How much should a newborn eat: theory and practice

How much a newborn should eat at one time and per day, whether the child eats up, whether milk is produced enough - these are the questions that most interest women in the early days, when mother and child just begin to get used to each other and study each other. 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, the books for young parents are full of different tables with the nutritional standards of children of different ages, but all this is only approximate, averaged data based on statistics. So the surest way to find out for sure whether your child is fed and what his diet should be like is to watch your baby.

Of course, dealing with babies with artificial feeding is always much easier, because the dosage and amount of feedings are always indicated on the package with food. 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 healthy and alert, it is best to feed him as many times as he asks. He asks for a breast 25 minutes after feeding - feed, sleeps 3-4 hours in a row - well, that's fine. Remember that newborn babies are not at all as helpless as they seem: nature took care of this properly. Therefore, the child will not sleep hungry.

External signs that the baby is receiving as much breast milk as needed

So, in addition to the fact that a well-fed baby is vigorous, cheerful and happy, does not cry for nothing, 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 weighings once a week show that the baby adds 125 g or more;

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

- during 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 at one feeding and a day, there are several formulas, but you should always remember that all these are approximate norms that exist only for reference:

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

- the daily norm of milk consumption 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 born with a weight of more than 3200 g, by multiplying the number of days of life by 80. So, if the baby was 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 its body weight, at 6 weeks-4 months - 1/6 of body weight, at 6-8 months - 1/7 part and 1/9 of body weight - up to a year.

These are 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!