How much milk does your ebf baby drink from a bottle?

[evening start]

I work out of home one day a week and my 4 month old stays with his grandparents for the day. We introduced the bottle at 5 weeks, but he has always been reluctant to take it, and didn't eat anything the first day I went back. After much persistence and experimenting, we have gotten him to take the bottle pretty regularly while I am at work. Normally he drinks between 2 - 4 ounces at a time (mostly 3 oz). There are usually 10 to 11 hours between when I feed him in the morning and when I feed him after work, and he will take 4 or 5 bottles in that time. I thought we were right on track, but today the pediatrician seemed concerned with the amount he was taking. He said he should be eating more like 6 to 8 oz from the bottle at a time. He knew it was only one day a week, but I realized in retrospect, he never asked how many bottles he took during the day. When I am home with DS, he normally nurses every 1.5-3 hours depending on when he seems hungry, when he's sleeping, and what other activities we have going on, so I expect him to eat as frequently while I'm at work. 6 to 8 oz every three hours seems excessive to me, but I actually have no real comparison to make. The matter is complicated by the fact that he really only takes fresh milk, so I am always trying to pump enough the day before (while nursing him full time). I don't want to be leaving him hungry accidently, but I really felt comfortable that he was getting enough. His weight gain is completely on track, and except for that first day, he has had a normal number of wet diapers while I am at work. I would appreciate anyone else's experience with this issue. Do you think the ped was basing his recommendation on feeding every 4 hours or do you think he really meant to recommend 6 to 8 oz every 2 hours?

Thank you all for help or suggestions.

[Rivka5]

When I go to work, I leave 4 3oz bottles for an 8.5-hour day. Occasionally my son takes a fifth bottle from the freezer, and since he turned 6 months he usually has some cereal mixed with breastmilk and maybe some pureed fruit or veggies once during the workday as well.

I wouldn't expect a breastfed baby to take more than 3-4oz at a time. Also, unlike formula-fed babies, breastfed babies typically don't need a larger volume in their bottles as they get older. At 7mos, my son takes the same amount in bottles as he did when he was 3mos.

Edited to add: Oh, and mine's a Colin too!

[e(Lisa)beth]

My nine-week-old drinks between 10 and 15 oz in a seven hour day.

[thtr4me]

My DS drank at most 3.5 ounces at a time, even when going through a major growth spurt. Formula babies tend to need a higher volume, and it sounds like the recommendation is based on forumla feeding, and not breastfeeding.

[evening start]

Thanks everyone. It sounds like Colin is pretty normal for a breast fed baby then (at least for this small sample size). I wonder if he was thinking about formula fed babies. The practice claims to be very supportive of breast feeding, but I'm not sure how much the ped actually knows about it (I don't think he has any children of his own). He was also recommending starting solid foods sometime in the next few months which seems early to me. The thing I like about him though is that he is very laid back and more of an adviser than a dictator. So when he talked about solid foods he said there was no one right way to do things, and I should do what seemed right for us, but he gave suggestions for how he would do it. So I don't think I will be "in trouble" if Colin doesn't start drinking more from a bottle -- but it is helpful for me to know that he is probably okay given the amount he is currently drinking.

[KangaTwo]

At almost 7mos, DS has been taking about 10oz from my mom, over the 6 hours I am at work (teaching). Buuuuuut, when MIL watches him, it's 20 oz over those same 6 hours. Go figure. IMO, his 10oz over 6 hours, including a long nap, sounds more in line with his nursing pattern at home. MIL is going to run me out of milk!

[Anastasiya]

My 6 month old takes one 5 ounce bottle (sometimes a 6 ounce bottle) once a day when I work. I work 2 days a week. And I come home at noon to nurse, so that's all he's getting till I get back home. Then he nurses all night!

I think your Colin (we have a Colin in our family, too!) is just fine!