Are Ounces Counted Before Or After Mixing Powdered Formula With Water?

 

The answer is yes; ounces are counted after mixing the water and powdered formula.  Let’s talk about why.

Calculating accurate total volume intake is important for all babies.

  • Parents need to know how much their baby consumes to be sure they are trending accurately on their growth charts.
  • If a parent is not calculating the formula mixture properly, they may unintentionally overfeed their baby, thinking they need more formula intake.
  • Babies requiring careful intake calculation, such as preemies or medically complex babies, must account for accurate caloric intake for optimal growth and development.

Regarding nutrition, infant formula and human milk have an 87 percent water content, a very important part of your baby’s diet. In a powdered formula recipe, both the water and the powdered formula contribute calories and fluids. 

Continue reading

I’m Sharing My Mindset Shifts As A Low Milk Supply Mother To Help Others

 The current breastfeeding culture instills the belief that all women can exclusively breastfeed without any acknowledgment of our biological, physical, social, and psychological abilities to exclusively breastfeed.

Auli shared with us how her mindset shifts as a low milk supply mother. She has insufficient glandular tissue, which is thought to affect up to 1 in 20 mothers.

Continue reading

Sacrificing Your Mental Health Is Not Worth It To Exclusively Breastfeed

Hopefully, my experiences will help another family avoid the psychological trauma that I endured while breastfeeding my daughter. This is what I learned:

  • Sacrificing your mental health or your baby’s health (or both!) to exclusively breastfeed is not worth it. 
  • Some breastfeeding advocates don’t see (or don’t want to see) the risks of exclusive breastfeeding which include a baby who isn’t gaining weight sufficiently, an emotionally suffering mum, or a strained mother–baby relationship.  
  • Seek help from lactation professionals who are open-minded enough to suggest combo-feeding as an option and are willing to support your choice because sometimes exclusive breastfeeding is not an option.

Continue reading

Dr. Beth Elston, Pediatrician, Shares Her Fed is Best Story and How She Supports Moms

Dr. Beth Elston is a mother and a general pediatrician. She talks about her experience as a breastfeeding mother. She talks about how breastfeeding education taught to moms and health professionals often does not fit with reality and discusses the harm caused by programs like the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. She shares her insights on how to best support mothers regardless of their ability or decision to breastfeed and how to respect mother’s decisions, including breastfeeding, formula-feeding or combo-feeding. She shares how her experience has changed how she supports her patients in their unique infant feeding journeys.

Dr. Beth Elston’s Fed is Best Interview

Feed Your Baby—When Supplementing Saves Breastfeeding and Lives

Jody Segrave-Daly, RN, MS, IBCLC

Mothers are taught that it’s rare not to produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed in nearly every breastfeeding book, mommy group, and hospital breastfeeding class. The truth is we have limited studies that provide an accurate percentage of mothers who can produce enough milk for their babies for the recommended six months. Although actual rates of adequate milk production are unknown, some estimates range from 12-15 percent or more.   

Continue reading