How much breast milk should I let my 3 week old drink?

Hi, I just gave birth to a 2.8kg baby and my baby is now 15 days (3 weeks) old and weighs 3.6kg. TDLR: Is 90+ml or more per 3-4hr enough or too much for a 3 week old baby? Even if used same amount as supplement after breast feeding? Should I just exclusively pump and bottlefeed instead? Details: My confinement nanny is always worried baby has not enough to drink, and feeds baby 90ml (breastmilk) per feed every 3 to 4 hours. She feeds my baby 70ml per feed at 2 weeks. This is so even right after I breast feed my baby. I breast feed every daytime and leaves her to bottle feed every night. She advices me that it is very tiring for baby to nurse and just feed from the bottle instead and that baby never gets enough from nursing since my baby always fusses even after breast feeding. I secretly feel that it's because my baby is used to being over fed so if he did not get enough per nurse he will fuss. If he cannot sleep, he will want to nurse also, my nanny will use the teat at night and if it doesn't work, she will feed also. In the beginning I was indeed worried that I have not enough milk to breast feed my baby, so I supplement with formula. I use a bottle with a harder teat and my baby takes 20-30 minutes to feed from bottle. She says teat is too hard, so we got a few other teats, until we got a extra soft avent bottle teat. My baby finishes 70-90ml milk in 5 minutes. Because of lack of nursing and pumping in the beginning due to being in pain and getting sick (like fever and chills and all and have to make trips to hospital), I am lacking behind in my milk supply. But I still pump around 40-50ml per breast currently. But every time after breast feeding, which may take quite long actually (like 30-40 minutes or so on both breasts) my nanny will still supplement him with milk after that because he start to fuss and cry again. I told her to feed perhaps just 60ml since I just breast fed him, she did and then after that tell me my baby is still hungry and proceeds to feed him the original 30ml as well. This is the amount she feeds regularly. This doesn't make sense to me and also makes me feel entirely extra - like I shouldn't nurse at all, just feed bottle instead. Anyway, I was wondering if I am overfeeding my baby, and should I just give up on nursing and exclusively pump feed instead? #pleasehelp #firstbaby #advicepls #FTM

Anonymous

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For my sanity, I prefer to pump and feed cause that way I can gauge her intake. I’ve tried latching but baby is not drinking well and it’s taking a toll on my body since she will keep waking up and asking for milk more frequently. I do supplement after breastfeeding as well cause my boobs don’t feel emptied so I know baby isn’t drinking much. For teat wise, go for the smallest/slowest flow. For bm don’t have to upsize as per chart, unless is formula. Common signs of overfeeding are: Frequent spit ups in larger amounts/vomiting. Overly bloated tummy causing discomfort. However, all babies intake are different. At 2 weeks, my LO is taking 70ml while my friend’s kid is taking 200ml, both 2-3 hourly.

I've always directly fed both my babies. You're clearly getting enough breast milk and your baby weight is growing much ahead of curve. I suggest you go with what you feel comfortable doing, if it's pumping and feeding or if it's direct feeding. But considering the weight gain, you shouldn't worry at all. All kids are different, some take 5 minutes and some take 30 minutes to get full. Look for cues rather than timing etc. Have faith in yourself and your baby :)

in my personal experience, both of my babies have never been able to get enough for latching. They will cry for feed after 30mins of latch, so I prefer to pump. At least this way, I can monitor their intake.

Home Breastfeeding i gave birth 28kg baby baby now 15 days 3 weeks old weighs 36kg