You may have spent the past weeks or months pumping breastmilk for your baby, rather than actually breastfeeding. Or your baby may have been taking formula through a tube. You may have noticed how each drop of breastmilk or formula is measured. Having to provide all the nourishment for your baby may seem like a huge responsibility. How will you know if he's getting enough?

Rest assured. All parents worry whether their baby is getting enough to eat and whether or not the baby is growing properly. Parents of ill or premature infants may worry even more. 

Remember: Your baby will not be discharged until he is eating regularly and growing steadily. You are very capable of feeding your baby and taking care of his needs. You and your baby will work together as a team.

You will soon get to know your baby's eating habits. Often a baby's appetite will go up and down during the day. Some babies are hungrier in the morning than in the afternoon or evening. Others are hungrier at night.

Your baby should eat a specific amount of food over a 24-hour period. Your baby's health care provider will tell you how much. But he doesn't have to eat a certain amount at each feeding.

Young babies eat often: eight to ten times a day. As your baby gets older and grows:

• The number of feedings per day will decrease

• The amount your baby takes at each feeding will increase

Each baby is different. Your baby's health care provider will watch your baby's growth. He or she will tell you if you need to change something you're doing or change how often your baby eats.

For more information, read Breastfeeding Your Baby, Feeding Your Baby with Formula, and Tube-Feeding.

September 2007