Another bottle/bm question

Magnolia+Mama · May 2014

For those of you who are bottle-feeding breastmilk...

1) how old is your LO?
2) how often are you feeding?
3) what quantity bm does your LO take at each feeding?

My pediatrician told me that breast-fed babies will feed every 3-4 hours and that the volume should be their age in months +2oz. I have been feeding from the breast on-demand until today when I returned to work so I prepared my bottles using the general guidelines above, but am curious what other moms are doing. My LO will be 3 months on Saturday so I had four 4oz bottles for her meals today while I am at work. I also have a freezer stash if she isn't satisfied with that.

TIA!!

slwprincess · May 2014

My bigs never took more than 5 oz and didn't even hit that mark until 7-8 mos. So I have to disagree with your pedi on volume. Also, mine rarely ever went more than 3 hrs during the day. I always sent four 4 oz bottles to daycare but they never drank all four. Usually just 3 and they didn't even finish those. So my advice is to send four 4 oz bottles this week and then talk to her teachers to see if they think she needs more or less per bottle.

JackieP1023 · May 2014

My LO is 3 months. When I first went back, I was sending 4oz bottles--she would eat every 2.5-3 hours. She still eats every 2.5-3 hours, usually closer to 3, but now she eats 5oz. For a whole day, I send 4 bottles. Sometimes she'll take all 4, sometimes she will take 3.

karich · May 2014

LO is 11 weeks and when I'm not home he eats about every 3 hours during the day.
I leave 4oz bottles. Sometimes he'll only take 3oz, but most of the time will take the whole thing.

I also wanted to chime in about your pedis advice. Like @slwprincess‌, my older children never took more than 5 oz, and I BF well over a year with both. I would ask your provider for input on what your LO eats, and send BM based on that. LO should still be fed on demand.....it's not uncommon for a BF baby to eat less than usual when at daycare.

SuzyQq02 · May 2014

Thanks for starting this post! We were doing 3oz bottles last week but are bumping her up to 4oz bottles this week in an effort to get her most of her food during the day vs. overnight since she can be a bit of a crankpot if she doesn't sleep well. Good to hear we're not WAY off for a 3mo old.

shellbell3845 · May 2014

When LO (11 weeks) eats a bottle, I make 5oz bottles. He's probably almost 15lbs, if that makes a difference. He doesn't always eat the full 5 oz. Last night he only ate 3oz. Sometimes it's less. It's confusing and sometimes frustrating. It seems like there are also differing opinions on how much to feed?

ras26 · May 2014

I agree with PPs in questioning your pedi's advice on volume for a breastfed baby (formula is different). DD1 maxed out at 4oz bottles, but that was when she was like 10 months old. I think 3-4 oz bottles are pretty typical, roughly every 3 hours. DD2 is 10 weeks and she will eat 3.5-4 oz from a bottle. I'm not back to work yet, so I don't usually give more than one bottle per day, so I can't comment on timing.

Codypup · May 2014

slwprincess said:

My bigs never took more than 5 oz and didn't even hit that mark until 7-8 mos. So I have to disagree with your pedi on volume. Also, mine rarely ever went more than 3 hrs during the day. I always sent four 4 oz bottles to daycare but they never drank all four. Usually just 3 and they didn't even finish those. So my advice is to send four 4 oz bottles this week and then talk to her teachers to see if they think she needs more or less per bottle.

STUCK in the box

But this. My LO takes around 3-4 ounces at a time.

Magnolia+Mama · May 2014

My LO has taken as much as 7oz in one feeding (we were at a restaurant and she was still fussing for more after a 4oz bottle-we offered her another bottle and she drank 3oz more without spitting any of it up). Perhaps that was during a growth spurt?

nebraska84 · May 2014

1. 13 weeks.

2. He eats every 3 hrs

3. 4 oz bottle at 7:30 am, 10:30, 1:30. And he nurses the rest of the time.

hopefuldog · May 2014

My LO is almost 12 weeks (so 2.5-3mos). We do 4 oz bottles for daycare and little one eats every 2.5 hrs, unless napping then it will stretch longer. I'm not sure it's ever gone more than 3hrs.

frohotch · May 2014

My daughter is 3.5 months and still only takes 3.5 oz every 3 hours (gets three bottles while at daycare 7:30-5:30, and I feed her right before and after). Sometimes she'll take 4, but not often

Metreky21 · May 2014

Here is a good resource from Kellymom. Includes a calculator for figuring out how much they will probably take.

https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

MamaAllison · May 2014

I think your pedi's advice might be a little misleading. BM changes over the course of a baby's first year, so they will normally never take more than 4-5 oz at a time. It's only with formula that the amounts need to increase.

boogerbearoriginal · May 2014

Like PPs, I don't think your pedi's advice is accurate. Unlike FF babies who tend to eat larger amounts less frequently, BF babies tend to eat every 2-3hrs and smaller amounts. Furthermore, as LO gets older, that model is totally inaccurate because all babies, FF/BF max out at around 30-32oz per day, and the range is 25-30oz. Your pedi's advice sounds more like formula feeding guidelines.

For LO1, we did 4oz bottles, he ate that amount from 3m until 12m when we dropped bottles altogether. And was eating those every 2-3hrs during the day. LO2 is only eating 3oz - I've actually done a number of weighted feeds and it's almost always 3oz. A few occasions she's taken in 4oz, and once she took in 5oz but almost all feeds have been 3oz. She will be 3m on Wednesday. But it's still every 2-3hrs. I don't know of many breastfed babies that go 4hrs between feedings.

My LOs have followed the ounce per hour rule pretty closely - we are apart 9-10hrs a day including commute and when I BF in the morning before leaving (sometimes she wakes at 4/5a to nurse, sometimes not until 6/7a). She takes between 9-12oz when I'm at work over 3-4bottles. One time she took in 15oz, but she was being fed right when I arrived so those last few ounces were likely what she would've taken at the breast.

versed · May 2014

Also disagree about volume ...

LO1 took 3oz bottles every 3hrs the entire time he took bottles (10w-11m). BM changes in quality so quantity doesn't have to change.

Altreed · May 2014

Sounds like I am pretty on track with others. My LO is 12 weeks. He takes 4 oz bottles at DC and usually eats 3-4 bottles while I am away at work.

tenfour · May 2014

My dd took 4 oz til six months then 5 every three hours. I did a weighed feeding with ds and I think it was close to 5. I'm going to cry real tears over all the 5 oz bags in my freezer if he ends up only wanting 4 (back to work in two weeks). Not that he's taken a bottle yet.

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