I always believe that being chubby during baby stage is the cutest thing that can happen to parents! And that's the only time that when a person is chubby, he/she will still get compliments. Imagine you are 16 years old, you are still freaking obese chubby, will those aunties continue to praise you "sooo cute!" or say mean things (behind your back, most of the times) like "wah, that kid sooo fat, need to jian fei!" or even "fat and ugly".
Feed only when hungry
Emme used to turn her head and open her mouth towards my breast when she was hungry (first 3 months). Now, she cries LOUDLY. Once the milk bottle gets into her line of sight, she will lock the target and stare hungrily, with the both hands trying to grab the bottle ambitiously. LOL.
This leads to another question "should we give babies milk on demand?"
As a mother of a "well-fed" baby, I will try to stick to a schedule of at least every 3 hours when comes to feeding Emme. As she still regurgitates after most meal, I thought it might be a better idea for her to digest longer. Regurgitation occurs because the baby is still growing his/her tummy and usually go away when he/she is 6 to 7 months old (in most cases).
BUT, to the older generation, they thought that the baby is fed well and SUPER healthy when he/she is gaining weight steadily (not when a four months baby blends into a group of nine months babies without effort!!!). SO when the baby cries, they always thought that she is hungry. If they are the ones looking after their grandchildren, they will make milk in thunder speed. And they ASSUMED that you are ill-treating the baby when you refuse to feed her the moment she cries. *frustrated*
NO, CHUBBY ≠ HEALTHY (okay, I still hope the my baby is chubby, but not overly chubby! Skinny baby makes me sad.)
Never Over-feed
Usually there are instructions printed outside the milk powder tin on the amount of water needed for each bottle and the number of scoops of powder to use. A general guideline (for babies who are not taking solid food) that I read is your baby will want between 150 to 200ml per kilogram of his/her body weight per day. Not a fixed number, just a gauge!
Emme is around 9kg. So she require 1350 to 1800ml over a period of 24 hours (almost 2 litres daily!! That explains why I need to buy one tin of milk powder almost every week, fml). She drinks about 200ml per feed. On average, she need to be fed 6 to 9 times each day, 2 to 3 hours interval. She seems to drink more after she poos though. Her sleep may be disturbed when she doesn't have enough during the day - yes, she woke up twice this week at 2am, crying for milk.
Stop when your baby is full
Although the price of milk powder is hiking, never force your baby to finish a bottle! Don't be silly, his/her appetite varies each meal, just like an normal adult! Your baby will talk you when she hasn't got enough. Emme cries immediately when the milk bottle slips out of her mouth when she is not full.
