Amy said:
 

<<But when we change the milk, we are changing the  nutrients.  For 
example, to equal the protein in colostrum, it takes 16  times the amount of 
formula.  So 5-10 mL of colostrum per feed on day 1 =  80-160 mL of formula per 
feed.>>
This tickled my not so good mathematical bone, so I decided to look up  
actual numbers, as this seemed high to me.
 
According to Lawrence, the protein concentration in colostrum on day 1 is  
2.95 +/- 0.86 per dL.  .
 
Enfamil is 2.1 gm/5 fluid ounces.  
 
Comparisons then are:  Formula has 0.42 gm/ounce
    Colostrum day 1 -- 0.62 gm/ounce up to 1.14  gm/ounce
 
On day 3, as the colostrum is beginning to transition, the protein content  
goes down to 1.99 =/- 0.22 gm/dL
 
Comparisons: Formula 0.42
    Colostrum day 3 -- 0.53 gm/ounce up to 0.66  gm/ounce.
 
So my calculations say that in order to get the same amount of protein in  
formula that you have the first day of colostrum, you would have to give 
about  1.5 to 2.7 times the amount of formula that you would colostrum.  So, 
5-10  mL of colostrum per feed on day 1 = 13.5 to 27 mL of formula to get the 
same  amount of protein.
 
I had heard the 16 times one other place as well and questioned it then,  
but didn't look up the specific numbers.
 
Not that this means anything except that we know formula is deficient in a  
lot of ways, but at least they don't have to get quite as much as was  
thought.  If we just take the 2.95 gm/dL, that is 0.885/ounce, so just  about 
twice as much (I took the higher number before).  
 
Amy, do you have the reference for colostrum having 16 times as much  
protein as infant formula?  I'd love to track that down and see where they  came 
up with the numbers.  Full disclosure -- I actually perused the  Enfamil 
website to get this info.  
 
Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC, FILCA
http://lactationeducationconsultants.com 

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