BFing and bottle feeding...

LenoreS

I am back to work and pumping for bottles during the day.  DD is 2 months old eating 4 oz every 3 hours becasue that is what they told me to feed her when I was going to mommy & me teas.  I was able to weigh her, feed her, then weigh her again.  Now that I don't have that option, how do I know when to up her ounces??

CAchica

I EP and have always let my DS guide me. I don't live or die by oz. If he wants more I give him more, if he doesn't want to finish it - he doesn't. I usually put an oz more then he typically eats in his bottle and when he starts finishing his bottle regularly I know he has increased his oz. GL!

CFO

The amount you pump from each breast should tell you approximately what he wants during a given time of day.  I.e. - mornings I get much more than afternoons pumping at work.  Though I pump more than she eats now.  I pump 17-20 oz and she eats 13-15 oz at the sitter's.   I agree w/ pp, give more and see how much he'll finish...  Also, let sitter tell you if they have enough milk for him at the end of the day.  Also, leave a bag of EBM for their freezer in case of emergency.

Tyler79

Let your baby guide you. You don't know how much DC is eating when you BF b/c you let them eat until they are done. Bottle feeding should be looked at the same way.

CHI-06

I knew our DD needed more because she would finish the bottle and then cry when you took it away....so I uped the oz

true_norskie

Your care provider should be able to tell you if he still seems hungry.  You can always send an extra 2 oz to see if he takes that.  DD#1 took 6-8 oz (usually 6--sometimes 8) of breastmilk by the time she was three months old.  Obviously my milk makeup is different than yours, but it just goes to show that 4 oz isn't necessarily right for every baby.

DD never upped her oz during the entire year she was taking expressed breastmilk at daycare.  When she was "ready" to up it, she was on snacks and whole milk so they offered that to her at daycare.

Myheart1297

we upped DS's ounces when it looked like he was still hungry when he finished his bottle. He would yell if he wanted more. We also had trouble at night because he was getting up more often. She will let you know when she wants more by still acting hungry when the bottle is empty. DS will be 4months on Sunday and he eats 6oz every 4 hours and gets 6 bottles a day.