Little Roo Lactation and Wellness

Helpful info to know! Breastfed babies don’t feed the same typically as formula fed bottle babies! This explains why!

🍼 HOW MUCH MILK DOES A BABY ACTUALLY NEED?

One of the most common questions parents ask is, “How many ounces should my baby be drinking?”

The answer is a little different than most people expect.

Babies are not born needing large volumes of milk. Their intake gradually increases over the first couple of weeks as their stomach capacity grows, milk production increases, and feeding skills mature.

In the early days, colostrum is produced in small amounts because small amounts are exactly what newborns need.

📌 Easy Reference Guide

• Day 1: 2-10 mL per feeding (about ½-2 teaspoons)
• Day 2: 5-15 mL per feeding
• Day 3: 15-30 mL per feeding (½-1 ounce)
• Day 4: 30-60 mL per feeding (1-2 ounces)
• Day 5-7: 45-75 mL per feeding (1½-2½ ounces)
• Week 2: Most babies are taking approximately 2-3 ounces per feeding

After the first couple of weeks, a helpful estimate is:

✨ 2.5 ounces per pound of body weight per 24 hours ✨

For example:

• 6 lb baby = about 15 oz/day
• 8 lb baby = about 20 oz/day
• 10 lb baby = about 25 oz/day
• 12 lb baby = about 30 oz/day

Once babies reach approximately 12 pounds, something interesting happens.

Unlike formula-fed babies, breastfed babies do not continue increasing milk intake month after month. Human milk changes in composition over time, becoming more calorie-dense and developmentally appropriate for the growing baby.

As a result, most exclusively breastfed babies will continue taking approximately:

🥛 25-30 ounces in 24 hours

from about 1 month of age until around their first birthday.

Read that again.

A 2-month-old and an 8-month-old often consume very similar total milk volumes over 24 hours.

This is one reason why parents who pump are often surprised when daycare asks for larger and larger bottles. Bigger babies do not necessarily need dramatically more breast milk.

Instead of increasing total daily intake, babies usually become more efficient feeders, may consume larger volumes per feeding, and eventually begin getting calories from complementary foods.

Around 6 months, solid foods are introduced, but breast milk remains the primary source of nutrition. As solids gradually increase throughout the second half of the first year, milk intake slowly begins to decrease.

A typical pattern looks like this:

• Birth to 6 months: Milk is essentially 100% of nutrition
• 6-9 months: Solids are for learning and exploration, with milk still doing most of the nutritional heavy lifting
• 9-12 months: Solids begin contributing more calories, and milk intake may slowly decrease
• After 12 months: Milk intake often continues to decline as table foods become the primary source of nutrition

Of course, babies are not robots. Some days they snack. Some days they binge. Growth spurts, illness, teething, developmental leaps, and activity levels can all affect intake.

The most important things to watch are growth, diaper output, developmental progress, and overall feeding satisfaction rather than focusing on a single bottle volume.

Your baby doesn’t read feeding charts. They simply eat the amount their body needs ❤️

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYQZ1tmparM/?igsh=MXRkaGZjOWlhZzZuMw==

Airway sounds are important!

Thank you to the family that shares this video. This is a perfect example of grunting that anyone who works with babies should know. The baby is closing their glottis to try and create PEEP to keep the alveoli open and improve oxygen exchange. We can see it in things like transient tachypnea of the newborn, RDS, pneumonia, and pneumothorax. Babies make all sorts of noises, but this is one of those noises that should warrant an evaluation by the pediatrician or NICU team #newborn #baby #pediatrician #nicu #pregnancy

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYsfNJpBHDV/?igsh=MWpxd2o1cjdpYXpkNA==
These are great videos to share on spoon, cup and syringe feeding

