Formula feeding help

[Toni_Win]

Hi Everyone,

We started out BF and managed well for 3 weeks, but then I got infective mastitis and a breast absess and ended up in hospital for nearly a week. During that time my milk supply stopped, even though I was trying to keep it going with a breast pump. So we've now switched to formula. I wasn't really ready for this, so don't really know what I am doing with formula.

LO has been on it for just over a week now and seems to be doing fine, but I think he's feeding too quickly and taking too much. He'll be 5 weeks old next Monday and currently weighs 10lb 8oz. The formula box says to feed him about 4oz at this age, about 6 times a day. The health visitor says to make an ounce over what he needs in case he wants a bit more sometimes, so I make up 5oz bottles. But at almost every feed he's taking the full 5oz. He also finishes the bottle in about 10 minutes. We've got the teats with the smallest hole, but he just sucks it down so fast. If I try to take the bottle away when he's had 4oz he'll still make feeding cues and then start crying.

What should I do, I don't want to over feed him, but I want him happy too?

 

[Young Mum 21 x]

Well my LO has been on 4oz for a week now and he drains it and sometimes cries for more but sometimes it turns out its just wind! I think mayb 5oz would be ok as ur LO is a lil older than mine? But give your HV a ring coz mine said to try hungry baby formula instead of feeding him 5oz coz their stomachs are so small xxx

 

[spice]

i've always found that it's better to go by the weight of the baby rather than the age! my LO has been formula fed from about the same time you started, and he's always taken more than it says for his age, but about right for his weight!

e.g. he's 5.5months old and almost 7.5kg....box says 5 feeds of 7oz at 4-5 months, then 4 feds of 70z at 6months+ ... on their weight it says 6 months is 7.5kg... my LO is having 4 fed's of 8oz (during the day) and wakes most nights at least once and has another 4/5oz's ... he's stayed on the same centile for weight (around 70th) since he was born, and i think thats what matters!

 

[Roo3]

Go by what your baby is telling you not what is on the formula box. If hes looking for more milk after draining 5ozs, up his bottles to 6 ozs and when he's draining them up them again.
The information on the formula boxes are based on averages. Each baby is different and you should go by what your baby is telling you he wants. You won't overfeed him. He won't drink it if he doesn't want it. xx

 

[beanster]

We went through the same thing sort of. After a shaky start in neonatal when Holly was fed every way possible I managed to bf for 4 weeks at home before supply wasn't enough for her. We made the bottles to what it said on the box at first and she was wanting more, we increased to suit her demand and she settled down. What we noticed was that she regulated the number of feeds she had and didn't always finish the feeds anyway. Spoke to HV and just kept an eye on her weight and she has been perfectly happy.