Ages and Amounts of Formula

[adle]

Hi
I am new here. I have 11/5 weeks old dd. I feed her my milk that I pump. She is 10lb. How much shuold she eat per day? and maybe this belong somewhere else but can i bring her to feeding every 4 hours? and how to do this if yes?

[* Paula *]

Hi Adle,

Welcome to the BW boards.  It is difficult to say how much milk your lo should be getting with BM as they can take more on a breast feed than you can actually pump - might be worth popping on to the Breast Feeding Boards for more advice there.

With regards to moving your lo onto feeding every 4 hours, I would suggest keeping her on a 3 hourly feed at this age.  She is still very young, and needs to eat quite often, as well as at such a young age, she would probably not be able to handle the activity times.

HTH's

Paula

[Beccas Mummy]

This has been very interesting to read.  I've been a little worried about my LO's feeding.  She's only been taking 2oz at the morning feed at around 8am then another 2oz at about 11 then she'll go until about 12 for which she'll only have about 4oz then she'll go through until about 3-4 which she'll have about 4 oz then she'll have a bath at 6pm then bottle of 4-5oz.  She's then in bed so I'm keeping up the dreamfeed at 11pm of which she really enjoys and the majority of the time she takes 4-5oz.  I just don't think she's a particularly hungry baby at the moment.  I'm going to get in contact with my health visitor after the weekend just to make sure I haven't got anything to worry about.  Has anyone else had a similar experience?

P.S.  My LO is 12 weeks old

[bubbasmomma]

My lo is almost 7 mo, and she still only eats up to 24 oz in a day. Even now with solids, she eats the same formula, just a couple of tsp of solids morning and night.  She has always eaten less than is normal for her age.  I would just keep track that your lo is growing steadily and healthy at each of her visits.  What a pretty gal! 

[shanlbc]

My DS will take anywhere from 4.5 to 6oz at each feed.  I had been BF but he was not gaining weight--so we started supplementing and he decided to stop nursing!  Anyhow, I was shocked how much he would take...but it did the trick.  He gained 2 lbs in 12 days when we started formula.  He will be 12 wks old on Wed.

[* Paula *]

Beccas Mummy, it does sound quite normal for lo's so young to take small amounts.  Out of curiosity, what size teat are you using on your DD's bottle?  Do you think that the flow could be a bit slow for her and that she may be ready for a faster flow teat - with a faster flow you may find that she takes a bit more per feeding as she does not have to suck as hard.

You could always try a faster flow and if your DD splutters and does not take to it too well, you could always go back to the slower flow.

HTH's

Paula

[mrssibbe]

I was in to see a pediatrician for the first time yesterday and was scolded for feeding my 5 month old too much.  She eats 3 to 4 oz every 2 1/2 to 3 hours with one feed in the middle of the night.  He said that was way too much for a five month old and I need to stretch the time between feedings to 3 1/2 to 4 hours.  I only feed her when she acts hungry, so I'm not sure how to try stretching it unless I listen to her cry for over an hour.  I've tried to do other things to keep her mind off of it, but they don't seem to work when she is very hungry.  I've fed her a bit of rice cereal in the past week, but the pediatrician said I needed to stop that until she was six months old.  After reading your other posts, I'm not sure if I just got a picky pediatrician or if I am seriously doing things wrong.

[mayas-mama]

my 5mo went from 6 oz bottles to 3-5oz every feeding.  she's on a four hour easy... kinda. she's spirited and tough to nap, and when she does, it could last anywhere from 20-50min.  she's also been getting 2Tb of rice cereal twice a day right before her bottle at 10am and 6pm (for the last month).  I was going to ween off her dreamfeed and managed to successfully, but this didn't increase  her daytime feeds, so we started it back up again. she's still not getting more than 25 oz from the bottle and 4 Tb of rice cereal.  She seems very uninterested in her bottles after a couple of ounces.  Should I be worried?

[* Paula *]

Mrs Ribble - sorry for the delay in replying to you.

I do agree with your Ped that at 5 months, your lo should be going at least 3.5 hour to more 4 hours between feeds - you will probably find that this is when she will start taking more per feed and actually go longer.  At the moment she is currently snacking and you need to get her out of that habit.  I would try watering her middle of the night feed down first and this should hopefully make her more hungry in the morning for her to take a bigger feed.

Mayas - mama - At this age I would hold off on the rice cereal, until your lo is taking in more milk.  At this age their milk is the main source of nutrician, and you don't want to be replacing he milk with empty calories which is what the rice cereal is.

She could be uninterested in her milk for a number of reasons.

1.  Filling up on rice cereal
2.  Bored with the flow of her teat and may be ready for a faster flow
3.  May be ready to stick to 4 hours between feeds.

HTH's

Paula

I do agree with regards to starting solids, the guideline is to start them at 6 months old as they still have very small and sensitive tummies, and it can end up causing loads of problems, i.e. constipation etc.

