How to calculate the amount of milk powder for babies

As the baby continues to develop, it is necessary to supplement calcium, iron, zinc, selenium and other vitamins. Some milk powders contain these substances, so you can supplement the various nutrients needed for fetal development by drinking milk powder. However, the amount of milk powder the baby eats needs to be controlled. Let us understand how to calculate the amount of milk powder the baby eats.

When feeding an infant exclusively with formula, the amount of formula should be calculated. Here is a simple calculation method: based on the baby's weight, 500 grams of whole milk powder should be supplied for every 1 kilogram of body weight per month. If a baby weighs 6 kilograms, 3000 grams of milk powder should be supplied per month, which is approximately equivalent to 6 bags of commercially available milk powder. How to choose the type of milk powder? You can choose infant formula or whole milk powder. When you go to the store to buy milk powder, it is best to read the product instructions of the milk powder carefully.

From a medical perspective, we control the amount of milk a child drinks according to their daily water needs, calorie needs, and protein intake. The general amount of milk is 10-20 ml per kilogram of body weight.

But as a parent, there is no need to be particularly dogmatic. I suggest that parents feed according to the needs of their children as much as possible, because the capacity of a person's stomach varies greatly from birth: the capacity of a newborn baby is about 30 to 60 ml, which is twice as much. So some children may eat 20 or 30 milliliters when they are born, while some children can eat 40 or 50 milliliters on the first or second day. It’s different.

The stomach capacity of a newborn baby is very small (30~35ml for a newborn, about 100ml for 3 months, 200ml for 6 months, and 300~500ml for 1 year old), and the amount of gastric juice secretion is small. The gastric emptying time varies with the type and nature of food. For breastfeeding, the gastric emptying time is 2 to 3 hours, for milk feeding it is 3 to 4 hours, and for water it is 1 to 2 hours.

In the first few days after the baby is born, the amount of milk can be calculated based on the baby's weight per kilogram, and 100 to 200 ml should be given per day. Because milk is not easy to digest, it needs to be diluted with water. The ratio can be 4:1, 3:1, 3:2, 2:1, or 1:1. If two parts of milk are mixed with one part of water, it will be 300 (360) ml of milk + 150 (160) ml of water, with a total of 450~480 ml. Divide it into 7~8 doses, with each dose being 60~70 ml. Add 5% sugar to the milk, and increase this proportion at five and six months. From 15 days to one month old, if the digestion is normal, the baby can eat pure milk, nearly 100-150 ml per kilogram of body weight, and about 60-100 ml per meal.

The above is how to calculate the amount of milk powder a baby eats. In the beginning, you can feed the fetus some milk powder appropriately. As the baby grows older, you can increase the amount of milk powder, but it should still be moderate. Don't feed the baby too much milk powder, which may cause malnutrition.