How much should a newborn baby eat?
When a newborn baby appears in the house,parents are incredibly happy. And immediately there are many questions related to the health and proper development of a small person. One of them, the most important, is related to how much the newborn should eat. After all, so that he grows well and knows the world, he must eat well.
Every mom begins to worry if there is enoughmilk to her baby, does he eat. This question is the most exciting for young parents in the first months of a child's life. Therefore, we propose in our article to understand in detail how much a newborn should eat.
In the first days after birth, the child and motherare experiencing difficulties. Even the presence of the sucking reflex does not allow to miss the stage of rubbing two native people in terms of feeding. It is difficult to answer the questions positively, because all children are different. But you can derive general principles of how many times a newborn should eat.
Children breastfeeding
In the first month of their life, infants can eat up to 12 times a day. Breaks between feedings are 2-3 hours.
Often moms think about how much timeshould eat a newborn. The answer is simple: until you can eat. It is necessary to put the baby to the breast at the first request and feed until he himself throws it.
The duration of such a process can be from 15 to 40 minutes. But it is worth remembering that the baby should actively suck the breast, and not smack it, falling asleep at the same time.
Whatever problems arise in the thoracicfeeding, it is worth every effort to keep it up to a year. After all, it is always warm, sterile, and most importantly, very useful food for the baby. Do not make a mixture, boil water for them and sterilize bottles. In addition, contact with the mother is very important for the child in the first months of his life.
It is very important that within 20 minutes after deliverythe baby was attached to the mother's breast. Colostrum, released in the early days from the mother's breast, is incredibly useful. It is the basis of the future immunity of the child. Also, colostrum is so high in calories that on the first day of life the baby feeds on one of its teaspoons.
Further every day the baby is gaining more and moreexperience in sucking. And milk comes, gradually replacing the colostrum. On the fourth day of life, the child eats it in the amount of 50-60 ml., And the fifth - about 70 ml.
Thus, the baby grows stronger, grows, and more food is required. In the third week of life, he should eat about 500 ml per day. By the half-year, the volume increases to 1000 ml per day.
But due to the fact that all children are different, these figures are exemplary. Who eats more often, and someone - less often.
It is very important to adjust the balance necessary for the childthe amount of milk and how much it is produced by the breast. To do this, you do not need to decant after the feeding, otherwise you will ensure a constant excess of milk, and this can lead to stagnation. During the first weeks the body will adjust to the needs of the baby. And when the appetite with the child will grow, the milk will be more.
Does the baby have enough milk?
Determine if your child's milk is enough,quite simply. Watch him. If the baby is calm, sleeps well, adds weight and sustains between the feedings a couple of hours, then everything is in order. At the same time, he must write at least 15 times a day.
And in case of excessive anxiety of your babyand a bad gain in weight, it is necessary to clarify the amount of milk consumed by it. For this you need to purchase children's electronic scales. They can accurately carry out measurements.
Having divided the child completely, so that the error was minimal, we weigh it before and after feeding. Or you can put the milk in a bottle and see how much it will drink.
Children on artificial feeding
Sometimes due to the complete absence of breastmilk or with its lack, the mother is forced to feed the child with artificial mixtures, the producers of which try to bring them as close as possible to the composition of the mother's milk. But still, nothing can replace this valuable product. If you suffered such a fate, then you should follow some rules for the artificial feeding of a newborn.
The main thing is not to overfeed your baby. This can lead to stomach upset, excessive weight and, as a result, a lag in development. It is better not to feed a little.
In connection with the above, it should be carefullyapproach the calculation of the standards of the mixture for feeding. In this matter, the district pediatrician will help you. It is necessary to listen to his recommendations, but the most important thing is to look at your baby's appetite.
The required amount of the mixture in the first weekis calculated simply. It is necessary to multiply the number of days of a child's life by 10, because every day he eats 10 ml. more. So, a five-day-old baby needs 50 ml. mixture for one feeding.
But from the second week of life and until the beginning of the third month, the calculation is somewhat different. Without taking into account additional drinking, a child at this age needs a volume of a mixture in the amount of 1/5 of his body weight.
It is also important to ask how many timesthere is a newborn on artificial feeding. Here, unlike breastfeeding, the regime is absolutely required. In the daytime it is necessary to feed not more often than after 3 hours, and at night - not more often than after 5 hours, because the process of digesting the mixture is longer than digesting the mother's milk.
Do not worry, thinking about whether your baby is hungry or not. He will certainly inform about it and will not remain silent if he wants to eat. Good luck to you, and let your children grow up healthy and strong!