[shanlbc]

Tom Tom's Mum--I am interested in what you said about lo's getting bored and needing a faster nipple...as well as watering down the middle of the night feed.

My 4mo old DS takes about 30oz per day but wants a good part of it at night.  This is not a number I have made up...I have tracked his feedings for a long time and he always manages to get 30oz.  We are on a 4hr EASY and he is doing great with naps, etc., but he is not interested in eating in the morning.  He only takes 3.5-4oz at the 7am bottle, 4oz at the 11am bottle, 5.5-7oz at the 3pm and 7pm bottles and about 4oz at the dream feed.  This leaves him at a deficit that he makes up during the middle of the night, sometimes at 2am as well as 530am.  We moved him to a 4hr EASY in hopes of getting him to take more at his bottles...it worked fairly well, he had been taking 2.5 to 3oz on a 3hr EASY.  BTW, he does MUCH better with naps on the 4hr EASY and can handle the A time very well.

I have been saying to DH that DS seems bored with his bottles.  We have to really work to get him to eat more than 3oz, new positions, walking around, going outside for a few minutes.  If we don't do this, he gets hungry again in 2 hrs and we have to feed to sleep right before nap.  He is very hungry for his bottle when he wakes from his nap, but doesn't really seem to care after a few oz.  Do you think a faster nipple would make him more interested?

What about watering down the MON feed?  What ratio of water to formula do you use?  I tried last night just giving him 3oz at 2am and he woke again at 530 hungry.  I only gave him 1oz at 530 but he still wouldn't take more than 4oz at 7am.  He used to go five and sometimes 6hrs at night but now he is in pattern of waking every 3-3.5 hrs at night.  I can't get him to stop this if he won't take more during the day...and he flat out refuses the bottle when he is done.  He tightens his lips, pushes his tounge out and arches his back.   

Thanks so much for your feedback!

[* Paula *]

I definitely think it would be worthwhile trying a faster flow teat.  My DS never went by the age guidelines on the teats, and was on the fastest flow by the age of 4 months.  When he wanted his milk, he wanted it now, and did not want to work hard for it. 

The only thing I can suggest is give it a try.  They will not be a waste of money if he is not ready for them yet, as you will always be able to use them at a later stage.

When trying him with the faster flow nipple, I would hold him a little more upright than usual just until he gets used to the flow, and does not splutter.  It may take him a few feeds to get used to the flow.  If you find that more milk is flowing out of his mouth than going down his throat then you know he is not ready for them.

With regards to watering down the feeds at night, I would go by half, so if you are using 4oz water and 4 scoops, I would keep the 4oz water, and just put in 2 scoops and see how you get on.

I can see why your lo would not be hungry for his morning bottle with having a feed at 5:30am in the morning.

In order to get a few extra oz into your lo, you could also try a cluster feed at about 5pm, to see if your lo would take any more - you may have tried this though.

If it is the teat that was causing the problem, you will soon start to see results with your lo taking more milk in during the day. 

When switching teats, I would make up a bigger bottle i.e. 7oz, and see how much your lo takes.

Hope this helps.

Let us know how you get on.

Paula

[shanlbc]

Paula--thanks so much for your feedback.  I already have some stage 2 nipples because I bought them by accident a while back so I will try them when he wakes in a few minutes.

About the 530am feed...you know I thought that was spoiling his appetite but I skipped it yesterday morning and he still only took about 4.5oz.  I think we may have to do the watering down for the 2am feed in order for him to realize he needs to tank up during the day instead of relying on night time feeds to get his 30oz.

As far as cluster feeding...we had to do it a few times when we were moving to the 4hr EASY but he still balanced out his feeds.  He just won't take more when he doesn't want it.

Thanks so much for your suggestions...I can't wait to try them!

[* Paula *]

Good luck with the new teats.  Hopefully he will start taking more during the day, and not end up needing a night feed at all.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

[liz6969]

Hi,

My dd is 14w old and she feeds every 3h taking 6ozish a time. I would like to move to 4h but she doesn't seem able to take more at a feed as she just brings it back up. so can't drop a bottle or she will wake in the night. our routine is something like this.

e7am
a7.30am
s8.30am45mins
e10am
a10.30am
s11.3045min
e1pm
a1.30
s3pm
e4pm
a4.30pm
s5.30pm30mins
e7pmbath and feed
s8pm
she totals about 30oz and weighs 13lb5oz. I keep trying the stage 2teats and she does ok for a couple of feeds then wont take it and it comes out the side. any advice welcome

thanks Liz xx

[* Paula *]

Hi Liz,

Just wondering why you were thinking of moving to a 4 hour routine - is your DD showing signs of needing to move to a new routine i.e showing signs of not wanting a bottle at the 3 hour mark - being able to handle the 2 hour activity time??  It just seems a little young for your lo to be moving to the 4 hour EASY.

With regards to the stage 2 nipple, if you dd is happy on the #1, there is no reasing to change.  She will let you know when she is ready.

HTH's

Paula