Formula feeding

[LiamsMummyJaz]

Just a quick question! My DS is now 14 weeks old and has slept though the night from about 5-6 weeks old, but he used to have 5 8oz bottles of Cow & gate a day. Due to reflux my Hv advised me to try Aptimil hungry baby, he is doing really well this milk and the sickness has drastically improved and we have managed to get him into a proper routine of 8.30am - 12.30pm - 4.30pm and then his last
one at 8.30pm. This is only 4 bottles! Should we be waking him or leaving him up a little longer to give him the 5 he is used too? She seems contented enough?! Am I just fretting over nothing! Thank you!

He not she! Aha!

This would be another Q for your HV, maybe? The usual advice is to follow the baby's lead whether or not this 'agrees' with the packet guidance....though I agree feeding 4x in 24 hours isn't often!

If you have a healthy baby who is gaining weight and usually cries when hungry then should be fine. Go with it for a week then get baby weighed... if the weight is going up then you can relax if not then you might need to up it. Usually the max recommended is 7oz but if your baby is taking 8oz and is happy then go with it - every baby is different. If he's sleeping at this stage you are very lucky imo (I have 24wo twins and they are still waking for feeds in the night!) so don't do anything to disrupt this unless absolutely necessary.

My friend's hv told her to wake her dd for the same reason and now at 6 she still struggles to sleep through where as she was sleeping through at 12w!

surely 5 x 8oz bottles a day for a 6 week old is loads? are you sure it was reflux and not being too full.

I would say that if he is sleeping then you are feeding enough. I wouldn't wake a baby to feed it unless it was poorly.

Not sure what has changed here? If he was sleeping through the night from 6 weeks but was on 5 bottles a day then, why is he only having 4 now?

I'd say like Princess Scrumpy that if he's gaining weight and happy, sleeping well etc, he's having enough to eat. The usual guidance for 24 hour intake (however you choose to structure it) is their weight in lbs x 2.5 equals the total number of ounces. So if your baby weighs 15lbs that would equal 37.5ozs, split across five feeds (usually)= 7.5ozs per feed.

Natzer - he is on 8oz now. He was on about 6 when he was 6 weeks. It was defiantly reflux. He wasn't sick milk but bile like substance hours after a feed.

Loveisagirlnamedasiy - He was having his bottles every 3 hours not 4 that's how we managed an extra feed.

I got him weighed on Thursday and he had put on 2lb in 2 weeks and now at 14 weeks he's 16lb 7oz. So he is now happier in the 91st centile. I was just going with the flow too. I thought if he was hungry he would wake. But we get a good 11-12 hours a night from him now. He doesn't really sleep in the day. I just thought he was contented. I'm not so sure now

Thank you for your advice!

Happlily not happily (silly predictive text!! )

Arrrr dam and blast!! Happily not happier lol