how to measure the quantity of milk for baby during breastfeeding?
How to observe your baby’s diaper?
The method may seem uninviting, even a bit complicated, but for Carole Hervé, it’s all a matter of calculation and habit: “If the baby has taken 800 ml of milk and this milk is made up of 80% water , there must be the equivalent of 600 grams of liquid in the layers of the day. We can simplify by assuming that after the age of one week, if you observe at least six heavy layers of urine and three abundant stools , the baby has had enough to drink” .
There remains the thorny question of an infant who does not frequently have a bowel movement… While it is generally accepted that a baby must have at least one bowel movement a day, exclusively breastfed babies are sometimes an exception to the rule. But here again, there is no need to worry untimely: “When the baby is more than 10 days old, is exclusively breastfed (no artificial milk, no pacifier), has a soft abdomen, he has gas, that he has no pathology and that he has no fever, that he continues to gain weight according to the standards of his age and sex (see for this the curves of the WHO), there is no reason to worry. As long as he has his six heavy diapers a day, that’s a sign he’s drinking the right amount of milk,
What if the baby has not had enough milk?
If the baby fills less than 6 nappies a day, is grumpy or wakes up in an unusual way, you have to act… Without this generating stress. The procedure: double the feedings for 48 to 72 hours. If this is not enough, it may be good to give a supplement of breast milk by expressing her milk.
How can you predict how much milk your baby will drink?
In some situations, the mother may need to assess the amount of milk to give her baby before taking it. This is particularly the case when she returns to work, when she wishes to continue giving her milk beyond her maternity leave. Again, just take the fold and do a little math. Thus, a baby who weighed 3.7 kilos at birth can drink, beyond 15 days of breastfeeding, about 1 liter (or 1000 ml) of breast milk per day.
The quantity to calculate
To know how much milk to take, just follow the rule of three:
(1000 ml / 24 h) x separation time (10 hours for example),
either 420 ml in 10 hours, or the quantity that will have to be taken out and left with the nanny or the crèche.
Trust your baby
However, it is also essential to take into account the particularity of each baby. Thus, some infants will prefer to drink less during the separation period and favor breastfeeding during the following hours. Carole Hervé’s motto: stay calm, as long as the baby is not more grumpy than usual and fills his diapers, or even puts on weight, everything is fine!
