Getting enough?
Bottles and sterilising
How much? Newborn babies will usually have their first bottle feed within an hour or so of being born, and will generally look for a feed about 5 to 8 times in a 24 hour period, 'on demand'. As a guide, in the first few days after the birth the baby usually drinks about 60 mls per kilogram of body weight, in a 24 hour period. Therefore, if your baby is about 3.5 kgs in weight (or 3,500 grams) they may drink around 210 mls in a 24 hour period (i.e. 3.5x 60mls). Divide 210mls by about 6 feeds, and this works out to be about 35 mls per feed. If your baby is feeding more frequently than 6 feeds per day, then the amount may be less than this.
The amount of milk per feed generally slowly increases over the first week, to about 90 mls per kilogram per day, by the 2nd or 3rd day (or about 50 mls per feed for a 3.5 kg baby), to about 120 mls per kilogram by the 4th to 5th day (or about 70 mls per feed for a 3.5 kg baby), until the baby is on about 150 mls per kilogram by the 7th to 9th day after birth (or about 90 mls per feed). Again, this is a guide only, with many babies drinking anywhere from 30 to 90 mls per feed in the first week.
NOTE: Be aware that the amounts stated above are a guide only. Bottle fed babies (like breastfed babies), will drink variable amounts, with some babies needing less than this, and others needing more. Babies will also vary in how much they drink at each feed. You should feed your baby 'what they need' and not be concerned if they do not finish all the milk in the bottle. Many parents will make up the probable 'maximum amount' of milk, and then discard what the baby does not drink (so they don't have to make up another bottle if their baby is still hungry).
NEVER keep 'left over' milk from a bottle for a feed a few hours later. Bacteria from the baby's mouth can accumulate in the milk during this time.
ALWAYS give a fresh bottle of formula milk each feed and discard after 1 hour.