feedings Archives - Feeling Yum

The Baby Tummy Size Guide

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 07:01:12 +0000

Did you know the size of your baby’s stomach will start as small as a cherry and grow as big as a cantaloupe within the first year? When thinking about your baby’s consumption and how often they are feeding, it is helpful to visualize the size of their stomach throughout the feeding journey. When they are newborns, they feed very frequently due to the small stomach size, but by one year, they can consume solid meals and sleep through the night without eating.

1 Day Old:

Your baby’s stomach is the size of a cherry. Your baby will be consuming ½ -1 teaspoon (5-7 ml) per feeding; 8-12 feedings daily.

3 Days Old:

Your baby’s stomach is the size of a walnut. Your baby will be consuming 4 teaspoons (5-7 ml) per feeding; 8-12 feedings daily.

1-3 Weeks Old:

Your baby’s stomach is the size of an apricot. Your baby will be consuming 1.5-3 oz. (45-00 ml) per feeding. Your baby’s milk intake will increase to 9-25 oz. (280-750 ml) a day by the end of the third week; 8-12 feedings daily.

1-3 Months Old:

Your baby’s stomach is the size of a an egg. Your baby will be consuming 3-5 oz (80-150 ml) per feeding. Your baby’s milk intake will be in the range from 20-35 oz (750 – 1035 ml) per day; 6-8 feedings daily.

3-6 Months Old:

Your baby’s stomach is the size of a an orange. Your baby will be consuming 3-5 oz (80-150 ml) per feeding. Your baby’s milk intake will be in the range from 24 to 32 fluid oz (710 to 946 ml) per day; 6-8 feedings daily.

6-11 Months Old:

Your baby’s stomach is the of a grapefruit. Your baby will be consuming 5-8oz. (147-236 ml) Per feeding. Your baby’s milk intake will be in the range from 20 to 30oz (591 to 887 ml) per da ; 4-8 feedings daily + 1-3 meals of solids.

12 Months +:

Your baby’s stomach is the size of a a cantaloupe. Your baby will be consuming anywhere from none to 14 to 20 fluid ounces (414 to 591 milliliters) feeding; up to 4 times daily + 3 meals and up to 2 snacks daily.

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How Much Should My Newborn Be Eating?

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:48:12 +0000

It is helpful to have a guide to refer to during the very first few days and few weeks of feeding your newborn. It is also helpful to visualize how small their stomachs are to know they really do not need to be consuming very much milk. During the first few days, mammas will only be producing small amounts of colostrum until the milk starts to come in around days 3 through 5.

I also included what output of diapers to expect so you have a marker on how much the baby is consuming. Your pediatrician will also measure the baby’s weight to make sure the baby is at least their birth weight by two weeks of age (since they typically loose weight the first few days after birth).

1 Day Old:

Size: Your baby’s stomach is the size of a cherry.
Capacity: Your baby will be consuming ½ -1 teaspoon (5-7 ml) per feeding; 8-12 feedings daily.
Output: Your baby will have 1 urine diaper and 1 stool diaper.

3 Days Old:

Size: Your baby’s stomach is the size of a walnut.
Capacity: Your baby will be consuming 4 teaspoons (5-7 ml) per feeding; 8-12 feedings daily.
Output: Your baby will have 3-4 urine diapers and at least 3 stool diapers.

One Week Old:

Size: Your baby’s stomach is the size of an apricot.
Capacity: Your baby will be consuming 1.5-2 oz. (45-60 ml) per feeding. Your baby’s milk intake will increase to 9-20 oz. (280-576 ml) a day; 8-12 feedings daily.
Output: Your baby will have 6+ urine diapers and at least 4 stool diapers

2-3 Weeks Old:

Size: Your baby’s stomach is the size of an apricot .
Capacity: Your baby will be consuming 2-3 oz (60–90 ml) per feeding. Your baby milk intake will increase to 29-25 oz. ( 590-750 ml) per day by the end of the third week; 8-12 feedings daily.
Output: Your baby will have 6+ urine diapers and at least 4 stool diapers.

One Month Old:

Size: Your baby’s stomach is the size of a an egg.
Capacity: Your baby will be consuming 3-5 oz (80-150 ml) per feeding. Your baby’s milk intake will be in the range from 20-35 oz (750 – 1035 ml) per day; 6-8 feedings daily.
Output: Your baby will have 6+ urine diapers and 1 stool every day or 1 every few days.

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5 Key Takeaways From My First Week of Breastfeeding

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:22:57 +0000

I was a bit nervous about the unknowns, but overall I thought I was prepared for my breastfeeding journey. I took an in-person course with a local lactation consultant and a 6-course online series on breastfeeding and pumping prior to my daughter’s arrival. However, like most things in life, you learn on the job. I want to share the most valuable tips I learned from the very helpful labor and delivery nurses at the hospital and during my first few days at home.

Lesson 1: Things may not go as planned. I had painted a beautiful picture of how I would experience the “golden hour” of skin-to-skin right after my baby’s birth. However, after some glorious moments of holding my baby girl in my arms after the delivery, I was quickly passing her off to my husband to hold her safely as my midwife focused on controlling my excessive bleeding. It took about an hour until I was able to hold her again. With the help of a labor and delivery nurse, Alana was able to be guided to the breast, latch on, and take her first feed. Alana was not provided the opportunity to find the breast herself, but she was nourished with colostrum as her first feed, which was most important.

Lesson 2: A deep latch is key. When it becomes time for skin-to-skin, the nurse helped me guide Alana to the breast, aligning her nose to my nipple to encourage her to open her mouth wide to get a deep latch. She also helped align her head straight (her neck was not turned, which would make swallowing milk more difficult)

Lesson 3: Help the baby find the breast. To help the baby find the breast, I was provided the tip to express some colostrum with gentle hand massages and squeezes before guiding the baby to the breast. It also helped to hold the breast “like a sandwich” and hold it to the baby’s mouth until she latched on.

Lesson 4: Take breaks from breastfeeding. I learned feeding “on demand” does not mean baby should be sucking indefinitely on one or both of the breasts. My nurse explained Alana was losing valuable calories being kept on the breast making non-nutritive sucks, meaning she was not gaining milk when sucking. To remove the baby from the breast, I was taught a to sweep the pinky finger in her mouth like a hook, which helped remove the nipple from her mouth without any pulling.

Lesson 5: Your baby won’t follow a strict schedule. Newborns eat 8-12 times a day, which is about every 2-3 hours. Feeds should last about 30 minutes, or 15 minutes per side. However, these feeding timelines are a guide and timing them with a clock or an app just caused added stress. Every mom and baby dyad are unique and feeding times may vary greatly. Babies may be full after a short 5 minute feed or require much longer feeds when they are very sleepy.

I hope these shared lessons can help you avoid some of my first difficult moments with feedings. Please share any tips you learned during you first week of feedings!

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