How much feeding is enough for baby?

Jan25

Member
Hi all,
I have been doing fm and bf since baby's birth last tue as bf supply was not sufficient. this is the daily feeding routine (timing +-):
5am:fm
8am:bf
10am:bf
1pm:fm
4pm:bf
6pm:bf
7pm:fm
10pm:bf before fm
1am:fm
4am:fm

Is the number of feedings enough for baby? note that each bf lasts at most 30min as baby either doze off or refuse to suckle....
my confinement lady keeps saying baby hungry baby hungry....it's kinda frustrating not knowing if baby has fed well......
Any advice??
 

uddermummy

Well-Known Member
Ask your CL how she knows bb is hungry. Is she trying to convince you to switch to fm? Some CL will ask you to switch to fm because it makes their jobs easier as fm is harder to digest and stays in the stomach longer.

Bbs cry for many reasons, not always because they are hungry. You need to latch your bb on demand, that is, whenever he's hungry. Some early signs of hunger: rooting, sticking their tongues out, putting their fists to their mouths.

You judge whether bb has had enough by the amt of milk he drinks, not the no of times he drinks. For breastfed bb and fm bb, these are the signs that bb has had enough:

  • bb pees at least 5 times a day
  • bb's pee is light coloured
  • bb's fontanelles, the soft spot on his head, is not very sunken in
  • bb is putting on weight
  • bb's skin is like fresh fish, firm and not too dry. If you press, the flesh should bounce back.
For fm bbs or bbs fed ebm, you can calculate the amt of milk. I use this formula:

bb's weight in kg x 20 ml for amount to be drunk every 3 hours (lower limit)
bb's weight in kg x 30 ml for amount to be drunk every 3 hours (upper limit)

e.g. for a 3kg bb,

lower limit- 3 x 20ml= 60ml
upper limit- 3 x 30m= 90ml

Bb's intake is fine as long as it's roughly btw 60ml to 90ml. I got the formulas from doris fok, a certified lact consultant, and from the super baby food book by ruth yaron. Diymummy has another formula which gives roughly the same amount.
 

uddermummy

Well-Known Member
if you really want to breasfeed your bb, you have to slowly reduce the fm supplement, and latch your bb on demand.

it takes time for the supply to stabilise, so you've got to be patient. In the meantime, ignore your CL if she keeps telling you you don't have enuf milk!

If you need more assurance, you can always call up a certified lact consultant, or go to the list of bf friendly docs pinned in this forum. Don't listen to pple who know nuts about bfing, go to those who know what they are talking about.
 
Yes I agree with uddermummy. How does your CL knows if your baby is hungry?

If baby does not fuss or cry for more milk after unlatching, I think it means baby is satisfied with the feed. Anyway young babies will want to be fed every 1-2 hours if BF. If fed FM they may last for up to 3 hours. It doesn't mean your baby is not well fed if she cry for milk after 2 hours. It's just that BM digest faster.

Don't let your CL pressure you into feeding FM.
 

hakisumi

Member
Did u cl burp ur baby well?
Breast milk pee only Like no more..hehe

Even since I feed on full fm,I realise sometimes if dun burp him well enuff,in the 2.5-3 hrs interval he ll spit out some milk n only naps 15mins..
My mum told me..cos baby didn't sleep after the feed so the next feed he is hungry but yet tired...so bb will tend to snore away...just like us adult not enuff slp u also no mood to eat.. This applies to my son but dunno is it on urs...
 

Jan25

Member
cos after fm,bb wil sleep soundly for 2-3 hours but bf he either wakes up in an hour or didnt sleep. so cl always say 'not full how to sleep?'. then my in laws came and heard her saying this, they also take it that bb is always not full when bf.....i have tried to 'educate' the cl that bb digests bm faster,that's why he needs to wake up every hour. then she says 'then how wil bb have enough rest?' SO DISCOURAGING......
 

camom

Well-Known Member
cos after fm,baby wil sleep soundly for 2-3 hours but bf he either wakes up in an hour or didnt sleep. so cl always say 'not full how to sleep?'. then my in laws came and heard her saying this, they also take it that baby is always not full when bf.....i have tried to 'educate' the cl that baby digests breast milk faster,that's why he needs to wake up every hour. then she says 'then how wil baby have enough rest?' SO DISCOURAGING......
*Pat pat*

Aiyo, this CL quite one kind. Just tell her dr say so. If still cannot, then I will lock myself in the rm with bb.
 
You poor thing. Confinement still under stress.

Last time my CL also lydat. Cos i insist on feeding only BM then she also not happy. Say my milk not enough that's why baby keep waking up after 1 or 2 hour. So i pump out my milk to let her see then when she saw I got alot of milk she keep quiet.

In the day I will pump out for her to feed. At night I will wake up to latch my baby. It's tiring to keep feeding every 2 hours or so but everyone told me newborn are lydat after 2 months or so they will feed every 3 hours so I perservered.

If your CL still bug you, tell her to pack her bags and go home. She is there to help you not add on your stress. Tell her, you won't die without her.

