Advice on formula quantities and lengths between feeds

[speak2deb]

My dd is 4 and a bit months old and has been exclusively formula fed for the last 6 weeks. Lately she is being really fussy with her bottle- will take 4 fl oz, but often refuses the rest.

She sleeps through the night, feeds every 3 hours and has 5 feeds a day (7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm), but I really struggle to get 30oz in her through the course of the day (she weighs 17lbs).

I'm starting to think that she might want to be fed every 4 hours, but no matter how I do the maths, just can't work out how I'll still get her to have 5 bottles in the course of the day.

Its so difficult to find advice on quantities and timings on the internet.

Does anyone have any advice or know of any good websites I can look at?

maybe your lo wont need 5 bottles - maybe your lo would take more from each bottle if there was slightly longer between feeds so she could take the same amount of milk but from only 4 bottles. I would start and end at the same times but try to space out the middle bottles so you give the 2 middle bottles at 11am and 3pm rather than 3 bottles as you do at the moment.

The alternative is to let your lo take as much as she wants at the intervals you have already - she doesnt have to take 30oz if she doesnt want it all. She is obviously happy enough with the amount she has as she sleeps through the night even if she is not taking as much milk.

My ds starting going 4 hourly at this age but also still had a night feed which lasted till 8 months so I am very jealous

It does sound as if she may be ready to go a bit longer between feeds, but I really wouldn't stress about trying to get 30 oz into her if she doesn't want it.

If she's going a good length of time between feeds, and is gaining weight and everything else is fine, she's obviously taking what she needs.

She's doing very well to go from 7 pm til 7 am at her age, so I'm sure she's getting plenty.

maybe try stretching her out to 3 1/2 - 4 hours between if she will, which will probably mean she drops one bottle.

But don't force the issue - she'll do it when she's ready. My ds went 4 hourly at about 5 months, and didn't drop the 10.30 pm feed until he was on solids at 7 months.

Be guided by what she wants - she's the best judge of what she needs.

It sounds to me like she's doing just fine!

Thanks for the advice. I think you're right re: the gaps between feeds. It's just so difficult to park the guilt and the worry and let your baby decide how much it needs to eat for itself!

My dd fed at those times also but I weaned at 16 weeks so she went happily onto 7, 11, 3 and 7pm. Doesn't sound like your lo needs weaning yet though ( mine started waking in the night having had 9oz bottles at every feed) Maybe when she does drink all the feeds its during a growth spurt and the fussiness is because she doesn't need quite as much? Not growing at the time?

I agree with seona, how much on average does lo take per feed? if its not a full bottle every feed then I would try for more per bottle every 4 hours.

my 3mth old is on 5 ff per day.
starts at 6, 10.15, 1.45, 5.45, 9.45.

last 3 weeks he rarely has more than 100-120 per feed. rec is 170ml at this age. but then on the odd occasion he takes 170 or 200ml. he's 11.5lbs and putting on weight ok, and if i try to force more, he just holds in his mouth then spits it out, or throws up.

i guess if she is growing ok, then no need to worry about amt she is taking.

btw, he can take about an hr to have a full bottle these days, little git (b4 was about 15-20mins), don't know how long your lo takes, but maybe that'something to consider