) then 7.5 X 2.5 = 18.75
ounce (18 ¾ ounces)

If baby weighs 8 pounds then 8 X 2.5 = 20 ounces of milk in 24 hours

If baby weighs 9 pounds then 9 X 2.5 = 22.5

 

When working with a baby who has lost weight I use the baby’s birth weight.
Also, this intake is not to be used on days 1-3 as babies generally do not
take in nearly that much – but by day 4 – 5 their intake should be
increasing as mom’s milk will (should) be coming in.  Depending on the
circumstances, I will usually encourage parents who need to bottle feed (for
whatever reason) to make sure that by day 6 baby is taking in the full (or
darn close to) amount needed by using the above formula – preferably with
expressed breastmilk but using ABM if needed.  

 

Some babies need more – I tell parents to go with baby’s lead on that.  I
also work with them to get baby back to breast ASAP if at all possible.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Warmly,

 

Jaye Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM


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