Mother feeding her baby boy by bottle
Newborns cry, coo, eat and sleep and it is hard to know how much your baby will do all these and especially eating. This is particularly the case when you are breastfeeding and this is what leads many mothers to ask themselves the question: how much should a newborn eat? The answer to this question depends on the way you feed your newborn. You can either choose to breastfeed or to feed your baby with formula.
How much a newborn should eat when breastfeeding
If you are breastfeeding your newborn baby, he or she will nurse around 8 to 12 times every day. This is due to the fact that breast milk is digested more easily and your newborn will feel hungry more often. Frequent breastfeeding increases the amount of milk that you can possibly produce and this is important to the growth of your baby. As your baby grows older, his/her eating habits will change a little bit and he/she will start nursing every two to three hours. You should not take more than four hour intervals without feeding your baby.
How much should a newborn eat when you use formula?
Calculating how much a newborn should eat when you feed him or her using formula is a bit easier. This is due to the fact that it is possible for you to know the exact amount of food that you have fed to your baby and how much you want to feed him/her. Baby care experts recommend that you give your baby 2.5 ounces of formula multiplied by the weight of your newborn in pounds.
Therefore, if your newborn weighs seven pounds, the amount of formula that you should feed him/her is about 7×2.5, which is equal to 17.5 ounces. Nonetheless, all babies are unique and your newborn may eat slightly more than this amount. This is just an estimated amount and you will find that your baby will probably consume about one to two ounces each time. This amount will subsequently increase to two to four ounces.
As your newborn grows, there will be a decrease in the amount of feedings and an increase in the number of ounces per bottle. You can use these approximations as your guide to feeding your newborn adequately every day. When feeding your baby, you should be flexible and ensure that you do not force him/her to eat more than is recommended or to stop him/her when he/she still appears to be hungry.
Signs that tell when your baby is still hungry
You should look out for signs that your newborn is still hungry even after feeding him/her with the recommended amount of milk or formula. One of these signs is smacking the lips or sucking the fingers. If you touch the cheek of your baby, he/she will turn his/her head towards your hand. Another sign of not being full completely is when your newborn finishes a bottle of formula very first and appears to be looking for more.
Another sign of being hungry is crying, however this can also be a sign of other things such as discomfort. You should not stress yourself so much as you attempt to understand how much your newborn should eat because you will figure it out very soon.
