Is there a minimum time to leave between feeds - formula feeding?

[goldenoldie]

My 8 week old twins are being bf and formula fed. They are taking 6oz bottles of hungry baby Aptilmil every 2/3 hours. According to the packet they should not have any more then 5 bottles a day now, but mine have much more than that.

How do I know if they are really hungry? Should I give them 6oz of water at some feeds instead?

Sorry haven't a clue but will bump this so someone who knows can help.

Can't give medical advice, because am not a HV, or anything, but this is my opinion, only "my" opinion,I must add.

I think the guidelines recommend every three to four hours.

I would increase to 8 oz, if they really are that hungry.

And don't give water to hungry babies.
Just give milk.

But that is only my advice.
What does your HV think?
What do other posters suggest ?

Hop ethis helps, firstly, how much do your babies, weigh? It is better to use weight rather than age as a guide when looking at the reccommended intake.
are your bub putting on weight well?
You could up your babies milk to 7oz and see how you go.
I know their are milks avaliable with a higher calorie content, aptamil 2 only has 2 extra calories per 100mls, it not that much. At a guess I would say mulumil, but that really only would be a guess.

HV told me to ignore what was written on the tins, babies feed as much/as often as they want. Agree with others, increase the amount at each feed to see if you can get to 3 -4 hours between feeds, and don't give water. Can't comment on the type of formula as I used a different brand.

Good luck - must be so hard with 2!

so embarresed about my grammar and er.. spelling sorry!

I agree with other posters. Ignore what the tin says. DS always took loads more. At this young age if they were overfeeding their tummy wouldn't be able to keep the excess down anyway. My HV suggested giving 1 oz of water to try and space feeds out when my DS was bottlefeeding very frequently. If your babies are draining their bottles, add an extra oz. My DS always had between 5 and 8 bottles a day.

i think with babies of this age you should always feed on demand. if i wasnt 100% sure if mine were hungry i would offer my little finger and see if they attacked!

I'd be inclinced to stick with what is states on the tin - or call the helpline number.

Stomachs do stretch, so if they are in fact thirsty & you're giving them extra food, they may just keep needing more & more (happened to a couple of friend of mine & their babies were massive - later they where told they SHOULD have been given cooled boiled water)

Good idea to keep an eye on their weekly weight gain & bear in mind that milk from bottles come out much quicker than from breasts - perhaps another reason they are drinking so fast.

Thanks ladies - put my mind at rest that I'm not overfeeding as their weight gain is within normal parameters.

I was worried i may be over feeding my 3 week old baby too so asked my health visitor. She told me that for every pound your baby weighs they should be taking 2.5-2.7 fl oz of formula. so an 8lb baby SHOULD have about 22fl oz in a 24 hour period. She also said that all babies varie and that anything between 14 and 28oz per day is the norm! My DD takes 26 fl oz a day and weighs less than 8lb so is in theory taking too much but her weight gain is fine so HV not worried! BTW, my DD also feeds every 2-3 hours and takes 4fl oz per feed and HV said that it is mainly because when breast fed babies feed little and often and thats what they get used too, my DD has only been on formula for a week so she still takes little and often and have been told that she will take a few weeks to get into a pattern with feeding. Hope this helps, maybe your twins feed regular because you do both breast and formula. I really wouldnt worry as long as weight gain is normal.