XP: Possibly stupid pumping Q: estimating how many ozs. 7 week old LO needs?

mollymurphy · July 2009

Okay, this is a possibly stupid question...this is my first week back at work and for the second day in a row, my caregiver tells me that DS blew through all of his bottles (16 oz.) plus an additional 4 oz. of frozen 'backup' milk about an hour before I arrived to pick him up.?

I originally used the Kellymom milk calculator to estimate his intake which gave me an estimate of 4 oz. per feeding (he's eating every 3 hours.) But his caregiver says he's taking 6-7 ozs. per feeding?!

Could I really have been that far off or is she overfeeding him? I don't think she'd continue to feed him if he was clearly full (spitting up, etc.) but I just can't fathom that I was that far off...someone tell me that I'm not stupid: I feel terrible when she says that I'm not sending enough, but I have no idea what 'enough' is...is 6-7 oz. reasonable for a 7 wk old?

nicoleandadam · July 2009

That sounds like a lot. We send about 24 oz. each day and usually end up bringing about 8-12 oz. home to freeze. However, I have heard that you can't overfeed a baby, so maybe he is actually eating that much?

madhatter2003 · July 2009

You *can* overfeed from a bottle more easily than a breast....that seems like a ton for a 7 week old. My DS is still only taking 5 oz, sometimes even 4 oz of BM, and he's nearly 6 months old. I have a feeling she is overfeeding him, but I can't believe he's not spitting it up.

robin_e · July 2009

You can definitely overfeed a baby from a bottle and that sounds like a lot. He may just want to suck and, therefore, he is drinking the milk when she gives him more. Has she tried a paci? Also, since he's probably getting it faster from the bottle nipple, he might not *know* he's full until it's too late. I would start with a 3oz bottle and then have her give him more oz by oz if he seems to need it.