Novice parents will always worry about whether the baby is not full when they see that the newborn baby has drunk a little, either they want to feed sugar water or add some milk powder.
Ouch, mother-in-law, in fact, the stomach volume of the newborn is not as large as you think. A little milk is enough for the baby to eat. Indiscriminate feeding of those things will interfere with the growth of the baby (such as aggravating jaundice) and will also affect breast feeding.
How big is the newborn’s stomach?
Various authoritative data show that the gastric volume of normal full-term newborns (birth weight above 2500 g) changes as follows:
- About the size of cherries on the first day after birth; About the size of walnuts on the 3rd day after birth; About the size of apricots on the 5th day after birth; After the 7th day, it is about the size of eggs.
Is the number too boring and senseless? Look at the picture below, it is clear at a glance.
Gastric Volume of Newborns in Fasting State
How much milk does the newborn need?
Normal full-term newborns (birth weight above 2500 g) need 50 mL of milk per kilogram of body weight per day, and the daily increase is 50 mL per kilogram of body weight, and gradually increase to 140 ~ 160 mL/Kg of body weight per day.
For example, if the baby’s birth weight is 3 Kg, then the calculation is as follows:
The total amount of milk fed on the first day is 150 mL. If the milk is fed once every 2 ~ 3 hours and 10 times a day, the amount of milk fed once is 15 mL. The total feeding amount on the second day is (50 + 50) * 3 = 300 mL, if the milk is fed once every 2 ~ 3 hours and 10 times a day, then the feeding amount is 30 mL at a time; The total feeding amount on the third day is (50 + 50 * 2) * 3 = 450 mL. If the milk is fed once every 2 ~ 3 hours and 10 times a day, then the feeding amount is 45 mL once.
At this time, the baby’s total milk volume in a day has reached 150 mL per kilogram of body weight, so no more consideration will be given to increasing the milk volume, and then the milk volume will increase with the baby’s weight.
For example, when the baby grows to 4 Kg, the total amount of milk fed in a day is 560 ~ 640 mL (about 600 mL). If the baby is fed 10 times a day, the amount of milk fed each time is 56 ~ 64 mL (about 60 mL). If the baby is fed 8 times a day, the amount of milk fed each time is 70 ~ 80 mL. By analogy, the baby can be calculated about how much milk to feed in a day and how much milk to feed at a time.
In fact, in the first few days of birth, the minimum milk intake for babies with small appetite may be only 5 mL each time, and the milk intake will only reach about 30 mL after several days (4 ~ 5 days). Individual differences are quite large, some seem to eat less, but it is actually a normal phenomenon, because the baby’s stomach is so big that they cannot eat, so parents should not worry about it.
How to judge whether the baby is full?
Then there are parents to ask, how much milk should the baby feed?
Generally speaking, the baby has the final say, that is, feeding on demand.
If it is breast-feeding, it is not necessary to squeeze out the breast milk to estimate the baby’s intake. Whether the breast milk intake is sufficient can be judged by observing the baby’s mood or urine volume:
- 2 ~ 3 days after the baby is born, the color of stool should change from dark green stool to brown or yellow soft stool. If the stool does not turn brown and yellow soft stool for a long time, it indicates that the baby’s milk is not enough. In the first 2 days after birth, the baby urinated at least 1 or 2 times a day, and there may be pink urate crystals, which is a normal phenomenon. Starting from the third day, every 24 hours to urinate should reach 6 ~ 8 times, pink urine should disappear, if not disappear, hint may milk quantity is not enough. For a bigger baby, if full, generally can insist on 3 ~ 4 hours, if the baby finished a meal, less than 2 hours on crying, small mouth everywhere yummy, that is likely to indicate that the last meal did not have enough.