How much milk?

[Dawnlouise30]

Hello,

My son is 6 weeks and weighed 10lbs 7 when born, he was last weighed 2 and a half weeks ago and was 10lbs 13...... We had some issues with breastfeeding so our son lost weight, went down to 9lbs 4 but when we switched to formula he thrived, initially he took 2 ounces every 4 hours, but we soon switched up and now take 5 ounces every 3-4 hours but tonight he took 5 ounces then 1.5 hrs later took another 3 ounces before settling for a sleep, is this too much? ....he is on comfort milk.

I estimate he probably weighs 12lbs now, how much milk should he take and how frequently?
Is it worth offering him 6 ounces in the day as he drains his 5 ounce... But he does normally seem satisfied with 5 ounces apart fom today when he wanted a top up 1.5 hrs later. At night he takes between 4 and 5 ounces, he normally goes 6 hours from say 6pm to 12pm on 5 ounces then wakes every 3-4 hours at night taking 4-5 ounces at this time. ....... Any tips on makng that 6 hour stretch later, ie 10 pm till 4am , would you offer a dream feed at say 10 pm,assuming he last feed between 6-7 pm? Or would you let him maintain his own rhythm he has fallen into?, obviously it would be preferable that eventually we can encourage him to sleep longer though the night and we know he can do 6 hours, but i don't know how to get that stretch overnight, maybe he is too young yet?...... We just want to try and establsh some routine now he is 6 weeks.

Also when do they drop a bottle? And how do i know which one to drop?

Should i offer him water if he seems hungry after about 1.5 hours?

Sorry so many questions, i am a first time mum that knows very little re feeding.

Dawn

 

[skunkpixie]

Heya.

To work out roughly how much formula your baby needs in 24 hours, just multiply thier weight by 2.5. So if your baby is 12lbs then he should be having around 30oz a day. But like I said this is just an approximation and if he is draining 5oz bottles then i would make 6oz bottles from now on. xxx

 

[mommy0629]

Lol yes that's a lot of questions and I'm going to answer all of them very simply for you - at 6 weeks old, you pretty much let him do what he wants Every baby is different so don't get hung up on how much he should have per day. As long as he's gaining weight apropriately, he's eating fine, that's all you need to go by other than listening to your baby.

If his bottles are 5 oz. and he drains every one of them, up them to 6 oz. You know baby is full when there's still about 1/2 oz. left in each bottle and he doesn't want to finish it. He may want to eat more frequently when he's having a growth spurt and then tapper back down, it's all normal. Don't drive your self crazy worrying about how much he takes, he knows how much he needs and if he overeats in a feeding, he'll just spit up the extra, no biggy.

Let him keep his own sleeping schedule at this point too.

No water yet, he's too young and if he seems hungry then he needs the formula.

You won't be dropping any bottles for quite a while yet, possibly not until he starts weaning unless he starts STTN for you before then.

You do have a big baby, so he's most likely going to eat a bit more than a lot of 6 week olds. Just follow his lead hun