Can a baby eat too much formula at one time?

[helene_schulte]

My 5 month old boy eats roughly 32 oz of formula in 24 hours, and has solids once a day at dinner time.  His eating has been kind of messed up, so I've slowly been trying to get him to eat during the day instead of night time....for the first time last night I only offered him a partial bottle at 4 am, and so he actually ate a fair amount by 9:30 am (in the past I couldn't get him to eat anything before noon).  The day went alright, better than usual, he would only eat about 5oz at a time (he usually eats 7), however by supper time he had only drank 15oz....then at 8:30 he drank 11 oz, and then at 10:30 he drank 6 more.  so all of a sudden he's at his 32 oz's.  Tonight I will try not to feed him during the night, because I know he ate enough today already, but is that normal to eat that much in that short of time??? :shock:

[caljaccol]

Here is a really good link that I found:

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/formulafeed/9136.html

Multiply your baby's weight times 2.5 ounces of formula
If your baby isn't eating any solids (and he shouldn't be before 4 to 6 months of age), the general rule of thumb for formula amounts is 2.5 ounces per pound of body weight. So if your baby weighs 6 pounds, he should consume about 15 ounces of formula in a 24-hour period; if he weighs 10 pounds, he should have 25 ounces in a 24-hour period.

Keep in mind that these are general guidelines; your pediatrician should advise you about suitable amounts for your baby as he grows.

My dd was drinking about that much at that age too

[Deb_in_oz]

in the example you gave he was making up for calories since he had taken 5 instead of 7 oz...at several feeds

Olivia is 8 mo and has been unwell the past couple of days refusing breakfast and dinner solids.  bedtime bottle is usually her best bottle of the day anyway, but because she is refusing dinner she is really hungry by 6-6:30pm so we have offered bottle at 6:30, then bath at 6:45, then top up bottle at 7 or so and in that 45 min she has taken 12 oz!! when normal for her bedtime is 6-8oz, her body knows what it needs so we adjusted based on the circumstances.

now if he was eating 11oz every 4 hours i woudl say he needed to increase his solids, but in the scenario you gave i think it is fine.