How Much Does Your 3 Month Old Drink of Expressed Milk?

3 months is a growth spurt time... so he could very well be hungry. When I was working, my hubby had to feed our DD bottles of expressed milk. I always nursed before leaving, and usually left one extra bottle's worth of milk in the fridge just in case she needed it. (so if I was working a 6 hour shift, there would be 3 bottles in the fridge.)

I came home one day from a 6 hour shift, (when she was about 3 months...) and I had left 3 4-oz bottles in the fridge. My DD was absolutely ravenous when I got home! After a couple days of eating double what she normally did, she settled back down into eating her 'normal' amount again.

My son was drinking 20oz apx every 2 hours from a few weeks until 10 months old. He's an outlier... but many 3month olds eat between 8-10oz per feeding. Websites and books are okay, and all, but the best ruler is your own baby. Feed them when they're hungry, stop when they're not.

Sounds like it's time to send extra, or have dad use formula

My daughter nursed 4 times a day at that age and would be satisfied with a 4 oz. bottle of breastmilk. My son, who is bigger than she was at that age (14 lbs. at 3 months), nurses 4 times daily also, but wants around 6 oz. on a bottle. Sometimes he stops around 4, but sometimes he's downed as much as 9 oz. in a feeding. I think providing Dad with some back-up milk is a great idea, but also see if Dad could be mistaking tired, gassy, diaper, etc. for hungry. If you pass on some of your soothing techniques to Dad, he'll become more confident and baby will be happier. Good luck!

It's SO hard to say since we don't know your baby or your ex. I would venture to say that up to this point, your ex has been able to just feed baby and baby is content, possibly even falling asleep. Now your son is getting older and more alert. He will need more than that from dad.

I like the idea of giving dad some frozen milk to keep on hand. Try to pump more but if you cannot, offer dad other suggestions. Ask dad to ask Grandpa for ideas. He needs to come up with his own strategies for being with HIS baby. And babies cry sometimes. Good luck!

Maybe, daddy doesn't give him the attention he needs, and that's why he cries his head off. Do you usually feed him at home during the time he's at daddy's? How many days a week does this occur? 3 hours is not too long to go without milk, but if he never spends time with daddy, it could be too long to be away from mommy.

My kids would eat 6 oz at a time (not every feeding but a few bigger feedings a day) at that age. It could be the time of day... or it could just be he wants Mommy! I know my daughter at that age wanted nothing to do with Dad for about 6 weeks. And he was a very involved, attentive father. She would scream the whole time any man held her, even Dad (poor guy). She got over it after a bit! It's hard to say why the baby is crying but maybe send a bit more milk and if the baby is still crying you know it's something else. It doesn't necessarily mean Dad is doing anything wrong, but at that age they tend to want their snuggle with their milk and baby is used to getting that from you most of the time.

When my son was 3 months he usually ate around 4oz, but once in a while he was extra hungry or not hungry at all. your son might have just wanted a little more, even .5oz might have satisfied him. I would suggest sending extra milk. Use a cooler bag designed for bottles with ice packs and send your usual 4oz bottle and another bottle that is only 2 oz. That way, the baby can drink his regular bottle, and if (and only if) he is demanding more, then daddy can give the other bottle to satisfy him. The reason behind the second bottle is that breast milk is liquid gold, especially when you are pumping. By distributing the 6 oz in 2 bottles, the baby won't contaminate the 2 oz with the bacteria from his mouth unless he will be drinking it right away. If all 6 oz was in the same bottle and he only drank 4 oz, you would have to trash that precious milk.