Need some help bottlefeeding with respect

[Phycologia]

My DS is 6.5 months old. He is breastfed but for the past three months I have been giving him a bottle of EBM at bedtime. It's a great part of the bedtime routine and it's nice to know that I've definitely filled his little tummy. When he wakes up an hour later I know it's okay to send DH in :)

The problem is he was normally eating 3-4 oz like most breastfed babies do. But now that he's six months, I think all the guidelines of how much each feeding is changes. My mom has encouraged me to use a bigger bottle of EMB and see if I can feed him more before bedtime.

Anyway, I upped to 5 ounces and he finished the bottle, so I stayed at 5 for a while. Tonight though, I upped to 6 ounces and he finished the bottle. To me that sounds like a LOT in one sitting, but maybe I am just not used to him being so old! He is very drowsy by the time he gets the bottle and seems to be eating in his sleep toward the end--eyes closed, very relaxed.

I guess I am wondering what are normal bottle amounts for older babies, and will he stop drinking once he's had enough? I'm afraid that if I keep upping the ounces I'm going to feed him so much that he gets sick. I know babies can eat in their sleep so I don't want him to keep drinking as long as its in his mouth, kwim? But I want him to be full and satisfied.

When he nurses to sleep he pulls off the nipple when he's done, but I've never seen him do that with a bottle. Thanks for your help!

[Skippy918]

Breastmilk changes with the baby, so they typically don't up the amounts they drink.  My son always drank around 4-5oz till around a year, and DD also drinks that same amount.  

[Blanca78]

My DD is 7 months old and she usually sticks to 3-4 oz at daycare; occasionally, she'll do 5 or 6 oz. I guess I wouldn't sweat it--he probably wouldn't finish it if he didn't want/need it.

[Megan73]

You don't need to increase the size of the bottle as he gets bigger. Breastfed babies - unlike formula fed ones - do not drink more breastmilk in a day as they get bigger, the daily total remains somewhere between 19 and 30 ounces (25 ounces is average) then gradually declines as they eat more solids.
Are you using the slowest flow newborn nipple and doing paced feeding? If not, baby may be sucking back the bottle before he has a chance to realize his tummy is full.
I'm just wondering though, why you feel like you need to supplement? Is your babe not gaining well?

[Super~Single~Mama]

Originally Posted by Megan73 

You don't need to increase the size of the bottle as he gets bigger. Breastfed babies - unlike formula fed ones - do not drink more breastmilk in a day as they get bigger, the daily total remains somewhere between 19 and 30 ounces (25 ounces is average) then gradually declines as they eat more solids.
 

Yes, it gradually declines as they eat more and more solids, but are you sure they don't increase the amount they drink? It's pretty common knowledge that when babies go through growth spurts they nurse more to bring in more milk - increase in demand equals increase in supply. I'm pretty sure the amount my son drank increased as he got bigger/gained more weight.

[Megan73]

Originally Posted by Super~Single~Mama 



Yes, it gradually declines as they eat more and more solids, but are you sure they don't increase the amount they drink? It's pretty common knowledge that when babies go through growth spurts they nurse more to bring in more milk - increase in demand equals increase in supply. I'm pretty sure the amount my son drank increased as he got bigger/gained more weight.

According to everything I've read, the increase during growth spurts is temporary. The fact that BF babies (unlike FF ones) don't drink more as they get bigger is why BF babies grow so quickly in the first few months (most doubling birthweight between three to four months) then gain more slowly, appearing to "fall off" standard charts based on FF babies. Here are some quotes from kellymom.com - a good source of evidence-based breastfeeding information:

1) "In exclusively breastfed babies, milk intake increases quickly during the first few weeks of life, then stays about the same between one and six months (though it likely increases short term during growth spurts). Current breastfeeding research does not indicate that breastmilk intake changes with baby's age or weight between one and six months. After six months, breastmilk intake will continue at this same level until -- sometime after six months, depending in baby's intake from other foods -- baby's milk intake begins to decrease gradually (see below).

The research tells us that exclusively breastfed babies take in an average of 25 oz (750 mL) per day between the ages of 1 month and 6 months. Different babies take in different amounts of milk; a typical range of milk intakes is 19-30 oz per day (570-900 mL per day)."

2) "During a growth spurt, breastfed babies nurse more often than usual (sometimes as often as every hour) and often act fussier than usual.

The increase in baby's milk intake during growth spurts is temporary. In exclusively breastfed babies, milk intake increases quickly during the first few weeks of life, then stays about the same between one and six months. As solids are gradually introduced after six months, baby's milk intake will gradually decrease."

[Phycologia]

Originally Posted by Megan73 

You don't need to increase the size of the bottle as he gets bigger. Breastfed babies - unlike formula fed ones - do not drink more breastmilk in a day as they get bigger, the daily total remains somewhere between 19 and 30 ounces (25 ounces is average) then gradually declines as they eat more solids.
Are you using the slowest flow newborn nipple and doing paced feeding? If not, baby may be sucking back the bottle before he has a chance to realize his tummy is full.
I'm just wondering though, why you feel like you need to supplement? Is your babe not gaining well?

He's always used a newborn nipple--I've never heard the term paced feeding but I looked it up and it makes sense, thanks! As for your other question, he's in the 15th percentile for weight, down from 25th at his 4 month visit :( but both of his parents are small so I'm not too worried. I didn't really consider it supplementing since it was my own milk. But a bottle was something we incorporated into his bedtime routine during our (no cry) sleep training, and it's one of his cues that it's time to go down for the night. It's nice because he goes to bed as early as 6 or 6:30, and this way someone else can put him to bed if I can't. Nice to have the option even though I haven't used it!

Also, he was refusing bottles for a while and refusing to NIP, chaining me to the house, so my ped suggested we offer one at least three times a week so that he could take one if it was necessary. 

It looks like my instincts were spot on...I'll go back to his normal size bottle. Thanks everyone!