Ages and Amounts of Formula

[Lolly]

I'm sure things will balance out for you especially when teething and illness subside for a bit!

The 20oz a day is the minimum that they should be taking with solids - dairy in solids counts towards this intake too, so 25+oz is a good amount. The amount per bottle is also really variable, some are draining 9oz whilst others will take 5/6oz let him guide you, if he isn't waking at night, is active, has wet/dirty nappies and is gaining weight then he is probably getting what he needs!

HTH!

Laura

[cath73]

Hi,
Just wanted to update since my post last week. Having identified Charlie as a touchy baby and then feeding him 3hourly instead of 4hrs as I was doing, things have improved dramatically!! I have to be really observant and watch for his tired cues, and if I let hinm yawn more that twice, we have a very OT baby who resists sleep. I had been making him really OT on my previous 'routine' and he was also so hungry that he was draining his 7oz bottles but then vomiting back up as drank too fast. Now that he feeds 3 hourly he has between 5-6 oz's. He has also slept for the last 2 nights from 9pm till 7am with a feed at 5!! What a difference..........I know that its early days, but thankyou for the advice, as i believe I know my baby's needs sooo much more xx

[huby]

ok, daughter now 15 weeks, and am feeding 3.5 to four hours, and have upped it to 6oz, and she's soo much happier and sleeps through the night - literally now - 7pm to 7am without one night wake. But the teat for medium is too fast and for slow too slow - any suggestions?

[teilvnav]

Thanks Lolly, I am hoping that things will find some sort of medium soon. He does seem to take 25 oz a day more often than not, so I guess things are ok!

[Lolly]

Cath73 - glad things are better!

huby - which bottles are you using ? Some have a vari-flow teat which baby can regulate themselves by how hard they suck - it may be worth trying those if you can.

Laura

[mooglimoo]

Hi, this seems like the right place for my post... My LO is 10 days shy of 11months and still drinks ALOT of milk. Does anyone know what the recommended amount is?? He probably has about 30oz- does that seem ridiculous!?!
Thanks
L x

[Lolly]

I don't think that is a rediculous amount providing it's not stopping his appetite for solids! They need around 20oz per day along with solids but from a year it is recommended to reduce milk somewhat if they are having a lot over the 20oz so that solids are the main source of nutrition. Some toddlers will fill up on milk and not eat their meals. Are you doing solids before milk now? When in the day is he having milk?

Laura

[mooglimoo]

Thanks for reply Laura,
He currently has 9oz bottle first thing and then his porridge with fruit about 45mins later. At about 11ish he has veggies and chicken (for example), fruit and yoghurt and then maybe 45mins later has 9oz of milk. At about 4ish he has another 9oz bottle and then pasta and sauce (for example), fruit and yoghurt. Then at bedtime he has 3-4oz just as part of his wind down really before bed...
He eats his solids pretty well most of the time when he's not teething or OT but doesn't eat large amounts. Recently I had to use a jar of babyfood and was surprized at how large the amount was for one serving so I was thinking maybe it was time to up the amount of food and cut the amount of milk...
Maybe I should consolidate the last 2 bottles into just one at bedtime- what do you think?
Lorna x

[* Paula *]

Hi Lorna,

It might be worthwhile dropping to 3 bottles and upping the amount of solids your lo takes and see how your lo does.  You could also try offering breakfast first and then milk later, that way you are getting more solids, but your lo is still taking milk.

Good luck, keep us posted on how you get on.

[huby]

hI CATH73,

I am using tommy tippee closer to nature bottles, they're ok actually. But I tried the medium flow - she chokes on it. Try the vari-flow too, and same thing - she guzzles so quickly that it goes everywhere, she splutters and chokes and then gets hiccups usually after a nightfeed so it's hard for her to resettle.
Might have to go back to the slow flow but it's taking ages and ages for her to finish her bottle. Still, better than choking I suppose!

[Lolly]

Shame the vari-flow didn't work! You are probably better with the slow flow then, maybe try the medium flow every week or so to see if it's any better. I tried the vari flow with my DD to see if it was any better with her AR formula than the fast flow - she sucks so hard the whole teat collapses . So we are sticking with the fast flow!

Laura

[huby]

LOL, bless her. My daughter is used to sucking on the slow teat so hard, that I think when she got the vari-flow one it almost blew her away and she ended up with more milk on her than in her mouth.
Have gone back to the slow flow, but good advice - I'll keep trying the medium or vari-flow one once a week from now to see how it goes

[jessilou23]

My daughter Ava is going to be 12 weeks on Friday. How much to feed her has stressed me out from the beginning. I am currently giving her 50% each of formula and expressed breastmilk. She is on a 3 hour EASY and has been eating 4 oz from 7:30-4:30, with cluster feeds at 6:30 and 8:30 (usually 3.5 oz) and a DF at 11'ish. All in all, she has been eating around 26 oz a day. After reading a bit, I am not sure she is eating enough, so I have given her 5 oz and she takes it easily. Should I move her oz per feed up to 5? I never thought I would worry this much about eating.

[Lolly]

If she is draining her bottles then definitly put more in them! You need to have a bit more in the bottles than they will drink so that you know they are stopping because they have had enough to eat not just because the bottle is empty. I would offer 5oz for a day or two and see if she is taking all of the 5oz, if she is then add another oz. There is a growth spurt at 3 months so you may find she takes more for a few days then doesn't want quite as much.

Laura

[cath73]

Huby,
My LO is getting bored with newborn teat too, we also use the TT bottles. Tried variflow last week with the same result as you!! Am going to get some size 2 teats and try to introduce then slowly..........his feeds now take 45 mins instead of 20, so think it is definitely time to graduate to the next size. He is growing up