9 week old only takes 3-4oz

[glow92]

My 9 week old only takes 3-4oz per feed, normally 8x feeds per day. He's on Aptamil formula and we're using tommee tippee bottles with size 2 teats (changed from size 1 as initially thought the prob was he was giving up getting tired). He's about 11.5lbs now and currently sleeps 5-6hrs and night before a feed, then goes back down for another 3-4.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can increase his intake? For his age he should be taking minimum 25oz/day but some days we barely scrape this.

Is his weight gain steady or is he dropping centiles? If there are no concerns over his weight gain, I wouldn’t worry about it - some people naturally have larger appetites than others and if you were breastfeeding, you wouldn’t know how much he was having so wouldn’t be thinking about it, if that makes sense.

Also, if you try to feed him more than he wants, he might just end up throwing it up or struggling with tummy pains so it will be counter productive.

He's been gaining weight well enough yes.
I just read that at his age he could be taking upto 7oz and fewer feeds per day... which would be ideal and could help him sleep longer? Even though he sleeps reasonably well it's been the same since he was born.

Honestly I would say that’s more than sleeping ‘reasonably well’, that sounds like ‘very well’ to me!

Definitely see what your HV/GP thinks (I’m not in the Uk so not quite sure who you see for baby check ups) but I wouldn’t over think it, sounds like he’s doing well!

All babies are different. I really wldnt worry too much.

My first born was taking 7oz by 6-7wks old and was sleeping through the night 10hrs plus. She was a dream baby in terms of everything, ate well slept well hardly ever cried.

Second born cld not take 7oz until she was about 3-4 months old but most of the time just wanted 4oz. It was a job to get an ounce in her the first week or 2 and wld at least an hour to feed her an ounce. She also never slept as well as my first but probably because she was still hungry so I was still doing night feeds at 9 months old and even sometimes at a yr old. She wasn't great at weaning either I was so hopeful that she might sleep better once she was on solids but wasn't really interested in that either lol.

All babies are different, if you breastfeed you don't know how much they're getting.
My little one never made it to the recommended amount for their age. But as she was feeding, gaining weight, happy baby there was nothing to worry about. She's a happy health 2 year old x

Sounds fine to me. You're getting some great sleep there.

Some babies like to eat little and often.

You could try longer between each feed. So every four hours. six feeds In 24 hrs. he will prob take more each bottle

For his weight I think that’s fine, the packet is a guide so you’ll get babies at 9 weeks who weigh more or less than your son (my nephew was 11lb at birth) my first was 9.5lb born so as long as he’s bright eyed, happy, well and gaining steadily I wouldn’t pay too much into what he’s taking just now.

I wouldn't worry, it will increase with time. Dd1 was like this, always way behind the other babies, she just wasn't a hungry baby, all long and skinnym she's now 5 and still doesn't have a huge appetite compared to her friends and is still tall for her age and skinny. It's just how she's built

If he’s on 3-4oz a bottle 8 times a day he’s getting 24-32oz a day. Sleep sounds pretty good to me too.

Mostly 3, maybe get one or two 4's on a good day.
Thank you for the comments, very interesting.

My little one is 4 months and she only takes 4-5oz every 3-4 hours, sometimes 6oz if she feels like it and she weighs around 14lbs so I would say that’s brilliant to be honest! She sleeps from 10:30pm to 7am but that’s only been the last month so I would say his sleeping is brill too! :)

Please remember that at this age they are not supposed to sleep through the night. If you're getting long stretches then that's good, but they do wake for a reason

The NHS website recommends babies have 150-200ml of formula per kg of weight per day. So at the lower end your baby will be taking about 780ml a day, or 26oz. That fits with 3-4oz over 8 feeds. He obviously just wants to eat little and often. However, the 150-200ml per day per kg of weight is just a guide and some babies will want more or less than that.

I Know this is old but how did it resolve? My 9 week currently doing the same thing.