is this true about formula?

[Neldavi]

Does formula have more calories per ounce than breast milk?

I'm EPing for my 3 month old dd and her weight gain has slowed down. She's a very lazy eater, even from the bottle, and sometimes it's hard to get enough into her. My doctor isn't concerned about her weight yet, but did mention that formula is more calorie rich per ounce. This didn't sound right to me, is it true?

[mamatoady]

.

[mamatoady]

I actually don't think you can generalize it because the composition of mother's milk varies from person to person and it even varies within one mother as her child grows...heck, it even varies in one nursing session--getting more fat (and perhaps calories) the longer the session lasts.

are you thinking about supplementing?

Here's a chart that shows you what is in mother's milk that is not in formula--really important stuff they don't tell you about. If you're thinking about supplementing, you can decide if a few calories is worth losing out on these things. Ifound the chart in looking for supplementing with goats milk after my ds turns 1.

http://www.crohns.net/Miva/education...oatsmilk.shtml

ps...you are amazing for EP!
Sarah

[ruhbehka]

Actually, you can increase the caloric content of your own milk.

Put some in the fridge and wait for it to separate, then scrape off the "cream" and add it to her regular bottle of EBM. You can use the "cream" from several batches of pumped milk, if you have lots to spare.

More calories and better for her than formula!

[Swirly]

Originally Posted by ruhbehka

Actually, you can increase the caloric content of your own milk.

Put some in the fridge and wait for it to separate, then scrape off the "cream" and add it to her regular bottle of EBM. You can use the "cream" from several batches of pumped milk, if you have lots to spare.

More calories and better for her than formula!

Yep, we had to do that for a while when our baby was not drinking enough of my milk. It helped.

[pinky]

A couple of facts you can share with your doctor:

The calorie content of human milk increases with duration of lactation. So, the older your baby is, the higher the calorie (and fat) content of your milk.

Second, there are studies that have shown that babies require less human milk than formula to grow equally well.

I can dig up the specific references if you like; PM me.

[MaryJaneLouise]

You can also use breast compressions to force more fat into the milk;

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns..._increase.html

[Neldavi]

Originally Posted by ruhbehka

Actually, you can increase the caloric content of your own milk.

Put some in the fridge and wait for it to separate, then scrape off the "cream" and add it to her regular bottle of EBM. You can use the "cream" from several batches of pumped milk, if you have lots to spare.

More calories and better for her than formula!

That's a good idea. I did that at the very, very beginning when she was eating horribly and not doing well at all, it didn't occur to me to do it again.

I'm not considering supplementing at the moment, I just want to have my facts together if her weight continues to slow down. Obviously I know bm is the standard, the best, full of good stuff, etc. ... but this baby still has no survival instinct. I pretty much had to force feed her for a couple months, and she still needs a little help remembering to eat. It's just hard to trust her to have control over the amount she eats.

[CalebsMama05]

also remember that breastfed babies don't grow at the same rate. my ds2 gained 2 oz between 3m & 7m.

and now i'm pretty sure he's gained at LEAST a pound since his last appt (almost 2 months ago)

[quirkylayne]

You can also eat things like avocados and nuts to increase the fat in your milk.

[Sandstress]

EBM is generally thought to have 20 kcal/fluid ounce. That's what nutritional calculations are based upon. There are higher calorie formulas, especially for preemies and for certain babies who cannot tolerate lots of fluid (ie, congenital heart defects, kidney defects, etc.).

When DD was in the NICU, we pumped hindmilk (pumped for the first 5 min. into a separate bottle, and then ended up giving her just the hindmilk that came out last). We also put Neosure powder into the EBM until she was around 6 months old, which increased the EBM calorie count to 22 kcal/fl. oz. There are lots of ways to increase their intake.

In general, run of the mill formula is 20 kcal/fl. oz. So if that's all taht the pediatrician said (and not some stuff like what I've written about) then he/she was wrong, or at least grossly incomplete. What does your dd's growth chart look like?

[GooeyRN]

Its great you are willing to EP for your baby! Generally, EBM and formula have about the same amount of calories. There are additives your ped can prescribe to increase the caloric content of your EBM if necessary. Come join our EPers thread!

