hello this week we are going to talk about everything you need to know about feeding
your newborn baby that brand new fresh baby how do we feed them yeah and just in case
it's your first time meeting us i'm Kurt i'm a board certified pediatrician and new dad
i'm sarah i am a board-certified ob gyn and first-time mom and we are the doctors bjorkman
welcome back we are guessing that the reason you're watching the episode today is because you
have a new baby at home and you're now realizing that they don't come with an instruction manual
um or maybe you're worried your baby isn't eating enough or you're worried they're eating too much
yes whatever group you are in we want to you to know that we have been there too um over the first
few months of having that new baby we wondered is she eating enough is she eating too much like how
do we feed this baby yeah babies are both really easy and incredibly difficult to care for all at
the same time and so if you're feeling clueless or just hoping to be a bit more informed about
what to do hopefully by the end of this episode you can have a bit more confidence
and you can provide your baby what they need to grow and be healthy so we're gonna start out by
talking about how much breast milk or formula your baby should eat in a day and then dive into ways
to know your baby is getting enough to eat some common baby signs that say they're ready to eat
and then some other special things to consider if you're struggling with feedings
before we get started today we need to first say that these are generalized guidelines for
healthy babies who are born full term and who do not have other special medical conditions
premature babies often need special formula for their nutritional needs
and babies with other diseases or other conditions
may need extra calories to help them grow if your baby falls into one of these categories or if
you've got concerns that your baby isn't growing please be sure to talk to their medical provider
so we are going to start by talking about how much breast milk or formula your baby should
eat in a day yeah first off babies need to eat a lot in the first month of life an average baby
needs about 100 kcals per kilo per day which would be like 150 pound or 70 kilo person
eating like 28 mcdonald's hamburgers in one day those tiny little babies also have tiny little
stomachs which means it's okay when they don't eat a lot all at once but it does mean that they
need to eat often we really like this graphic that shows how small a baby's stomach is um that first
week of life it's about the size of a grape and then it grows to be about one and a half or two
ounces the size of a strawberry um by the end of the first week and then it's about two and a half
to five ounces or the size of a lime by one month so the best advice we can give you for the first
month of life is to feed your baby when they're hungry yeah now i realize it sounds super simple
but honestly during that first month especially babies just need to eat and they need to eat often
you don't need to worry about forcing big volumes but offering feeds every two to three
hours can help make sure that they're getting the nutrition they need during those first few weeks
um and honestly there are going to be periods during those first few weeks where your baby is
gonna want to eat every hour you're gonna have cluster feedings so don't be surprised by that
that it's natural and normal okay yeah yeah so um babies also don't have the stores in their little
livers to keep their blood sugars stable like an older infant might and so it's really important
not to go significant amounts of time between feeds and your pediatrician is probably going to
recommend not letting them go more than four hours between feeds in that first month yeah so for
those of you who are breastfeeding there is this extra complicating factor of getting your milk in
and actually learning how to breastfeed and i know from personal experience it can add a ton
of stress to the equation we had a lot of issues with latch and a tongue tie and our first couple
weeks were tough um so from one first-time mom to another if you are struggling with breastfeeding
get help go see a lactation consultant talk to your pediatrician talk to other moms around you
to get the support you need for breastfeeding for those of you looking for some more concrete
numbers about how much to feed your baby most newborns during that first week two weeks of life
are eating every two to three hours or eight to 12 times a day at least um and they are going to
start out only taking about a half ounce per feeding or 15 cc's for the first couple days
and then by the time they're a week old it's about one to two ounces or 30 to 60 cc's per feed by the
time they're two weeks of age maybe they're able to take two to three ounces per feeding again 60
to 90 cc's per feed so by two months of age babies are usually taking about four to five ounces per
feed every three to four hours and then four to six ounces per feed by four ish months of age now
special notes for breastfed babies so in those those first weeks if you are direct breastfeeding
you don't actually know numbers of how many ounces babies are getting unless you're doing
weighted feeds with your lactation consultant but it can be frustrating because you don't know hey
how many ounces this baby getting at the breast if you're direct breastfeeding you want to put
the baby off for one breast let them eat keep them awake good 10 to 15 minutes always offer
the other side kind of as dessert and know that if if baby is growing and having wet diapers they
are eating enough yep and we're gonna go into some of those later in this episode too yes um the rule
kind of a general rule that really helped me if i was going to be away from the baby
fed babies need about 1 to 1.25 ounces per hour for every hour they're gone from mom so if i was
going to be gone from sees for three hours i would know she was gonna need about 3.75 ish ounces
of breast milk for that three hour period and it's really important with breastfed babies to not
over feed them or give them lots and lots of milk um because then when they're away from monitoring
right because then it is just really hard if baby gets used to eating these bigger volumes
it's really hard for breastfeeding moms to keep up with their pump so really focusing on those
1 to 1.25 ounces per hour um away from mom is breast milk is magic and that is what
breastfed babies need yeah and for those of you not in the u.s that's about 30 to 40 cc's
