not feeding enough?

[violuhts]

i often get a lot of backlash when people ask about my feeding schedule (which is approved by our HV and GP)

DS is 5 months and feeds every 5 hours, sometimes 6 depending on the amount he's fed and whether he's hungry or not. he feeds anywhere between 6/7 ounces at a time.

he also is on solids, recommended by a paediatrician and our GP is satisfied with this as well giving the ok to start anywhere between 5/6 months.

DS typically sleeps until 8am most days, so our feeding schedule usually starts here.

6/7 ounces at 8/9am.
purées/baby soups at 12pm.
6/7 ounces at 3pm.
purées/baby soups at 6pm.
6/7 ounces at 9/10pm.
6/7 ounces at 4/5am.

he gets anywhere between 24-28 ounces of milk in a typical day with two purées. he's 7.3kg baby born at 2.8kg and in the 50th percentile. doctors are super happy with him and his weight, but everyone else seems to have it out for me on how i feed him, and how i'm neglecting him by not feeding him every 2/3 hours. it's not uncommon that 6 hours will pass and he's not hungry, since he feeds in big amounts, it works for us and baby is happy. what is everyone's issue?

Seems insane to me to feed that infrequently (as in; my baby would be screaming the place down in hunger, not that what you're doing is insane!).

If you've got a happy baby who's gaining weight, crack on. Don't fix what isn't broken.

People's issue is that it is almost unheard of to have a baby who is happy with such infrequent feeds. 6oz is a standard bottle size for a baby this age (presuming formula not BM), that's not a "big feed" so 6 hours is at the very far end of the spectrum. Also it means that he's getting below the recommended amount per day, which I think is around 32oz.

So basically, people are critical of your approach because for 99.9% of babies it would be tantamount to neglect. The majority of babies at 5m are taking bottles that side 3-4 hourly. Your baby might be happy but pretty much every other baby on the planet would be miserable. that's why people comment.

6/7oz is just a standard bottle size really, not a big amount that would allow him to go 6 hrs. Most babies would be having a bottle every 3/4 hrs at that age so that is why people are shocked when they hear 6hrs.

That's a long long time between feeds! I imagine there's a significant risk of dehydration, particularly with summer coming.

Maybe knocking on 4 hours now is fine, but would you be happy without a drink for that long?

Babies should always have the opportunity to have more, so you should expect a lot of wastage (if that's why you're limiting offers). It's annoying and expensive but it's what it is.

I’m with you OP. My baby is 6 months old but still only drinks 5 6oz bottles in a 24 hour period. And most of the time he won’t even finish those bottles. I’ve tried offering milk more frequently or upping the quantities but he simply refuses to drink it. That may be outside of what is considered normal but that’s just how he is. He weighs 8kg and is a happy baby so I’ve just accepted it.