What how much to feed a newborn baby?

Young mothers face the unique task of feeding their babies. This obligation appears in the first moments of a child’s life, who needs to replenish energy after the effort of birth. Many mothers ask how often their newborns should be fed to keep them healthy and at the same time not to disturb the natural rhythm of their body’s work. We invite you to read, during which we will answer the most important questions posed by young, nursing mothers.

What determines the way of feeding a newborn?

The way our baby is fed depends on various factors. First of all, attention should be paid to the limited possibilities of newborns to eat food. Their stomachs are not much larger than their fists, which prevents them from accumulating more food. If a newborn baby takes in too much food, it is likely to regain the excess through pouring. In addition, the method of feeding depends on the type of milk given to the newborn. The situation is different in the case of breastfeeding mothers and different when they feed their children with modified milk.

This is best done by observing your newborn’s behavior. Each newborn can manifest a desire for food in its own way. The most common repertoire of eating behaviors includes: smacking, excessive mouth mobility, agitated activity (for example, fidgeting, turning the head from side to side), and looking for the breast by turning the face towards it when the newborn is picked up in his arms.

Feeding a newborn baby – how much and when?

Breastfeeding is the best way to nourish your newborn baby. The milk taken from the mother is natural and contains the necessary nutrients, the content of which changes with the development of our child. Thanks to this, at every stage of feeding, natural milk is tailored to the needs of our baby in terms of the nutritional requirements.

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The mother’s food changes throughout the feeding period. For 2-3 days after birth, it is a slightly yellow liquid, rich in protein, minerals, vitamins and appropriate antibodies from the mother’s body. In the following days, the quality of the discharge changes and begins to resemble proper milk. After another 2-3 weeks, the woman begins to release mature milk, clearly white, with a typically milky consistency.

The amount of food consumed by a newborn baby varies individually. In the first days of life, these are very small amounts, not exceeding 20 ml of milk per day. The amount of food consumed increases in the following days, when the newborn’s body begins to gain weight and there is an increased energy requirement. 7 days after birth, our baby should consume about 70 ml of food during one feeding, and 7 ml in the next 100 days. At the end of the first month of life, it will be approximately 700 ml per day.

The amount of food consumed by a child is difficult to unequivocally estimate in the case of breastfeeding mothers. However, this should not be a problem as breastfed newborns will stop eating themselves when they are no longer hungry. For this reason, you should feed your baby whenever the newborn clearly demands it. The first feed – usually right after birth – will last for a good few hours for your baby. In the following days of life, newborns tend to suck on the mother’s breast continuously. This is due both to the quality of the milk secretion itself and the unformed sucking reflex. In the following days, feeding is stabilized and for the first month of life, babies suckle their mother’s breasts approximately every 2 hours (which means about 10 meals a day). Over time, the number of feeds decreases as your baby’s stomach grows and he learns to suckle properly for longer.

In the first weeks or even months of feeding, it is worth using a breast pump, which will help to stimulate lactation and then maintain it even during a lactation crisis. We recommend breast pumps available on Medonet Market, e.g.

1. Neno Uno electronic breast pump,
2. Electronic Neno Bella breast pump,
3. Neno Due double electronic breast pump,
4. Neno Bueno double two-phase wireless electronic breast pump,
5. Neno Bella Twin double, two-phase cordless breast pump,
6. Neno Camino double electronic wireless breast pump,
7. Neno Angelo 3-phase wireless electronic breast pump.

You can heat your expressed milk at a later time using the Neno Vita 2-in-1 Sterilizer and bottle warmer. Try the bottles:

1. Neno Bottle 150 ml,
2. Neno Bottle 240 ml,
3. Neno Bottle 300 ml.

You will store them in special bags for storing and freezing Neno food.

Feeding a newborn baby with modified milk

When a young mother is unable to feed her baby with her own milk, then you should use modified milk. They should be used throughout the first year of our child’s life.

Modified milk are specialized preparations containing the right amount of minerals, nutrients and vitamins. The advantage of this method of feeding is the ability to fully control the amount of food consumed by the infant.

Initially, the planned number of meals for our child is about 7 per day, served at intervals of about 3 hours. A portion should contain about 100 ml of modified milk solution.

However, no child consumes all food, so be prepared to feed less food more often. With age, the number of meals taken will decrease, while the volume of one main meal will increase, which will satisfy our child’s hunger.

Especially with breastfeeding women in mind, a herbal tea was created for a nursing woman available at Medonet Market. It has a relaxing and supportive effect on lactation.

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