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...462944&page=34

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

Was your baby early? How many weeks gestation were you when you delivered? How long does it take for your dc to take a bottle? Thier is a type of bottle that Medela makes for infants/babies who have a hard time taking any type of bottle? It's called a Haberman feeder...What type of pump are you pumping with? Sorry for all the questions..but it sounds like thier are other issues...developmentally going on...or she went through a growth spurt and we need to increase your milk supply to meet the new demands that she needs....a bf baby should gain an 1/2 oz to 1 oz per day for the first 3-4 months...and wetting 6-8 diapers and having 4-6 stools...give or take 1-2 per day. She should also be taking in 8-12 feeds per day...is she doing that? Let us know and we can help you..maybe increase your supply and or getting the haberman bottle to assist with slow feeds.

[Begunda]

Gooey - What are the additives used to up the calorie content of pumped breastmilk? My DD is being treated for reflux and very low weight, and the gastroenterologist wants me to add 1 teaspoon of formula per 3 oz of breastmilk. It raises the calorie content by 20%. I'm disappointed to be using formula, but DD does need the calories - she's been gaining and losing the same 1 pound since December. Happily, we only have to do this with the bottles she normally gets at daycare and I can breastfeed her the rest of the time.

[Pookietooth]

I think formula is just harder to digest so babies drink more of it, thus increasing their calorie count.

[elanorh]

You know, I think on average, breastmilk is higher in calories than formula is - at least, that's the nutrition information on Kellymom (I think they put it at 2 calories more for breastmilk than formula).

[2 in August]

Originally Posted by Begunda

Gooey - What are the additives used to up the calorie content of pumped breastmilk? My DD is being treated for reflux and very low weight, and the gastroenterologist wants me to add 1 teaspoon of formula per 3 oz of breastmilk. It raises the calorie content by 20%. I'm disappointed to be using formula, but DD does need the calories - she's been gaining and losing the same 1 pound since December. Happily, we only have to do this with the bottles she normally gets at daycare and I can breastfeed her the rest of the time.

Hi not GooeyRn but, my ped gave me an rx for breast milk fortifier. It is basically a sort of formula that you add to bm to give it more calories. I had a couple problems. 1st, no pharmacy carries it, because 2nd hardly any insurance covers it and 3rd, it is amazingly expensive. WIC will cover it if you have a low birth weight preemie and meet their $ guidelines, but ds was just a slow gainer not a tiny preemie. Wic did have guidelines for just adding formula in small amts like you are talking about to increase the calorie consumption. However, normally reconstituted formula and "avg" bm are both said to be 20 cal.

hth, jen

[Neldavi]

Originally Posted by GooeyRN

Its great you are willing to EP for your baby! Generally, EBM and formula have about the same amount of calories. There are additives your ped can prescribe to increase the caloric content of your EBM if necessary. Come join our EPers thread!

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...462944&page=34

I did . I only posted a couple of times ... I lurk a lot. Congrats on being preggers ..

[Neldavi]

Originally Posted by Mamato3wild ponnie

Was your baby early? How many weeks gestation were you when you delivered? How long does it take for your dc to take a bottle? Thier is a type of bottle that Medela makes for infants/babies who have a hard time taking any type of bottle? It's called a Haberman feeder...What type of pump are you pumping with? Sorry for all the questions..but it sounds like thier are other issues...developmentally going on...or she went through a growth spurt and we need to increase your milk supply to meet the new demands that she needs....a bf baby should gain an 1/2 oz to 1 oz per day for the first 3-4 months...and wetting 6-8 diapers and having 4-6 stools...give or take 1-2 per day. She should also be taking in 8-12 feeds per day...is she doing that? Let us know and we can help you..maybe increase your supply and or getting the haberman bottle to assist with slow feeds.

She was 5 weeks early. The most she's ever eaten at a time is 3 oz. 2 or even 1 or 1 and a half is more typical. I haven't really timed her. She just eats little bits throughout the day, I give her as much as she wants. I'll look into the Haberman if she gets worse with the bottle. I have been working with a speech pathologist/craniosacral therapist on her sucking issues. I have a PIS and my supply is good (50 oz. per day), it's just that I freeze about half of it.

Her weight gain was at least an ounce a day until the past few weeks where it's been 5 oz. a week, then just barely 2 oz. this past week. She's over 3 months now so it could be that she's just naturally slowing down. I'm just thinking ahead in case it becomes a problem.

I've been skimming the cream on my excess milk this week and giving it to her, I'll see if that seems to help.