[Happily Blessed]

Dh has Yahootie 3 days a week and a babysitter the other 2. I am trying to figure out how much to send with the babysitter because Dh can just go into the freezer.<br><br>
Today, Dh was alone with Yahootie for about 6 hours. He said he fed Yahootie twice for about a total of 8 oz. The first feeding was 3 oz, and the second feeding was 5 oz.<br><br>
I am going by <a href="http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html" target="_blank">http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html</a> and figure that I need to send 3 oz. each feeding with Yahootie being fed every 2.5 to 3 hours. But both the babysitter and Dh say that he eats more. In fact, the babysitter said "he gulped it down!" I have given one of the babysitters this information <a href="http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html" target="_blank">http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html</a> and asked that they slow down his feedings.<br><br>
Is 4-5 or even 6 oz. appropriate for a baby - 3 1/2 months old - who is being fed every 2 to 3 hours? If so, I have no idea how I will keep up with this demand. Right now I am pumping twice a day and getting about 7 to 10 oz. a day. If he stays at a 3 hour schedule, then 9 oz. would be fine. But if he is feeding every 2 hours at 3 hours, I am going to seriously have to up the ante, so to speak.<br><br>
What are your thoughts?<br><br>
laural<br><br>
Oh, and I have my fingers crossed this is just a growth spurt. Grow, Yahootie, grow! He is up to 14 lbs. now!

 

[BlueIrises]

I talked with my LC about bottlefeeding and I was explaining how my DS gulped down a bottle of formula after BF and I was crying b/c I thought I had been starving my son...she told me that a baby gulping down a bottle is not a sign of how hungry he is but just a reflection of how they have difficulty restricting the flow of the fluid...so the gulping is b/c they get so much liquid so fast...unlike BF where they have to work at the milk coming out (though mine gulped when BF sometimes due to my OALD)...she told me to watch for signs of hunger after a bottle to determine if the oz needed to upped or if the time btwn feedings was getting shorter...

 

[Happily Blessed]

Thank you! I have asked all caretakers to start with 2 oz. and then go up another 2 oz. if needed.<br><br>
How much should he get each feeding?<br><br>
laural

 

[AwakenedMama]

My DD is 4.5 mos old and stays home with dad when I work. I was very lucky to go to Mommy and Me classes with an LC who taught AP (unofficially). She suggested the following technique for bottlefeeding:<br><br>
Give 1 oz at a time. Stop. Burp baby. Change sides. Give another ounce. Stop. Burp baby. Change sides...<br><br>
She also suggested the importance of the nipple type, mainly that it should be wide-based and should be put into baby's mouth with a "latch" similar to when BFing and should not drip milk out quickly.<br><br>
DH always feeds her in this way and she has never taken more than 4 oz at a time. We have found the BreastFlow nipples to be the slowest flow and best tolerated by her. He tried many nipple types and most of them would release milk so fast that she would choke.<br><br>
I have no doubts based on what I've heard other working moms whose kids are given bottles of EBM that feeding them correctly and slowly as suggested on kellymom is the only way to allow them to control what they take in. Everyone I know who just pops a bottle in her kid's mouth finds that they will take a LOT more than 4 oz, which they really shouldn't need.<br><br>
If she wanted more than 4 oz, he would give it to her. If she is fussy soon after eating 4 oz and he's not sure what's wrong, he will sometimes offer the bottle again, but she doesn't take it. So she is certainly not hungry by only taking 4 oz or less at a time - and she weighs almost 18 lbs.<br><br>
I am very grateful that I have DH to trust and rely on to feed her in what I personally believe is the "correct" way. I hope you can convince those caring for your child to try this out too.<br><br>
adrienne