Expressing & Bottle Feeding
How much EBM to give my baby while I’m away?
Feb
How much EBM to give my baby while I’m away?
It is hard to estimate how much EBM to give your baby from a bottle when they are normally breastfed. There are many variants that can affect the amount of milk that your baby takes at a feed.
Quick Guide to calculate EBM feeds
Here is a quick guide to help you calculate an amount to feed your baby. For more detailed information on factors that you could consider when leaving EBM for your baby, you can visit this article here.
nanobabe Breastmilk Bottles mimic the shape of the breast and feel more natural to your breastfed baby when feeding EBM.
Why we love the nanobebe Breastmilk Bottle for feeding EBM
- Shaped like a breast so its familiar to your bub.
- Warms 2-3 times faster than regular bottles.
- Unique shape allows baby to feed themselves when old enough.
- Pump directly into bottle with the breast pump adapter.
- Stackable – keep the oldest milk on top.
EBM amounts for exclusively breastfed babies
An exclusively breastfed baby takes an average of 800 mls per day* between the ages of one month and six months.
To roughly estimate how much milk to leave for a single feed, divide this total figure by the number of feeds your baby has per day (24 hours).
For example, if your baby has 8 feeds a day, you would divide 800 mls by 8 feeds, which gives you a calculation of 100 mls per bottle. If your baby feeds 6 times per day, your calculation would be 134 mls, or 67 mls if your baby has 12 feeds a day.
If you notice that your baby has a bigger feed at the time of day you will be leaving them, then you can adjust the feed and leave a slightly larger amount, or vice versa for a small feed.
Some babies will feed more from a bottle or from a carer than they do with their mum. Others might refuse to feed altogether.
It gets easier
Over time it will become easier to work out how much milk to leave for your baby. If you are concerned, leave an extra feed with the carer for your baby just in case they want more.
Don’t forget that when you are away from your baby you might need to express milk either to keep up your supply or to prevent engorgement or leakage.
*Source: Australian Breastfeeding Association
