Who never has wasted bottles of formula?

[kookygirl]

Curious really.

I am sure there are mother's out there, who, unlike myself, never throw unfinished bottles of formula down the sink because they haven't any left to throw out?!

I can roughly gauge how much milk my LO will take but only like "ok, she's eaten quite a bit for lunch so probably won't take the full 6oz" but I end up making up a full 6oz in case she does (but of course she doesn't... well, sometimes she might, and other times can drink anything between 2 to 6oz, and even sometimes 8oz for her last bottle)!

What do you do to guarantee that no milk is wasted? I get quite despondent at the amount of milk going down the drain especially as the stuff isn't cheap!

Thanks in advance

 

[loopy_lou]

I would guess that over a month i might lose about 3 bottles worth with her falling asleep leaving an oz here and an oz there.

 

[Natasha2605]

I think each day I throw maybe 3 onces away? Half an once in one feed etc. There's not much I can do about it, if she doesn't want it she won't have it xx

 

[sunshine114]

I've just accepted that it happens... I would rather there was too much for lo than too little...

 

[Mary Jo]

I sometimes used to put his leftovers in my coffee, and have made white sauce for lasagne (for the family not just Adam). But we did waste a fair amount over the year he was on formula. No way around that, no way to know exactly how much he'd want at any given feed. If we had a bigger freezer I'd have frozen it to use in cooking.

 

[littleblonde]

kacey loves her milk. She wastes less than an oz a day. Guess thats a bottle a week. But never looked at it as waste

 

[kookygirl]

Thanks ladies. I appreciate your replies and fully understand that its just one of those things you have to accept but I reckon I threw away 10oz yesterday. That's a lot in my estimation and I'm sure there is something I can do about it. This has only become an issue since incorporating solids. What do mums whos babies are on solids do to ensure the least amount of milk is wasted? Do you give a set amount of milk every time, regardless of how much (solids) they've eaten? Or do you space the time for milk feeds say every two hours or so after a meal? What has worked the best for you and your LO? x

 

[Natasha2605]

Have you tried keeping a note of feeding times and amounts over a few days to see if there's a rough pattern you could follow? xx

 

[kookygirl]

Have you tried keeping a note of feeding times and amounts over a few days to see if there's a rough pattern you could follow? xx

Thanks Natasha. That sounds like the way to go. I don't measure out what she eats, other than her milk. I just make a bowl of whatever, inbetween finger foods and milk feeds, and she eats as much as she wants. I guess I can keep count of the amount of spoonfulls she has and take it from there. She hasn't got a set eating habit. Some days are better than others x

 

[loopy_lou]

Thanks ladies. I appreciate your replies and fully understand that its just one of those things you have to accept but I reckon I threw away 10oz yesterday. That's a lot in my estimation and I'm sure there is something I can do about it. This has only become an issue since incorporating solids. What do mums whos babies are on solids do to ensure the least amount of milk is wasted? Do you give a set amount of milk every time, regardless of how much (solids) they've eaten? Or do you space the time for milk feeds say every two hours or so after a meal? What has worked the best for you and your LO? x

I have started only making up 2 bottles (she should be on 3) and then making up 2 with the water so when i need a 3rd then i just add the powder and off i go. If your little one is not finishing a bottle the other thing i did was to make up 1/2 bottles and add a small 15 min delay between the 2 (Harriet would drink so quickly she would throw it back up).

 

[OmarsMum]

Omar ocassionally drains bottles. There is a waste of 1-2 oz in every bottle. But when I prepare less he drains his bottle & ask for more So I always prepare 6 oz. He's on 3 bottles only now, but the wasting was much more before he was weaned.

 

[ellie27]

Since Anna was around 3/4 months old I have pretty much been spot on with feeds and still now at 8.5 months. She takes her solids then gets 4 oz an hour later - always finishes it but I would never increase the amount - tried it and she never took it. I think I waste about 2oz max a day.

 

[Petite]

Abbey never ever leaves a drop!! Haha x

 

[zenmommy526]

Liam eats between 4-6 oz. every feed. So what I do is make a bunch of 4 oz bottles (the bare minimum of what he eats) then make a bunch of 2 oz. bottles. So when he gets done with the 4 oz and is still actively sucking like he is still hungry I have OH hurry up and warm up the 2 oz. then he can eat as much of the 2 oz as he wants without me wasting another 4 oz bottle. Does this make sense?

 

[AP]

We throw a lot away, very much to start with, I guess its one of those things, natashas got a great idea there though to try and see if theres a pattern

 

[Neferet]

I've had to throw at least a little formula down the sink every day since Ike was born lol!

 

[bubbles123]

As he's got older I can guess his appetite more and make him different size bottles to avoid wastage (ie he will drink less milk after solids so I only make 4ozs instead of 7ozs). But in general he just drinks as much as he wants then clamps his mouth shut and has now taken to bashing the bottle out of my hand to show he's finished! There's no way you could overfeed my baby, he he! So yep, I throw away a good few ozs everyday but that's just one of those things X

 

[Lara310809]

My LO is notoriously fussy with how much she takes. She went from taking 5oz bottles to 3oz bottles when she was 3m old. I just stick whatever's left in the fridge, and use it for the next feed. If we threw everything out that she didn't drink the first time round, we'd be in a lot of debt by now

 

[MrsT&Ben]

I throw away 8oz nearly every day! I make up 4 8oz bottles as ocassionaly he'll finish a bottle. Like others have said I'd prefer to have too much than not enough x

 

[SKATERBUN]

sorry I work in ML's - I end up throwing around 20-30 mls away each feed! amazing as LO is meant to be taking 180ml now (past 8 weeks) and is still on her 150mls at 12 weeks.
Shes satisfied though and put on loads of weight. So no, I cant say I've ever finished a full bottle in one sitting