Approx. how much formula should a 14 week old baby boy be drinking a day and how often?

[milkyman]

Hi,
My baby boy currently drinks 5.5 ounces (160ml) in each bottle he drinks. He drinks approx. 7 a day, every 3 hours (or sometimes every 2 or 4 hours). At night he has a last feed at 11pm, wakes a 2pm and then 5pm and then has his first morning feed at 8am. He is a big boy (approx. 16lbs) and is quite a 'long, stocky' baby (!).

I have no idea if this is normal? He is demanding less milk now, he used to drink every 2 hours (120ml). He has reflux and takes baby gaviscon for this. I would like to cut out the 2am feed if possible. He is a very physical baby, constantly wiggles! Does the above sound OK or am I overfeeding him? He goes mad if you ignore any pleas for milk!!!

I am a firm believer in feeding on demand.

I have two formula fed dc and both have slept through from early ages (about 12-16 weeks ish) partly because I think I fed them as and whenever they wanted. Obviously I never forced them! I just offered them the bottle whenever they seemed to want it and I didn't worry about guidelines etc.

Personally I would keep feeding at night for as long as they want it. Gradually they should take less and less and then stop waking for it completely however even my very good sleepers occasionally wake for a bottle at 3am sometimes!

I would just keep doing what youre doing.. feeding to a schedule is a very outdated idea :)

Sorry Fairylea I respectfully disagree, I think it depends on baby & mum.

I have a DD, also 14 weeks and FF, I offer her 210ml 5 times a day, & a top up of 150ml at 10PM. She doesn't always take all 210ml but it's there if she wants it. We do a 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm & 6.30, she's in bed for about 7pm, a dream feed at 10pm and I wake her up for breakfast at 7am. I firmly believe that if they have had all they need between 7am & 11pm they will sleep through. If DD wakes up she has a reason but not usually through hunger.

Depends on mum and baby I guess but it really helps us to know where we are, we both benefit from the routine & in between feeds we play lots and get out and about. Obviously if she's telling me she's hungry in between I will offer her milk but nearly always some cool boiled water is enough for her, just thirsty sometimes.

I agree with Fairylea. I had a big baby (11lb 7oz) and he was fed on demand until about 9mo (EBF though) - however DD was FF and she was also fed on demand, didn't sleep through until 14mo but wasn't interested in water and screamed until she had milk when we tried that - clearly she was hungry.

P.S. Aptimil guidelines are for babies at 14 weeks are 180ml 5 times a day.

Feeding on demand in the first few weeks is ideal, and also easier if breastfeeding. However my DD 16 weeks has been on bottles for approx 6 weeks and has naturally got into her own routine. I feed her 7oz every 3 hours, 5 times a day. She has only just gone up to 7oz and was previously on 6oz. Sounds like you're doing the right thing.

Babies wake for many reasons not just hunger, stuffing them full of milk/food won't make them sleep any better.

It is recomnded to feed babies on demand , they have little tummies and so need feeding often and this includes in the night.

It might be worth trying a dream feed, this only worked with one of my five but it can help, two ffeds at night is quite good for 14wks tho tbh.

Please don't think I would advocate anything other than feeding on demand for a newborn but agree once natural routine us established it's very easy then to gently nurture this into an established pattern. DD did his herself gradually from about 8 weeks and by 11-12 weeks routine was fully established and she's gone from strength to strength.

The amount of formula babies need is based on weight, not age. it is approximately 2.5 x their weight in pounds so for your 16lb baby , you would be looking at offering roughly 40oz of formula in a 24 hour period to sustain good weight gain. If your baby is having 5.5 oz 7 times a day then that is 38.5 oz which is absolutely fine. Generally speaking, your baby should be fed on demand - most babies will stop when they are full, and there is nothing worse for mum or baby than a hungry baby who is not being fed. Don't fret - he will take what he needs!

If you'd like him to drop a bottle at night why don't you start offering 6oz per feed, and a 7oz bottle for his 11pm feed equalling 6 bottles a day. He may then start to drop that 2am feed. If he doesn't stop waking for it, offer him less and less each night. Eventually he won't wake for it!

Hi there, my DS has slept through the night for a while now. I would be a firm believer in a routine for bottles as in I feed every four to six hours depending on how long he sleeps between feeds rather than feeding on demand. He is 14 weeks and was a premie baby born at 34 weeks. He currently drinks 7oz in each bottle. He feeds usually at 7am, 11am 3pm & 7pm is his last bottle. Although these time varies his last bottle is usually between 7pm and 8:30pm he then sleeps right through the night until 6:30/7am.

@Mairead91 I'd hope OP's baby is long past the bottle feeding stage now, he'll be school age!

It should go on weight rather than age OP. A ff baby needs roughly 2.5 floz per pound in weight in 24 hours. So a 10 baby would need 25floz or 740 ml.

If you work it out like that, is baby getting enough?

Just seen your post Fliss. Hopefully he’s on solids by now