advice appreciated!

als33

so, obviously i'm a SAHM since i'm posting here, BUT i watch one of my best friend's 3 month old two days a week for her.  everything is going fine with it, but they recently changed her feeding schedule and i don't think she's getting enough formula.  up until 2 weeks ago she was getting 4 oz bottles every 3 hours.  then last week when dropping her off, they told me they changed her to 5 oz bottles every 4-5 hours.  then this week they changed it to 6 oz bottles every 5 hours.  i have her for 9 hours a day, and they only gave me two bottles for her.  to me, the point of increasing the number of oz per bottle is to feed the baby more overall, but she's actually getting LESS.  and she doesn't drink the whole 6 oz, probably bc her belly's not used to eating that much.  i think she should be getting 5 oz bottles every 3-4 hours, and that seemed to be the consensus on the internet research i did.

so my question is, should i say something?  they're both first time parents and have never cared for another baby in their life, and they both admit they don't really know what they're doing.  but i don't want to come off as if i know everything and i should tell them how to care for their child.  so, should i bring it up, or let it go?

detroitblondie

I would & her Mom will probably appreciate you for it. When our kids were right around 6 weeks old (her daughter is 6 days younger than my son), my bff suggested that I up the ounce-age of his formula because to her he didn't seem satisfied with just whatever I had been giving him at the time.  I didn't take any offense- I just appreciated her concern, took her advice, and he ended up being a much happier baby.  Sometimes as new mom's we need a little help along the way and who better to get it from than your bff?  You know?

MrsRebecca

I would. Maybe you can mention that the baby isn't eating the full bottle, and ask how they ended up on that schedule?

I agree with you that 5 oz. every 3-4 hours is pretty standard for a baby her age. 

gobigblue

oh my!  my 3 m/o still eats every 3 hrs.  i BF, but am pretty sure he's getting about 5 oz each time.  i definitely think you should say something.  you could say something like, "ya know, i was thinking back to when my LO was 3 mos and she was still getting bottles every x hrs.  i jumped on the internet just to check what the norm was and...."   

EveryNameIWantIsTaken

I've had the same situation.  The 9 month old I watch only gets 16oz of formula a day total.  Needless to say, they don't send any here for the 9-10 hour days he is here.  He gets hungry and cranky.  I brought it up to the parents and they are ignorant and told me that his pedi said it was adequate so that is how they are doing it.  I don't agree at all and it makes the time he is here hard sometimes but they aren't going to listen to me.

I would bring it up in hopes that your friend isn't as stupid as this little boy's parents are being.

sparky88

If I were the parent I would want to know if my child was not getting enough formula-- and still acting hungry or cranky throughout the day.  That makes for a miserable situation for everyone- caregiver & baby!  I think you've received good suggestions for ways to bring it up.  GL!

PS- my LO also drank 5oz every 3 hours at 3-4 months old.