How much EBM should a 9 week old be drinking?

[Peaceloveandbiscuits]

Me again! My little boy is now nine weeks old and weighs almost 16lbs. I've introduced some formula into his diet to give me a break from the never ending pumping. Thank you for all your positive advice about giving him formula. I feel much better about it now, though I'm still struggling with the idea of only giving him formula for some reason. Never mind, that's another thread. I'm still worried about over feeding him, and this paranoia has been fuelled this week by a HCP who snidely told me I shouldn't be feeding him as often as I am, and that he should be having more at each feed to keep him going (I'm feeding him responsively, and sometimes he is hungry after an hour and a half-two hours. He physically will not take any more or any less than 120-150ml at each feed. He'll either be sick or just let it dribble down his chin while he sucks). I decided to keep a diary of when and how much he has, to see if it really is too much, but it doesn't appear to be!! He is averaging 30-32oz per 24 hour period, not including the very short breast feeds we sometimes manage. I've noticed that he will feed quite frequently in the morning but he only wakes once during the night, so does that average out his frequent feeds? Or should he be feeding on a schedule day and night, eg, every four hours as this HCP seemed to think (tbh I'm loving the one wake per night thing he's got going on!)? This is what he had over the past two days for you to scrutinise:

8:30am 20 min breast feed 9:45am, 10:45am, 12:45pm 120ml breast milk x3 3:00pm 150ml formula 3:30pm 50ml formula 7:30pm 120ml breast milk 3:40am 120ml formula 7:10am 120ml breast milk = 920ml 32oz

8:40am 120ml formula 11:00am 120ml breast milk 1:30pm 150ml breast milk 4:00pm 120ml breast milk 5:10pm 50ml formula 6:45pm 50ml formula 7:00pm 10 min breastfeed 8:45pm 10 min breastfeed 3:45am 120ml breast milk 7:10am 120ml breast milk = 850ml 30oz

Too much? Too frequent? I honestly try everything possible before feeding him but when he is genuinely hungry I can't let him cry and scream to try to eke him out. I'm terrified of giving him a complex the same way my constantly-dieting mother did to me. I hate that I've allowed my own weight-related insecurities affect the relationship I have with my baby :(
If he is feeding too often, how can I stretch his feeds out? Like I said before, he will not take any more than 120-150ml at a time.
Thank you for any help you can offer!

Kelly mom has a calculator (sorry can't link- on the app) but it basically works on the premise most babies 1-6 months take 22-28 fl oz per day (so 24 on average). You divide total feeds by 24 then you get a good starting point. Eg my dd eats 8-10 times a day so when I give a bottle it's 2 1/2 - 3 fl oz.

...but of course formula is different so your totals will be a bit higher!

Mine feeds every 2 hr. its how she is.
My hv said this is normal if she's happy on it, just like adults some people have big meals, others prefer s snack approach.

This sounds great, my youngest was having short frequent feeds (2 hourly probably) throughout the day until very recently and then after a mad month growth spurt decided to go for four hours at nearly 5 mths old! . If your baby is growing fine and settled between feeds then why worry? Perhaps he is just going to be a big baby, was he heavy at birth or are you or his dad tall?. Don't try and make him take more than he wants or go longer between feeds if you know he is hungry.

He was 7lb15 at birth so not huge, but he put a lot of weight on in his first month. His dad is 6ft so we do suspect that he will be tall (hurray). I've had the HV this morning and she had a look at my diary and agrees that he is just doing his own thing and that it's all fine and healthy. I'm very relieved!

Be responsive, that's the best thing to be. My DS takes anything between 30-50oz Formula in 24 hours. It changes because I feed him depending on what he wants. There is no reason why you can't completly feed on demand with formula. DS to 2-3oz a feed until he was about 4 months, takes 6-7oz now at 6 months. Also he was 7lb 6oz at birth, between 25th and 50th centile. Now he is 19lb 4oz, and between 75th and 91st centile. But he is long and has a massive head, he needed to catch up the weight. As you have said, your baby is not overeating as he stops feeding. FF babies know when to stop eating too! I also felt bad about stopping the last expressed feeds when he was 2 months, but I feel glad he had that breastmilk and I can see he's thrived on formula! You've done so well