How much milk should a 1 month old baby drink?

Breastfeeding the 1 month old baby

If you are breastfeeding your 1 month old baby, it is best to breastfeed on demand from birth until breastfeeding is over. According to the authors of the guide “Feed your baby well from 0 to 3 years old”, Dr Jacqueline Rossant-Lumbroso and Dr Lyonel Rossant, both general practitioner and pediatrician respectively,“baby should be fed when hungry. Adapt flexibly to their needs”. They remind us that it is not necessary to have strict schedules, nor a watch in hand at each feeding, but that it is necessary to show common sense and observation of the baby when it comes to breastfeed her.

Around 1 month, infants begin to regulate themselves, and there is generally a tendency to spontaneously request 6 to 7 feedings per 24 hours, a little less than when they were born. These are distributed at a rate of about 3 hours between each feeding from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and one or two nightly feedings possibly. To properly digest breast milk, babies need a minimum of 2 to 2 hours 30 minutes between two feedings. As the weeks go by, your baby will crave meals at increasingly spaced intervals, and your milk will automatically adjust to her nutritional needs. You can eat the foods you want normally, without any particular contraindications. Just be careful not to suddenly change your diet (your baby is used to the taste of your milk, which is conditioned by the food you eat). You can, however, take breastfeeding herbal teas to support lactation and aid your child’s digestion.

It is advisable to wait until your baby wakes up spontaneously before feeding him. There is no need to wake him up, except, for example “if you have to go out and it’s time to feed”, Or if you want to gradually feed it to a meal schedule that suits you better. But don’t force your healthy baby to eat if he’s not hungry.
The only special cases are sick, extremely tired or underweight babies. In these cases, and following the recommendations of your pediatrician, you can wake your baby up to feed him.

The quantities of milk taken by a breastfed baby are difficult to measure. Unless you express your milk and bottle it. We are more interested in the duration of the latch, and its effectiveness. On average, an effective breastfeed lasts about 7 minutes. Dr Rossant and Dr Rossant-Lumbroso state that in principle “no healthy infant needs more than 15 minutes of effective sucking on each breast”. Because no babies are the same, and no breast milk is the same, it is best to follow your child’s needs for when to feed and when to stop feeding. Babies instinctively know how to recognize feelings of hunger and fullness, and how to make this clear to you. If you stop a feed too soon, your baby will not benefit from the fatty acids that are secreted at the end of the feed, and your baby will usually be hungry again quickly.

As part of breastfeeding, vitamin D and K supplements are prescribed to your child. Vitamin D helps your baby’s skeleton to strengthen, and vitamin K increases blood clotting and prevents the risk of bleeding. These are the only supplements given to a breastfed baby. The milk of their mothers is a food perfectly adapted to the babies despite the necessary supplement in vitamins. The nutrient intake is second to none, and no infant formula can match the perfection level of breast milk.

How do you know if your baby has had enough milk?

There are signs that can reassure you about the amount of milk your baby is getting. A baby who drinks enough milk:

• Will have wet diaper 5 to 6 times a day, and will have one to two bowel movements a day as well;
• Will not have green stools (this indicates a lot of lactose, this is a sign that the feedings are probably too short, and that some nutrients are not absorbed);
• Don’t cry right after a feed. On the contrary, he will be calm, even asleep peacefully;
• Does not wake up for at least 2 consecutive hours of sleep;
• Has regular hollow and swelling cheeks during feedings, and pauses to swallow.

The amount of infant milk in a bottle of a 1 month old baby

If you opt for an infant formula, it takes about 6 to 7 bottles of 90 ml to 120 ml of water (+ the corresponding doses of milk) per 24 hours. But this is a generality, and each child has different appetites and needs. To help you know how much infant milk your baby should need each day, there is Appert’s formula: the first three digits of your baby’s weight in grams + 250 = amount of milk needed for 24 hours. You divide this number by 6 or by 7 depending on the number of meals your child needs in a day, and you get the ideal capacity of a bottle. This calculation works no matter how old your baby is.

Knowing that each dose of powder is suitable for an amount of 30 ml of water, you may need to round off so that you can dose your infant milk perfectly (an overdose of powder in too little water is particularly dangerous for the baby. your baby’s health).

In practice, for example, if your baby weighs 4.250 kg and requests 7 meals, you do the following calculation: (425 + 250) / 7 = 96.5.
In this case, your baby needs 7 bottles of approximately 96.5ml per day. You therefore make bottles of 120 ml of water and 4 doses of milk, so as not to make a dosage error, and you throw away the surplus left by your child.

If your child is showing signs of hunger after their bottle (if he cries immediately for example), you can redo a bottle of 30 ml of water + a measure of milk to offer him. It is then necessary to count an interval of 2:30 to 3 hours between each feeding bottle, so that your baby has had time to digest it. If he claims sooner, or if he is systematically still hungry just after his bottle, it is undoubtedly that it is necessary to increase the dose of milk in the bottles. Increase the doses in steps of 30 ml of water + 1 additional measure of milk per meal.

Even with a bottle, the hours remain flexible, depending on the pace of your child. There is no rush to give it a strict rhythm. And except for advice given by your pediatrician to alleviate a weight or health problem, do not systematically wake your child up to feed him, let him wake up on his own.

How do I know if my baby is still hungry?

A bottle-fed baby will show signs of fullness quite similar to a breast-fed baby. That is to say, he will be soothed after his meal, he will easily find sleep, and will sleep 2 to 3 hours in a row. He will also wet about 6 diapers in 24 hours, and will have about one or two bowel movements per day (as part of a formula, the stools are darker and more fragrant than those of a breastfed baby, that is. complitly normal).

If he cries after his meal, if he asks more frequently, this may be a sign that his bottles are not big enough, and that an additional dose may be offered. But a baby doesn’t cry just to relieve his hunger. Also make sure that it is clean, that it does not feel pain (colic or regurgitation for example), that it is neither too hot nor too cold, and that it has had its dose. of parental presence.

Which milk should I choose for my 1 month old baby?

It is true that according to all newborn health experts, as well as according to the WHO: breast milk is the only milk truly recommended for babies. However, breastfeeding is not easy for all parents. Infant milks for a baby under 5 months old are called in the trade: “infant formula.” These are powdered milks containing the nutrients recommended for the growth of children before dietary diversification. They are suitable for babies. as a replacement for breast milk.

For babies with stomach problems, including regurgitation, your pediatrician may recommend “AR” milks, understand “anti-regurgitation”. They are generally effective in relieving babies. Your pediatrician may also prescribe lactose-free milk for temporary treatment of acute diarrhea. Lactose-free milk should not be the subject of a regular diet.

At this age, no milk other than “infant formula” or AR milks can replace breast milk. It is important not to give vegetable milk, nor give traditional animal milk to your 1 month old baby, nor food products from the dairy section, at the risk of exposing him to significant deficiencies and risks related to food safety. strict imposed on baby food.