Did you know babies can use an open cup from birth? And did you know there are several ways to supplement a baby besides a bottle? Two Cochrane reviews found that preterm infants randomized to cup feeding (vs. bottle feeding) were significantly more likely to be fully breastfed at discharge. 👍 Pro tip: If supplementation is needed at birth, using methods like cup feeding instead of a bottle may help prevent flow preference and support a successful breastfeeding relationship. Benefits of cup feeding: ✅ Allows tongue movement similar to the suckling reflex used during breastfeeding ✅ Lets babies pace their own feeding Here are La Leche League’s tips for cup feeding: 👉 Sit your awake baby upright on your lap, supporting their neck and shoulders with your arm or hand. 👉 Place the rim of the cup on your baby’s lower lip and tilt it until the milk reaches their lip. Your baby will explore the liquid with their tongue and begin to lap or sip the milk. The first few attempts may take a few minutes. 👉 Don’t pour the milk into your baby’s mouth. Keep the cup resting at their lower lip and allow them to pause and rest as needed. 👉 Your baby will let you know when they’re finished by turning away or showing other feeding cues. 👉 Try practicing with another adult first to get comfortable with the angle and flow of the liquid. Have you heard of cup feeding or tried it before?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYt-i2QpDIw/?igsh=ZHVhMzZzNzVieHV4

Reach out if you need an oral
Functional feeding assessment!
I see these get missed all the time-

“But they can stick their tongue out…” The most common line I hear parents are told and why so many tongue ties get missed! I seriously don’t understand where sticking the tongue out assessment came from. I mean, how is that relevant to breast or bottle feeding? And why are we not also focusing on all the other movements the tongue can make? Your baby drinking milk from the breast or bottle isn’t the same as a child licking an ice cream cone! Babies don’t need their tongue sticking far OUT past their lips to feed effectively. Instead, during milk feeds the tongue needs to: 👅 Extend just over the lower gumline 👅 Cup and seal around the breast or teat 👅 Lift toward the palate 👅 Create a wave-like motion to move milk efficiently and backwards for safe swallowing. So some babies CAN and will poke their tongue out…but still struggling with the tongue movements that actually matter during feeding. When this begins to happen, the tongue can’t function efficiently and babies will compensate. That compensation can look like: 👉🏻Clicking during feeds 👉🏻Reflux and trapped wind 👉🏻Coming off the breast often 👉🏻Shallow latch or painful feeding 👉🏻Feeding all the time but never seeming settled 👉🏻Neck, jaw or body tension 👉🏻Swallowing a LOT of air 👉🏻Easier to latch or feed in one position or on one side at the breast more than the other Babies don’t simply “grow out” of tongue ties… they grow INTO the compensations and we see this with solids, breathing, sleeping, digestion and so much more. This is exactly why I created The Gentle Guide to Tongue Ties. Inside the guide, I explain: 📖What tongue ties actually look like functionally 📖Why symptoms like reflux, clicking and unsettled feeding happen 📖How babies compensate when feeding feels difficult 📖Practical ways to better support your baby depending on their compensation patterns 📖What to expect before and after a release 📖How feeding, sleep, tension and oral function are often connected 👉 Comment GUIDE if you’re tired of hearing “everything looks fine” when it doesn’t feel right and I’ll send you the exact guide that helps you connect the dots between ties, reflux & feeding struggles!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYiY8uHvgk4/?igsh=MWs0ZGN2cWFhZ2pjeQ==

I talk about this a lot with my tongue tied babies and mamas. Sweet Evie went through this as well- reach out for a functional feeding exam if you hear your baby “squeaking” with swallows, breast or bottle feeding-

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYTXTVGThtl/?igsh=ZHVpa3B2eTF5YmZv

Laryngomalacia isn’t a “wait and see” diagnosis. When it’s dismissed instead of understood, it can set the stage for reflux, disrupted sleep, recurrent ENT infections, and a very unsettled baby. If your baby has squeaky or noisy breathing, it’s worth looking at what’s driving it. Comment or DM me the word “TOTS”, and I’ll send you a free mini-resource to help you make sense of your baby’s breathing — and what to do next. 💛 Summer (Paediatric SLP, Infant Reflux Expert, and Infant Reflux Practitioner) #laryngomalacia #refluxbaby #colicbaby #silentreflux #newborn tongue tied new baby feeding therapist new mum Disclaimer: this post is not medical advice and should not replace the advice of your care team.