January 2013 Moms
lafayettegirl
member
Talk to me about formula quantities
lafayettegirl
member
DS is 5 months. Small baby, but a decent eater. Doc said we could start rice cereal at 4 month appointment, but I did not. We are contemplating starting with maybe oatmeal or avocado in the upcoming weeks however.I just want him to be better with sitting and show a bit more interest in what goes on at the table.
I saw a post yesterday and someone mentioned that babies should not have over a certain amount of formula per day. I am wondering what that amount is and where that "rule" comes from. The doctor never mentioned it, but DS at that point was only hitting 24 ounces per day.
DS is taking between 27 and 34 ounces of formula per day right now.
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Re: Talk to me about formula quantities
I don't know a lot about this topic, but I've done some basic research on it because I've heard it before. Take what I say with a grain of salt because I'm far from an expert, but here's what I understand: the advice is to feed baby no more than 32oz formula in a 24 hour period. This advice is based on bottle-fed babies being able to easily over-eat. Formula is very high in calories and babies suck it down much faster than nursing at the breast (obviously). Additionally, when a baby is nursing (even if they sometimes take bottles as well) they typically don't graduate past a handful of ounces per feeding because the breastmilk changes as they grow and their needs change. Basically with formula-feeding it's much easier to feed them too much. Over eating can cause excessive weight gain as well as gastro-intestinal issues. Additionally the formula has nutrients added (obviously) and it is possible to over-dose on vitamins and minerals and that can really throw things off balance.
Now, I'm of the opinion that the 32 oz/day is a pretty arbitrary number. Every baby is different (just like every adult is different. We all need a different number of calories in a day, right?). Also, some parents really seem to freak out about going over that 32oz number, but I've honestly never seen anyone talk about their normal baby going much above it. So, I really think just feed your baby what they seem to need. If problems come up then you might need to change what you're doing, but in general I think everything is going to be just fine even if your baby wants to eat 40 oz in a day vs. 32. I think most babies are going to naturally fall right around that 32oz mark anyway. I really wouldn't worry about it too much unless you have reason to worry.
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