Ages and Amounts of Formula

[Susansmum]

Hi,

My almost 7 week old dd takes about 5-5.5 oz every 3 hrs or so, but when she is full she won't take any more, she will play with it in her mouth and spit it out and gets fussy. I will burp her then offer more, sometimes she will take it, other times she won't. I just let her decide how much she needs. She isn't old enough to be impacted by how much she "should" have, she will take what she needs. It's a shame that society can't take a leaf out of the book of babies, they never worry about being to fat/thin etc...

[melisa0826]

I have been feeding my 5 week old 4 oz every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  I took him to his one month Dr. appt the other day and my Dr. told me to try to feed him every 4 hours.  Will he get the calories he needs?  Will this mess up his sleep/wake cycle?  Any suggestions?

[Rebekahb]

Hi, I would not move your babe to a four hour schedule as I di that with Nathan around 4 weeks because he was bottle fed and could go longer between feeds but then I dealt with 45min naps from about 6weeks until 4months as he was unable to stay awake for 2hours prior to his nap and could not sleep 2.5hours every sleep cycle. If your baby is eating 5ozs every 3 hours and is happy I would go with it and just increase the milk as necessary and move to a four hour schedule closer to 3.5 or 4months. HTH

[Rebekahb]

Hi, I would not move your babe to a four hour schedule as I di that with Nathan around 4 weeks because he was bottle fed and could go longer between feeds but then I dealt with 45min naps from about 6weeks until 4months as he was unable to stay awake for 2hours prior to his nap and could not sleep 2.5hours every sleep cycle. If your baby is eating 5ozs every 3 hours and is happy I would go with it and just increase the milk as necessary and move to a four hour schedule closer to 3.5 or 4months. HTH

[Carri]

I picked up a pamphlet at the clinic the other day with this information on amounts of formula per day:

4 wks 21 - 28 oz
8 wks 26 - 35 oz
12 wks 28 - 39 oz
16 wks 32 - 42 oz
20 wks 35 - 42 oz
6 to 7 months 28 - 42 oz
8 to 10 months 28 - 35 oz
10 - 12 months 25 - 32 oz

Pretty broad range eh?  See--all our babies are probably drinking a perfectly normal amount!

[mezzogirl]

i should say taht is a broad range. My ds is now almost 11mths old. we are lucky if he takes 15 ounces.  He has a 10 ounces sippy cup that he drinks throughout the day, along with a water sippy cup. THen he gets 6-8 ounces at night. However he eats a ton of solids...so i guess it just all depends on the baby.

[Carri]

That's right...the amount of formula totally depends on so many factors...the size of the baby, their appetite, the solids they are eating.  I also asked the health nurse the other day if I was feeding my son too much for solids.  She said as long as he's not constipated, don't worry.

[vanollie]

Hi, im vanessa,

I have a 4.5 month old son and he drinks 3/4 ounces of milk evry 3/4 hours he has done this from day 1 he will not take anymore i have tried everything increasing the amount, changing the milk, the teats etc. in the afternoon he always screams and he never takes his feed he should be drinking alot more that what he does drink he's only taking roughly 18/20 ounces in a da im very stressed ive been to the dcts several times and they say that he looks fine but im at the end of my tether anyone got any HELP!!!!!! :cry:

[janelle]

Hi Vanessa

I can totally relate.  My dd is 5.5 months and still will only take a miaximum of 25 ounces a day.  Quite often less.  I was really stressing about this and still do a bit even trying to force feed her :oops: Not a good idea.  I too went to see my doc about this and I have been told the same thing by many.  As long as they are putting on weight then you have no need to worry.  Your ds may just be a small eater.  Just make sure you get him weighed regularly for your own peace of mind. 

HTH

[Carri]

I had this problem too when I quit breastfeeding at 6 months.  I started feeding formula every 5 hours instead of every 3 or 4.  Although your babies are younger, perhaps try gradually increasing the time between feeds and see what happens.  As soon as I lengthened the time between feeds, ds would take a decent 8 oz bottle.  And he slept way better at night.

[socalgal]

First of all, what does dd and ds mean?  My daughter is 3 months old.  She takes 4 oz every 3-3 1/2 hours and sleeps 10 hours at night.  Yes, I am counting my blessings.  I have tried giving her 5 oz every 4 hours, but she spits a lot of it up.  Her little tummy just won't handle more than 4 oz right now.  THe most important thing is to make sure that your son is gaining weight weekly.  As long as he is gaining , then he is getting enough.

[vanollie]

hi, i finally had enough of the screaming not taking the bottles etc so ive introduced him to baby rice, rusks, jars of baby food etc and he loves it the screaming has stopped he looks like he's finally putting weight on he takes his bottles without a fuss/ still only takes 4/5 ounces but hey im happy he's happy he's only 4 months and 2 weeks but it seems that food has helped him i tried everything before that wysoy changing the teats etc
he still has the gaviscon sachets in his bottles but i feel alot more relaxed now when it comes to feeding time :lol:

[Carri]

FYI:
dd - darling daughter
ds - darling son

[Catzsz]

Thanks Mezzogirl, my dd's started to have roughly the same amount of formula as yours anywhere between 10- 18 oz, recently and youve just reasurred me!

My h/v says that past 6 + months that as long as they  a pint of formula a day to meet their nutritional requirements its fine. She also said hers didnt often have that much in a day but was fine. As long as baby is happy/healthy and of decent weight is ok.

[Rhiannons Mum]

My DD is now 4 1/2 mons and is on 4 feeds a day. She has 8oz bottles every 4hrs. She now weighs 16lb 11oz, I was a bit shocked at this but my health visitor does not seem worried at all. I think it is best to feed them when they want.