Many mothers ask themselves this question. Even seasoned mothers ask themselves this question! It’s easy to forget how much milk your baby needs between the sleepless nights, high demands, and time that laps between one baby and the next. First time moms don’t automatically know how much milk their baby is supposed to have! Breastfeeding truly is a learning experience! If you find yourself asking the question, “How much milk does baby need?” don’t feel bad about it. You’re in good company, and in this article, you will learn how much milk your baby needs between the first 24 hours and 7 days of life. Are you ready? Let’s get to it!
Colostrum: The First “Milk” From Mom
When a baby is first born, how much milk do they need? Actually, during this time, the baby will receive what’s called colostrum, or “liquid gold” from the mother. Colostrum is thick, yellow and the first “milk” produced by mom. It’s dense in fat and nutrients that gives your baby the energy boost they need after the exhausting work of being birthed. Colostrum also is high in protein, which helps your baby start to grow! Additionally, colostrum is loaded with antibodies from the mother. This helps build the baby’s immune system, which they don’t have yet right after birth.
How Much Colostrum Does Baby Need?
When your baby is first born, do you know how large (or small) their stomachs are? Your infant’s stomach is about the size of a marble! How much do you think that can hold? Not a lot. However, that’s ok because your body will make exactly what your baby needs.
When many mothers nurse for the first time, they worry that they are not producing enough breastmilk. To be correct, your body will not produce true breast “milk” until about 48 hours after baby’s born. Again, this will meet your baby’s growing needs when they need it. But when the mother does not hear a lot of milky sounds, or does not see milk leaking from baby’s mouth or even in baby’s mouth, she may start to worry.
This brings me to my favorite saying – Knowledge is power! The more you understand a topic, the more power and control you have over that subject in your life. For example, the more you as a breastfeeding mother understand about your baby’s nutritional needs, and how your body meets that perfectly in the milk you produce within baby’s first week of life, the more confident you will be in making clear, confident decisions over that part of your life.
Knowledge Is Power! The more you understand a topic, the more power and control you have over that subject in your life.
During the first 24-48 hours of life, your newborn only needs 1 teaspoon of colostrum every 2 hours! One teaspoon is about what will fit inside of a marble. Over the course of one day, your baby is drinking about 1 ounce of colostrum! That may not sound like a lot, but your baby doesn’t need more than that until they grow. Your body will change the amount of breastmilk you produce to meet your baby’s needs.
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What To Expect Days 2-7 Of Breastfeeding
Around 48 hours after giving birth, your colostrum will transition slowly into breastmilk. This is to meet your baby’s growing needs of needing more water for hydration as well as fat and proteins for bodily growth.
Your body is designed in an amazing way to be able to naturally transition your breastmilk from colostrum to breastmilk for your baby. Don’t be worried when you see changes happening to your breastmilk. This is natural and good for your baby.
Baby Needs More Than 1oz Of Colostrum Every Day
Your baby will slowly drink more from you every day. As they grow, they will need more. As a result, they will drink more.
What will they need on day 2? We know that on day 1 baby is drinking only about 1oz of colostrum per day. This is about 1 teaspoon per feeding. By day 2, baby should be drinking about 3 teaspoons per feeding. That’s more than doubled from day 1!
By day 3, baby should drink about 2 tablespoons of milk per feeding, and by day 7, baby will be drinking about 3.5 tablespoons per feeding.
But I Still Have Questions!
You may be thinking, “Awesome! That answers one of my thousands of questions I have regarding breastfeeding! But I still have questions I want answers to.”
Perhaps you are asking yourself:
How will I know if my baby is satisfied or well hydrated?
What are the signs of dehydration in a baby?
How do I know if my baby is latched on correctly?
How much milk will my baby need at 2 weeks? 2 months? 10 months?
What can I do to boost my milk supply?
How long should baby nurse?
Can I prevent and treat engorgement and mastitis?
What should I do if I feel overwhelmed with breastfeeding challenges?
My first piece of advice is don’t feel guilty for having questions. Breastfeeding is a learning journey and can be very challenging.
Secondly, please take advantage of my free class on how to naturally boost your breastmilk supply! Supply is probably the #1 challenge I hear about among breastfeeding mothers. Get ahead of the game and save yourself some stress by taking my free class!
Finally, I want to encourage you to take the Breastfeeding Accelerator Course! The questions listed above (and more!) are answered within this course. It is designed to equip you with answers to common breastfeeding challenges so you can spend more time enjoying your baby and your breastfeeding journey instead of stressing and wasting your time searching for answers online, in books, etc.
If you take my free class above, you will be given a discount on the Breastfeeding Accelerator Course! So please take the free class to enjoy that discount!
Click the button below to see how the Breastfeeding Accelerator Course will benefit you, what the lessons contain, and to learn more about the course!
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