How much should a newborn eat: theory and practice

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

How much should a newborn eat at a time and per day, is the child full, is milk produced enough - these are the questions that are most of interest to women in the early days, when mother and child are just starting to get used to each other and study each other friend. It should be noted right away that there are no clear norms and standards, since each child is individual and develops according to his own unique program. Of course, in books for young parents there are a lot of different tables with nutritional norms for children of different ages, but all this is just approximate, averaged data based on statistics. So the surest way to know for sure if your child is full and what his diet should be is to observe your baby.

How much a newborn baby should eat: we study the behavior and well-being of the baby

Of course, with formula-fed babies, things are always much easier, because the dosage and number of feedingsare always listed on food packaging. If the child was born prematurely or received a birth injury, then the help of specialists may be needed to establish a normal diet. But if your baby is he althy and alert, then the best thing is to feed him as many times as he asks. He asks for a breast 25 minutes after feeding - feed, sleep 3-4 hours in a row - well, that's fine. Remember that newborn babies are not at all as helpless as they seem: nature has taken care of this properly. Therefore, the child will not sleep hungry.

Outward signs that the baby is getting as much breastmilk as it needs

So, in addition to the fact that a well-fed baby is cheerful, cheerful and happy, does not cry over trifles, there are several other signs that indicate that he eats as much as a newborn should eat:

- the child urinates 6-8 times a day, urine is not concentrated, light in color;

- control weighing once a week shows that the baby is gaining 125 g or more;

- in development, the baby does not lag behind their peers;

- while feeding, the baby sucks measuredly, making not only sucking, but also enough swallowing movements.

How many grams should a newborn eat: if you need numbers

In order to determine the specific amount of breast milk that a newborn needs in one feeding and per day, there are several formulas, but you should always remember that all these are approximate norms that exist only forLandmark:

- in the first week and a half of life, in order to determine how much a newborn should eat, the age in days is multiplied by 10;

- the daily intake of milk for children with a birth weight of less than 3200 g is calculated by multiplying the number of days of life by 70, and for those who were born weighing more than 3200 g by multiplying the number of days of life by 80. So, if the baby born with a weight of 3500 g and he is 5 days old, then the amount of milk per day he needs for normal growth and development is 5x80=400 ml;

- after 10 days and up to a year, the following formulas apply: up to 6 weeks, a newborn should eat an amount of milk equal to 1/5 of his body weight, at 6 weeks-4 months - 1/6 of his body weight, at 6-8 months - 1/7 part and 1/9 of body weight - up to a year.

These are the approximate norms of how much a newborn should eat at a time and per day. But remember that it is impossible to overfeed with mother's milk, and each feeding is a unique moment of intimacy between you and your baby!