Sorry, but I just hate those CL who thinks they are indispensable and wAnna make our lifes difficult.
 

uddermummy

Well-Known Member
cos after fm,baby wil sleep soundly for 2-3 hours but bf he either wakes up in an hour or didnt sleep. so cl always say 'not full how to sleep?'. then my in laws came and heard her saying this, they also take it that baby is always not full when bf.....i have tried to 'educate' the cl that baby digests breast milk faster,that's why he needs to wake up every hour. then she says 'then how wil baby have enough rest?' SO DISCOURAGING......
YOu tell that CL, "Wah, auntie, every time you can't sleep means you hungry meh? Then no more pple in the world who suffer from insomnia liaoo loh... Then you shouldn't eat too much also, or you'll want to sleep and can't help me."


or "Auntie, you not my bb, how you know he's not full? Maybe he just wants to wake up and see the world lehh? You want him to gong gong and sleep the whole day isit?"

Just tell her doctor says this, doctor says that, and ask her if she knows more than a doctor.

Sometimes, bbs can't sleep because they are too full! Some bbs actually sleep better at night with a not so full tummy. And er, bbs don't need to sleep the whole day! They need to wake up and see the world once in a while! Your CL just wants to make sure your bb sleeps and sleeps so that she'll have an easier job.

Get your hubby on your side. If you can, call doris fok from nuh up, and ask her to make a house visit. Get her to speak to your family and that PITA CL. Her charges are quite reasonable at $60 per hour, but do note that she may charge for transportation time. If not, go down to NUH with your hubby and CL to see her!

Your CL makes me boil because she reminds me of my own CL whom I kicked out after 6 days. What's your CL name? Isit Meifeng? :001_302:
 

Jan25

Member
haha,mine's not meifeng...
yest i insisted on bf the whole day despite her keep coming into my room to 'disturb' me abt bb's feeding. then at 6pm bb started crying for ONCE the whole day and she said 'bb has not drank any milk since 5am,sure hungry what'. immediately i blasted her 'i have been feeding him without any prob the whole day. how can u say he has not had any milk???'
So pissed off by her remarks!
hubby says 2 more weeks,try to tahan...he also got put the message across in an indirectly way...but to me,2 weeks is a Looong time.......
 

uddermummy

Well-Known Member
aiyohh, that cl so irritating! But at least your hubby's on your side. It's really impt that your husband stands on your side when it comes to bb and your marriage.

Mine actually listened to the stupid CL and helped her to force-feed bb! And that was not the only stupid advice he listened to. And when I sent the CL away, my hubby was actually angry with me for a long time, cos he prob listened to some pple, and came to the conclusion that I was just being picky. :nah:

Hmmm, if this cl's so anti-bfing, you should tell us her name so that bfing mummies can avoid her like the plague!
 

meiteoh

Well-Known Member
The ladies here are right - FM can actually kill your supply coz it spoils your baby's appetite for BM and not only that, bottle feeding encourages your baby to be lazy at sucking. Sucking a bottle and sucking from a breast are very different and the latter requires more effort from the baby.

Can you tell that crappy, god-awful CL to do other stuff but leaving the feeding to you?

CLs love to promote FM coz 1) makes their job easier (but not really) and 2) during their time, BM is only for poor people whereas if you're rich, you can afford FM which they think is better. The 70s (when these ladies were mums themselves) was the height of formula promotion.
 

camom

Well-Known Member
If I didn't remember wrongly, 1 of the benefits of persisting with latching on is beautiful jaw development. BB has to use the muscles to extract milk. If u tell your hubby this, will it help?
 
haha,mine's not meifeng...
yest i insisted on bf the whole day despite her keep coming into my room to 'disturb' me about baby's feeding. then at 6pm baby started crying for ONCE the whole day and she said 'baby has not drank any milk since 5am,sure hungry what'. immediately i blasted her 'i have been feeding him without any prob the whole day. how can you say he has not had any milk???'
So pissed off by her remarks!
hubby says 2 more weeks,try to tahan...he also got put the message across in an indirectly way...but to me,2 weeks is a Looong time.......
CHEERSSSS to you and your hubby!!!!!

I realise she has been taking note of the time and trying to 'catch' you so she got something to scold or blame you about. Jia you ok! Remember you are paying for her service, she should listen toyou and not the other way round. Don't be afraid to tell them your expectations.

Yes, 2 weeks may seem sooo long but remember, after this 2 long weeks, you won't see the woman anymore. Meantime let her do more work so that she got no time to nag you!

*evil grin*
 
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JazN

New Member
Hi Jan25,

don't let the CL affect your mood. Strongly veto what uddermummy has said. The last I had a CL for 5 days I begin to wonder who is the more experienced one (BTW I’m a 1st-time mum).

Quite often, it’s not because baby is hungry, found out baby has soiled her diapers. Baby needs burping or just wanna be carried as during the first 6 months they just pop out into the world & cries for their parents’ attention & hugs in order to feel secure.

You will not get much sleep during the 1st 2 months as baby feeds every 2 hours but hey when baby sleeps do remember to catch up on your sleep too.

