My explanation, right or wrong, to mothers who wonder how much more milk their babies will take in the future:

While formula-fed babies take more and more and more as they grow, the average breastfed baby pretty much levels off for good after the first few weeks.  This came as a total shock to all of us (as do all the bombshells that Peter Hartmann and crew drop on us so casually every few years), and then we thought about it:  Our breasts don't keep getting bigger and bigger, we don't eat more and more, we aren't thirstier and thirstier... *Nothing changes* once we get breastfeeding running smoothly.  So why would we think we're cranking out more and more and more milk?  No, our babies just use it better and better (hence the reduction in stools), and they gradually grow more and more slowly (hence the taper in the growth chart).  (I hadn't thought about the reduction in the *ratio* of surface area to volume, but that's certainly a metabolism-reducer as well.)  

What about the wholly bottle-fed breastmilk baby?  We simply don't know.  But *probably* you're not going to see the same rate of milk increase that a formula-feeding mother sees.  What you *may* see is a baby who's more and more efficient, and who may be cruising for more simply because he's still "mouth hungry," not "stomach hungry," or perhaps because he gets holding mainly when he gets fed.  See about finding ways to stretch his feedings, maybe with a slower flow teat or more pauses for snuggles, make sure he's carried as much as possible (a sling is a milk-saver), and consider a pacifier (which was probably invented precisely because the bottle-fed baby's mouth hunger is less likely to be satisfied in step with his stomach hunger).  By then, you'll know him well enough to guess pretty well which kind of hunger he's feeling.  But getting a really solid supply going in the early days helps ensure that you'll be able to meet increased needs if they do occur.

As to actual amounts, I like my former co-Leader's comparison with bathtubs.  "You know you have the right amount of water in the tub when you have the right amount of water in the tub.  Exactly how much water is it?  The right amount."

Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL  Ithaca, NY  USA
www.normalfed.com

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