How much breast milk should my 5 day old be taking in in one day?

Question

She is a little jaundice and so she is constantly tired and not wanting to wake up to eat. She typically eats every 2 hours and takes 1- 1&1/2 oz. for a total of 12-14oz in a 24 hr. period. The Dr. said that I need to be trying to feed her more often. ? Also does sunlight really help with jaundice and does it have to be bright sunlight or just daylight!

Answer 1

It is not important how much she is eating. As long as she is having wet diapers that is all you need to be concerned about. The rule of thumb is that at day 5 she should have 5 wet diapers a day. If I remember right, it stops here. As long as she continues to have 5 wet diapers a day, she is fine. If you want to try to get her to eat more, try undressing her when you feed her. If she is cold she will eat more. Don't worry, jaundice is extremely common in newborns. It goes away on its own 99% of the time, even without the sunlight.

P.S. Congratulations!

Answer 2

I cant help with the jaundice as thankfully my baby didnt suffer from it, but I did nurse my baby and I can only say she was eating every 2 hrs during the day and then sleeping in a 3 or 4 block at night, waking up to eat, sleeping again another 3 hrs, then about every 2hrs after that. She shouldnt go more than 4 or perhaps 5 hrs if she has been eating really well during the day. As for how much she's getting, how in the world do you know? Please dont think you need to register how much she is drinking by pumping and giving a bottle. This is NOT the best way to do it. Giving a bottle this early can make it hard if not impossible for her to latch on correctly when directly nursing, and your baby will always do a better job of stimulating your milk production than the most expensive pump. So dont worry about this - if she is eating often, has wet diapers, and is not in distress (ie crying) than odds are very good she's eating plenty. Of course you should take her in for periodic 'well baby' ck-ups to make sure she's gaining enough, but otherwise you should be doing great. Is the Dr saying she needs to eat more often because she was a preemie?

Answer 3

How do you know how much she is getting? What you're able to pump is not the same as what your baby is capable of getting out of you. If your doctor weighed her before and after eating that doesn't mean anything either unless he weighed her after every feeding. So unless you're giving her nothing more than pumped milk than you don't know how much she is getting, and you don't need to, she knows and will tell you when she's hungry and when she's not.

Sunlight (not house lights) does help with jaundice, the ultraviolet rays break down the excess bilirubin. Indirect sunlight through a window is fine as well. Twenty minutes minimum per day. Move her bassinet next to a window for naps.

To make sure she is getting enough milk:
*Drink plenty of fluids yourself (2-3 quarts daily minimum)
*Eat plenty of good foods, you need calories to give her
*Keep taking your pre-natals
*Nurse her often, whenever she'll take it, even if she just ate, that's ok to nurse her again 20 minutes later if she seems hungry. (Nurse at night too, sometimes if you lay down with baby at night to sleep they will nurse all night long even in their sleep)
*When she pulls off, burp her then put her back on, and if she pulls off again then she's done. Spitting up is not necessarily a sign of being full, although it can be.

Don't worry about her getting enough, as long as you pay attention to her cues and nurse often then she will get enough. If she doesn't, then it is probably just a matter of you drinking more fluids and eating better.

Answer 4

Sunlight... through the window is fine if it's crappy out.
As for the milk intake, you may have to wake her up like I did my daughter. She'd sleep for eight hours if I let her, but the nurses and books recommended a feeding every four at least. So I'd have to rouse her. She was a bit jaundice too...but born in May so outings were not avoided. Allow tons of light in during the day, all day. She'll get better!
So wake your sweetie, and give her some food. Every four hours, check with you pediatricians for when you should cut down (will probably include a weighing of your daughter, and probably at four months, but check to be sure). My daughter also would nurse for two hours at night!! She wasn't sleeping, just famished for some reason and would go for TWO HOURS!! I was in tears!!
Anyway good luck!

Answer 5

hi i have a 4 month old baby who is breast fed and at 5 days old and i fed him about evry 2-3 hours and when he was sleeping i would just wake him up to eat.now i am not a doctor but they say to put the baby where sunlight enters through a window for 10 minutes twice a day but make sure they are not in direct sunlight

Answer 6

I can't help you with the feeding, as both of my kids were on cereal by 3 days (taking 7 ounces at a time upon birth), but, as for jaundice, my son had it. He didn't need really bright sun, and it was gone within about a week/week 1/2.

Answer 7

About 2oz per feeding. Every 2 hours sounds right.

Answer 8

my baby use to drink 2oz every two hours in her first month and started taking 2 to 3oz in her third month. I have a friend, her daughter use to drink 3oz every three hours in her first month.So it depends on the baby.

Answer 9

sunlight.... and dont worry- your baby is going to starve-- she will let you know when she is hungry--

Answer 10

Im not exactly sure. But once your baby is done if he starts spitting up be sure to give him less until he doesnt spit it up.