How to judge the amount of milk for breastfeeding babies? Mothers should remember to drink more milk

Babies never stop drinking milk, and sometimes they spit out milk while drinking. How can you tell if your baby is full? Here, the editor of No. 5.com will show you how breastfeeding babies can tell how much milk they have had. Mothers should remember to drink more milk.

How to judge the amount of milk for breastfeeding babies

Every time I mention that babies need to drink enough milk, many mothers will leave messages asking me, how should breastfeeding babies judge the amount of milk? Although my baby is breastfed, I think my method is a stupid way to judge the amount of breast milk, so it is for reference only. I will let the baby suck out all the milk first, and then use a breast pump to suck out the milk three hours later to calculate the amount of milk, and then multiply this by the number of times the baby drinks milk in a day to calculate the approximate amount of milk for the baby. But in fact, if the baby actually sucks milk, it will be emptier than the breast pump, so the actual amount of milk will increase a little more on this basis. However, the calcium content of breast milk is more difficult to measure, because it has a lot to do with the nutrition of the breastfeeding mother, so breastfeeding mothers must remember to drink more milk to supplement calcium.

What to do if your breastfed baby refuses to accept formula milk

"I don't have enough milk and my baby doesn't like to drink milk powder. What should I do?" In fact, this problem once bothered me, because when my baby was 6 months old, I had to end my maternity leave and go back to work, but my baby refused to accept the bottle, no matter it was refrigerated breast milk or prepared milk powder, the baby would not drink it.

Although it seems like a very small thing when I look back now, but at that time I was trying a new method almost every day to solve this problem. The following methods have shown initial results, so I would like to share them with you.

Try to change someone else to feed the baby. If the mother is still feeding the baby with a bottle, the baby will think, "Why doesn't mommy let me drink milk? What is this thing in my mouth?" and will therefore be more resistant.

Use a liquid thermometer to measure the temperature of the prepared milk powder to make the temperature of the milk powder closer to the temperature of breast milk.

Make the formula milk a little lighter, or switch to a lighter brand of milk powder, and try to keep the taste consistent with breast milk.

Because babies are easily confused by pacifiers, I simply use an open cup to feed them. When they are about 8 months old, I will occasionally try to use an open cup to drink water and milk. However, this method may not be suitable for every baby. It is recommended to try it after ensuring that the baby will not choke.

How to supplement calcium for babies over one year old

Babies over one year old should be guaranteed 350ml-500ml of milk every day. Xiaosi’s mother recommends that you try to let your baby reach more than 500ml of milk to ensure the baby’s calcium needs.

Babies aged 6-12 months need 400 mg of calcium per day; babies aged 1-4 years need 600 mg of calcium per day. Milk intake has decreased, but the demand for calcium has increased, which means that calcium supplementation is not only achieved by drinking milk, but also by eating other calcium-supplementing foods every day.

In addition to the yogurt I mentioned before, you can also add dried shrimps, cheese, and tofu to your baby’s daily menu.

Benefits of Breastfeeding

1. Breastfeeding mothers recover faster after childbirth

The baby's repeated sucking prompts the mother's pituitary gland to release oxytocin, which can quickly secrete milk, induce the milk ejection reflex, and cause uterine contractions. This can prevent postpartum hemorrhage to a certain extent and promote the uterus to return to a non-pregnant state.

2. Breastfeeding can be a "contraceptive"

Breastfeeding mothers experience a significant delay in the onset of their periods (Lawrence and Lawrence, 1999). Without periods, there is no ovulation (there are very rare cases where ovulation occurs without bleeding). Therefore, breastfeeding is also known as the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM), which is a well-documented method of contraception.

But exclusive breastfeeding = contraception, three conditions must be met at the same time:

1) The child is less than 6 months old;

2) The mother still has not had her period;

3) The mother strictly follows the policy of exclusive breastfeeding on demand, which means breastfeeding both during the day and at night.

Note: No contraceptive method is 100% effective, so it is better to be cautious.

3. Breastfeeding mothers are more likely to lose weight

You will consume 200~500 calories by breastfeeding for a day! It is equivalent to swimming for an hour or riding a bicycle uphill for an hour. And you only need to lie down/sit with your baby on your chest to consume the calories.

4. Prevent gestational diabetes

Mothers who have type 1 diabetes before pregnancy, or who develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy, should insist on breastfeeding, because less insulin is needed during breastfeeding and their blood sugar levels will drop. As long as they control their diet and insist on breastfeeding, their weight will be significantly reduced and the risk of subsequent diabetes will be reduced.