Ages and Amounts of Formula

[liz6969]

Thanks Paula,
I think I just needed reassure that what I was doing was on the right track. Should I wait till she is 16 weeks before looking to change? She can play for a good 2 hours. She has just started sucking 2 fingers so she just starts sucking when shes ready for a nap, How bad is this because she did have a dummy at night but was keeping me up when she woke to but it back which then made it a prop. Now she puts her fingers in on her own and goes back to sleep.

[shanlbc]

What I would give to have a finger sucker instead of reinserting the paci every two hours!

[* Paula *]

I would personally wait unitl your lo is a bit older to switch to the 4 hour EASY - if she is doing well with the extra A time, you could always try her on a 3.5 hour easy, that way she might be taking a little more per bottle, and have a little extra A time.

That is great news that she self soothes so well.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

[liz6969]

Thanks guys,
I think I'm over stressing about routines I will let her lead the way a bit more I think. She is a IVF baby so I think that has made me a bit more tense about things as we waited 7 years for her!!!

[shanlbc]

Well congratulations on such a wonderful blessing!!

The routine can be a double-edged sword.  It is such a comfort to you and your LO but if you deviate then watch out!  We had friends over last night and DS was about 30min late for bed...he woke up after 45min then kept waking up every 15min for another hour!

[* Paula *]

Congratulations 

Please keep us posted on how you get on.

[Churchill's Mummy]

I have been using the message boards since April and found the advice fantastic, this is the first time i have needed to ask for help as i have tried many of the previous suggestions.

My ds is 5 months old and has recently reduced his milk intake from 7-9oz a feed to 3-4oz a feed, this has happen in the last week or so, he does have a snuffly nose but not a full blown cold. he transitioned from 3 hour to 4 hour EASY really well, enjoys his A time and has improved his S time to become text book on a 'at home' day.

i have tried increasing the teat flow and tanking up but he is still not taking that much and was waking in the night, we have gone back to the 11pm feed and this has helped as he now wakes about 6-7am.

i mix his feeds:
7am bf
11am bottle 3-4oz
3pm bottle 3-4oz
7pm bf
11pm bottle 1-2oz

i have given him 1 bottle a day since 3 months (11am) and added the 2nd bottle 2-3 weeks ago, i am trying to prepare for going back to work.

i was going to start weaning him today with just some puree tasters to start.

should i be worried? does he need to eat more?

Thanks x x Kate

[* Paula *]

Hi Kate,

Was just wondering why you are wanting to introduce solids so early.  The recommended age is 6 months, and introducing solids too early can cause problems later on.

With your lo dropping his intake in milk at this stage, I would really not consider introducing solids now, as he will be filling up on empty calories, and could drop more milk oz.

Could your lo possibly be teething?  This is usually one of the main causes for a lo to drop the amount of oz they take in during each feed.  If you think yoru lo is teething, you could always try rubbing some teething gel on his gums a few minutes before a feed to help ease the discomfort.

HTH's

Paula

[hermom]

I was wondering the same thing so I decided to spread my daughter who is 2.5 months old to 4 ours but I also gave her another ounce so she could spread it out more, so she was getting 4oz every 3 hours now it's 5oz every 4 hours.  She also weighs about 12 lbs now or close to it I would assume, last dr. appt she was 11 something.

[Churchill's Mummy]

thanks

Yes he is having teething pain and i am rubbing teething gel into his gums, i will try and do this jsut before a feed and see if it makes a difference. i start weaning as my HV suggested this as he is on the 98th percentile for height and 50th for weight. he is puting on 8oz every 2 weeks.

During the last week i have managed to get him to eat 7oz a bottle feed but not all at once and with a lot of effort. Teeting does sound logical.

i will slow down the weaning, they are just tasters at the moment.

Kate x 

[* Paula *]

Good luck, let us know how you get on with the teething gel before a feed.

[lovedtodeath]

OMG my 3.5 month old only eats 3.5-5.5 oz at a time. He weighs over 17 lbs. (25 in. long) No wonder he eats so often! According to this he needs 44.2 oz which would mean 9-10 feeds a day. Way more feeds than he should be getting! But he also tends to spit up.... guess I should just let him keep eating often??

"I've read somewhere (maybe the Baby World website) that in a 24 hour period babies should have on average between 2.5-2.7 oz of feed for every pound they weigh (i.e. a 10lb baby should have between 25 and 27oz in 24 hours). This seemed to be about what my ds was having give or take. Probably doesn't work for all babies but it seemed like a good general guideline."

[* Paula *]

The 2.5 - 2.7 oz per pound is ture but is only a guideline.  Some lo's eat more, and some lo's never reach the amount they should be taking.

As long as your lo is happy, healthly, sleeping well and putting on weight I would not worry at all.

Paula

[grahamsmama]

Meghan is almost 16 poundsand is 26 inches long, but only takes about 24-26 ounces a day.  She doesn't seem especially hungry and she is sleeping through the night, so I figure that is ok.  She takes 3-4 ounces per feeding and doesn't really want to eat much before 4 hours.  My ds ate a lot, lot more than she does per pound.  Each baby is different.  I do stress about Meghan's lack of intake, but as long as your lo is happy and healthy everything is probably fine!

[lovedtodeath]

Paula and Lyn, Thanks for the replies! I had not weighed him in a while. He is 19 lbs now! And he is eating non-stop this week. I think he is on to me with the 3.25 hour schedule and is afraid I'll not feed him enough so he wants to muck it up LOL