per hour away from mom other things that we think it's important to remember is that feeding goals
for baby are measured over the course of a full 24 hours and so don't be bothered if one feed isn't
quite as much as another um it's also don't be surprised as we mentioned if baby wants to have
cluster feeds feeding back to back um during certain parts of the day yeah i will say you
know we said in those first weeks eight to 12 times a day is you know kind of average but i
will say thinking back and looking at my tracking app that was tracking breastfeeding it was 16 20
times a day she just was constantly on the boob and that is very very normal for breastfed babies
yeah those first two weeks can you can expect baby to be eating about 15 to 20 ounces a day and
then that becomes 20 to 25 ounces per day by one month and 24 to 30 ounces per day by two months
in general babies are going to continue to eat about that 24 to 32 ounces of milk per day
through six months of age and then they continue to keep eating about that same amount even after
that because then they're starting to get extra calories from the real food
that they're introducing at that four to six eight months so we'll be sure to cover
initiation of solids and baby lead weaning in some upcoming episodes in the next month or so
how do you know that your baby is getting enough to eat um the best way is to actually weigh them
if the baby is gaining weight week by week then that means they're getting enough calories
regardless of the other factors this is one of the key things your pediatrician is gonna look
at during those routine scheduled checkups over the first few months of life yeah most babies will
actually double their birth weight by about five months of age and then triple that birth weight
by their first birthday but if you want more some day-to-day measures and other good things that you
can look at are that your new baby yeah by the end of that first week they should be having six or
more wet diapers per day and with nearly colorless or pale yellow urine yeah they seem satisfied and
happy for an average of you know one to maybe two or three hours after a feed and then they should
also be nursing as we mentioned at least eight to 12 times in a 24-hour period yep maybe more
after the newborn period following the number of wet diapers in a day can be a good way
to follow that baby is likely getting enough milk or formula to stay hydrated
and with that likely enough to grow um they should be at a minimum of four wet diapers a day
but for most babies it's probably more like six or more like wet diapers per day
for your early newborn it is especially important to be on the lookout for
feeding cues or special signs that your baby wants to eat most babies are going to get into a regular
routine of eating about every three hours but it's very normal for there to be periods especially in
those first couple weeks that we've talked about where they want to eat even more frequently a baby
who is hungry is often going to cry like they will let you know they are hungry um but if you look
for these cues ahead of time you may be able to catch those signs of hunger even before they are
to the point of crying um and hopefully that makes kind of the feeding a bit more of an enjoyable
bonding experience for you and baby yeah and so some of these classic feeding cues are things like
licking their lips yep sticking their little tongue out yeah or maybe they're rooting which
is just kind of like moving their jar mouth and hair in search of their breasts yep um they might
put their hands in their mouth more frequently and over and over again or they're just like opening
their mouth kind of over and over again too and generalized fussiness a hangry baby yep and then
sucking on everything around them including maybe even sometimes dad yes it is important to realize
of course that every time your baby cries or sucks it's not necessarily because he or she is
hungry babies suck not only for hunger but it's also for comfort that sucking releases hormones
in their brain that are comforting it can be very hard for parents to tell the difference
but sometimes your baby just needs to be cuddled or changed or given a pacifier
and finally what should you do if you're struggling with feeds sure so the first thing
we have to say here is that you are not alone um our first month with baby cease was really rough
um and our number one piece of advice here is to get help tell your pediatrician see
a lactation consultant have someone who knows all about baby feeding watch you feed your baby
and try to keep a record of how much baby is eating or for how long
and how often so i loved and used the huckleberry app it's a free app um and
so that i could keep track of left breast for you start a timer and then you stop it and then you
right breath the other start a timer um so you know how long um because um
and then also how often and how many feeds you've done during the day right so with bottle fed
babies you are keeping track of how many ounces they are eating in a day breastfed babies you are
keeping track of how long they are eating um and on each breast in a day and so huckleberry app was
my favorite yeah and just to say it again if you are struggling with feeds or weight gain ask
for help yes um our little girl ended up having a mild tongue tie and some issues that made direct
breastfeeding very very difficult for her and it was also kind of a setup for supply issues so we
had to seek medical help yeah it's also important for us to mention that there could be a medical
reason your baby's struggling with feeds and or weight gain the most common cause for poor
weight gain in babies is that they just aren't getting the needed volume of feedings in a day
but there can absolutely be issues with absorption of nutrients
or that your baby could just be burning extra calories due to something like a lung condition
a heart condition or something else that could be a setup for poor growth as well
with that let us know any questions you have any tips or tricks or apps that you like in the next
month we are also going to cover the transition to solid foods um and some baby lead weaning which
we did with our little gal and we loved it um so make sure that you are subscribed to catch those
episodes um and more coming at you in the upcoming weeks okay bye guys bye we're doctors but not your
doctors anything we've said in this video is for education or entertainment purposes only it is not
medical advice any specific medical questions you have should be directed to your provider