As long as you have the support of your family let others deal with the CL but remember not be too nasty to CL if you’re still keeping her in employment. Beside a CL there are always other options available if you got no choice to let go of her earlier, they are not indispensable.

Keep your energy up!
 

Jan25

Member
thx for your support ladies!
hubby spoke to her last evening and immediately she 180degree change. ask me do i need drink,carry bb to me for bf whenever he cries,this morning even prepared b'fast for me etc....
i found my cl thru rec in this forum so dunno how come turn out this way....guess she's quite slack such that fm is the easier way out for her. hopefully following 2 wks will be more bearable....anyw thx lots!
 

Jan25

Member
btw what are the things that u all ask the cl to do to occupy her time?
she seems super free in the morning after bb bathe and whole afternoon after lunch and before dinner.....i do get her to do the floor everyday and handwash mine and bb's clothes,but everything she does also half-past 6 wan....realised she doesnt soak the clothings,floor only mop dont vacuum,saw dust by the sides while i was doing massge yest....
 

STmummy

Member
Cant stand CL who thinks they know everything. I had the same bad experience with mine last year. Being a 1st time mum, you just want to have someone there to help you, be it the cooking, washing or tending for your new born baby so that you can rest. This auntie makes my life miserable! I almost suffered from post-natal blues thanks to her.

Had told her previously (when we interviewed her in JB - we drove all the way in to meet her!) that I WILL shower & wash my hair. We are going to FULLY BF my baby. But when she reached, first day nag at me for showering and washing my hair... 'Wo Ren..'

As for the feeding, I will direct feed my baby in the day time & let her feed him EBM at night. As a new mum, you tend to take a while to learn how to bf your baby, and the milk also takes awhile to settle. When I pumped out the milk, each time was only 60 ml, she will comment: 'aiyo, so little eh!' Really feel like throwing the bottle at her face esp after you had been sitting there for an hour trying to squeeze out every single drop from your breast. Once I had been feeding my baby for over an hour, nipple feeling sore and tired, brought him back to his room to rest and I was also resting in my room, while my hubby went downstairs to run some errands. When he came back, I heard him asking the CL, why are you feeding our baby (with my EBM)? I went out and saw her with a bottle of EBM, sitting in the dark with my baby, trying to feed him. I was so angry! Told her not to give him any EBM without our permission, and this was right after I had been feeding him for over an hour! In the end, wasted that bottle of EBM.

The ultimate thing she did was just into her 3rd or 4th day, I brought my baby into my room to feed him, saw a RUBBERBAND tied around his mittons! It took me awhile to remove it as it was actually tied quite tightly around his wrist! We had specifically told her NOT to do it, as that same afternoon we saw her walking out of the kitchen with rubberbands and asked her what was that for? She told us wanted to tie around the mittons so it wont fall off, told her not to do it, use scotchtape instead. But she never listen to instructions! If we didnt see that and she keep doing it, I really wonder what will happen to my son's wrists! OMG!

On top of that, there's nothing special about the confinement food she cooked. In fact I can cook better than her. Kept nagging at me, giving me stress, kept bugging my hubby & me to help her upload her pic on internet so she can have enquiries while she stays in SG.

I was also thinking maybe I should just 'tahan' for another 2 weeks.. but my hubby see that I was so miserable with her around, we fired her after 2 weeks! I had never been happier!

CLs are supposed to help us not make us stress. So if you are not getting any help from her, I think better to ask her to go. You can easily engage CL or confinement food from those agencies.

Next time I will prob just engage a domestic helper. Dont see any benefit in engaging these CLs when they are adding on stress to us!
 

uddermummy

Well-Known Member
STmummy, your CL sounds just like mine! :(

OMG! How can the CL tie rubber bands around your bb's wrist? It will cut off circulation and can cause gangrene!

Yah, I think having a good maid can be so much better than a lousy CL. And the CLs charge so much!

This type of CL must put her name up big big and warn pple not to hire her!:001_302:
 
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uddermummy

Well-Known Member
btw what are the things that you all ask the cl to do to occupy her time?
she seems super free in the morning after baby bathe and whole afternoon after lunch and before dinner.....i do get her to do the floor everyday and handwash mine and baby's clothes,but everything she does also half-past 6 want....realised she doesnt soak the clothings,floor only mop dont vacuum,saw dust by the sides while i was doing massge yest....
I didn't have to ask my CL to do much to occupy her time. She took just the whole day to prepare my meals. Granted that she was quite a good cook, but still! She was so busy that in the end, I washed my own clothes, underwear, family's clothes, the bb's bottles etc. And she still dares to complain about my bb waking up in the middle of the night when I was the one tending to bb most of the times!

Maybe you can ask your CL to soak the clothing first? Can tell her your expectations nicely. If not, get your hubby to be the bad person again. Heehee!:p Then again, some CLs don't do housework, but since she's so free, she might as well do it.

Mind sharing the name of the CL? Can pm me if you're not comfortable sharing her name publicly. I noticed that some of the mummies only post here to recommend CLs and then after that, they don't appear anywhere else in the forum. :nah:
 
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