Bottle Feeding – Quantity

I really worry about how much is enough formula. Can you give me guidelines?

If your baby is under 6 months old and is feeding only on formula then every day baby needs to consume 60ml of formula for every 450g of body weight as a rough guide. So if your baby weighs 4kg then the total formula for the day is roughly 530ml. Since you are probably feeding every 4 hours, there are 6 feeds per day. Dividing 530ml by 6 gives us roughly 88ml per feed.

Remind yourself constantly that this may vary considerably from day to day and feed to feed. The danger of a plump baby comes from not accepting when baby indicates that he has had enough, and cajoling baby into eating a little more. Overweight is not the only problem this may lead to. Overfeeding can lead to tummy ache and vomiting as well.

If baby seems dissatisfied with the feed on a regular basis and yet has eight wet nappies and is gaining well, it could come back to needing to suckle. Try changing the teat for one with a smaller hole, or ask your doctor about occasionally offering a tiny drink of water.

See also:
Bottle feeding – Advantages
Bottle feeding – Choice of Teat
Bottle feeding – Choosing the best formula
Bottle feeding – Combining with breastfeeding
Bottle feeding – Drawbacks
Bottle feeding – Intolerance/Allergy to Cow’s Milk
Bottle feeding – Physical contact and Propping
Bottle feeding – Practical guidelines
Bottle feeding – Pros and cons
Bottle feeding – Reducing mother’s milk supply
Bottle feeding – Switching from breastfeeding
Bottle feeding – Travelling