Am i feeding my baby too much?

[user1467296110]

I know before I write this that this sounds stupid so please stay with me.. I need help!

My baby is six months and i've just started weaning and stopped breastfeeding (moved onto follow on formula). I've been looking online to see how much milk i should be giving my baby and the mumsnet article on weaning and the formula packaging says 500-600ml of milk per day but my baby is having more like 800ml.. I obviously don't want to not feed him if he is hungry, but could i be too quick to give him a bottle when he might be wanting something else from me??
I was combination feeding before because he wasn't putting on weight and began to drop down the percentile chart (he was born in the second to bottom percentile and fell to the bottom), my milk just wasn't enough for him so he needed topping up. He's now putting on weight well and i think that actually he just has a really fast metabolism so needs more food.. I guess my question is, should I continue going with my gut and feeding him how i have been doing or should i be cutting him back closer to that 500-600ml and see how he goes on?
Disclaimer - I'm obviously not saying I won't feed my baby if he is hungry, but i want to know if it is possible that I'M overfeeding him?

It's a minimum of 20oz from 6 months and alongside 3 meals/snacks. If your lo isn't on 3 full meals then they will still need more milk. They will drop their milk intake as solids increase so I wouldn't worry at the moment

The packaging and articles are just guidelines, babies are all different, My youngest had 5 7oz bottles a day until he was 10 months old so thays over 1000ml a day along with good sized portions of food (from 6 months), from then he slowly dropped the milk himself.

My best advice is to listen to your baby, they can't read the guidelines but tell you what they need.

Although not as old as your child my son is currently having about 7 bottles a day, 4 of which are about 4oz or 4.5oz, the other three are roughly 2.5oz or 3oz.
He's three weeks old today and according to the packaging for his age he is having too much but for weight he seems almost spot on over the course of the day.

My midwife and health visitor have both said to feed on demand with bottles and give them what they want, the packaging guidelines are just that.

How much does he weigh? If not massively overweight/obese then keep going

I had the same question when my LO was 7 months and my HV said to carry on but not to give her more than 32oz a day (I'm not sure why). She will be 1 this week and has only recently dropped milk from approx 800ml to just under 600.

Thanks everyone!! When i took a step back and thought of this question as an outsider i thought it was obvious but then kept worrying anyway! Thanks again :)

My DD never followed guidelines. She only ever took about 20ounces of milk in a day before she was weaned (HV told me should be at least 24!). I weaned her at 6months and within two weeks she was only have 12ounces of milk on a good day! (bedtime bottle and night feed). Again I got told it wasn't enough but she refused to have any more.

She 15months, healthy and gaining weight perfectly. I've always let her lead me and ignored what packagers and people say.

i know it's the reverse of what your asking but wanted to reassure you that my DD never followed guidelines and we are doing just fine! X