Feeding Your Newborn: Tips for Parents
If you're pregnant, you've been thinking about whether to bottle feed your newborn or breasfeed. It's almost impossible to ask for advice online or in your birth classes because there's so much judgement involved in how women choose to feed their baby.
As a nurse and birth worker, I know the benefits of breastfeeding for both a baby and a mom. However, as a woman who's had 4 babies, I know that it comes with challenges. And when I say "challenges", I mean that you may choose to bottlefeed because you're on the 3rd month of no sleep.
I totally get you and I certainly don't judge you.
When you're faced with a decision, you need information NOT opinions.
Breastfeeding Resources
If you're a mom who really wants to breastfeed successfully, I've included some links to great resources below:
Breastfeeding Inc. (Dr Jack Newman)
Breastfeeding Answers from La Leche League
(RELATED: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY LATCH YOUR BABY IN THE FIRST 48 HOURS)
How Much Breast Milk Should Your Newborn Eat?
Sometimes you may want to pump breastmilk and have someone bottle or cup feed it to your baby. I mean, you know your newborn's breastfeeding schedule but your breasts aren't see-through so it's hard to know how much the baby is getting.
CLICK TO BE TAKEN TO THE BREAST MILK CALCULATOR.
Formula Feeding Resources
If you're a mom who can't breastfeed or if you just choose not to, here are some great resources for formula feeding:
Kidshealth- Bottle vs Breast Feeding
Infant Formula- What You Need to Know
Throw Away Your Feeding Charts- I've Got You Covered!
How Much Formula You Should be Giving Your Newborn
When you go home with your newborn, you are expected to know so much. But formula feeding your baby shouldn't require a mathematics degree. I've created the formula feeding calculator below so you can get an idea of how much the average baby is eating in a day.
How to Use the Formula Feeding Calculator:
1) Enter your baby's weight in POUNDS
2) Note the total amount of ounces your baby should be eating in a DAY.
3) Divide that number by the number of feedings your baby typically has in a day and feed accordingly.
Every baby is different. Some will eat more and some will eat less. Some will want to eat 8 times a day, and some 12. It's up to you to decide how often your baby feeds based on their habits. And these habits will change so you can always check back in on the calculator frequently! (Bookmark this page.)
Formula Feeding Tip
When your baby is under a month old, you may want to feed your newborn smaller amounts more frequently to avoid tummy troubles.
To do this: divide the total daily ounces of formula by 10 instead of 8.
As your baby gets older and can tolerate bigger feedings, divide the total daily amount by 8 or 9.
I encourage all moms to stop for a minute and block out the sound of everyone else’s opinions about how you should feed your baby. When you take away all the background noise, what do you hear? If you listen closely enough, your intuitive mom voice can be heard loud and clear. It’s that little voice that starts during pregnancy and just develops over time. Eventually, you’re so in tune your kids think you really do have eyes in the back of your head.
There really is nothing more powerful than a mom making a decision that empowers her as a parent and as a woman.
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Hey there, I’m Joanne.
I’ve spent about 20 years serving women as a nurse, doula and Lamaze educator. I have 4 kids and I know firsthand how lonely and isolating motherhood can be, so I created MamaSoup. I'm mostly known for my love of red wine, spontaneously singing and my confidence in being my true self on social media. When I’m not busy building women up, you can catch me taking Instagram stories of my bulldog Ruby, watching The Handmaid’s Tale, playing MUber (Mom Uber) to my kids or vacationing in my favourite town: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
I love serving the world by providing a space for moms to connect and support each other. In my opinion, moms are the backbone of communities because they are (literally) raising the future!
As the founder and CEO of MamaSoup, I’ve been featured on CHEX TV Morning Show, KawarthaNOW, Economic Development- The City of Kawartha Lakes and MyKawartha.
Still with me? Join me over at MamaSoup to keep the conversation going!
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