Formula mums Help!! Im stressed and worried!!

[Eternity]

I have started weaning Linc to forumla and at first he seemed to like it better and was then fussing at the breast so I started giving him more and making the weaning process a little quicker, my boobs arent filling up anymore now

He started sleeping longer and overall seemed more content, he wasnt taking the 150mls like it says on the contatiner but I wasnt worried as he was bf aswell

Now that my supply is low I am just offering him Formula during the day and one BF in the morning but he is only taking about 50 mls every 2 hours:confused: I am concerned he should be drinking alot more:crying: it says up to 2 mths 150mls x6 times per day, I know every baby is different but surely he should be taking more than that, the most I have ever got him to take is 100mls

so far today he has had

3.00am 50mls

6.00am BF

9.00am 50 mls

12.00am refusing his forumla, I then tried the Boob and he was not interested either, he pulls of after a few sucks, he doesnt seem to be in pain

now he has done 1 poo and about 3 wees already today and is sleeping now but I am so confused and scared I have now switched him to formula and he wont drink enough, its really stressing me out

My dd was only bf so I have no idea about ff and whats normal

Please any advice welcome, I am rather confused:(

[samsgirls]

Hi Eternity,

your bub will drink the formula, once he learns there is nothing else on offer. Hungry babies will drink. He maybe just getting used to the teat on the bottle. But make sure u stick to your weaning, and he will sort himself out. At the moment as long as he is content that is the main thing. The info on the tin, is just a guide. It will all be ok.:hugs:

[Kittylou]

I agree with everything samsgirls has said.

Also, have you tried spacing out his feeds a little longer? He may drink more if you feed less frequently than every two hours. Then again, he may not...

As for the tin guide, my 7 month old is still having 5 x 150ml bottles per day (what the tin suggests for a 3 month old) and never finishes all of them. She is perfectly happy, healthy and gaining weight well. She just doesn't need anywhere near what the formula tin suggests she 'should' be having.

ETA: Not sure how old your bub is but seeing as you mentioned 'up to two months' I'll go with that. At two months, my DD was feeding 3.5-4 hourly and having 6 x 120ml bottles but most of the time she drank about 80-90mls from each of them.

[Eternity]

Thanks Samsgirls and Kittylou for your quick responses:hugs: I was starting to get a little worked up over it, as being a mummy that has only BF I didnt have any clue if this was normal

Lincoln is 7 weeks old now and 5.2 kilos, I think I will try and hold off and space the next feed out and see if he will take more and :fingerscrossed:that will start a better routine for feeding:confused: Maybe I have been offering him the bottole too soon and making him into a snack feeder

[samsgirls]

Yes, space Lincoln's feeds out a bit more as he may be not as hungry on formula, as KittyLou suggested, as formula takes longer for bubs to digest. He should settle into a bit of a feeding routine soon enough for u. Just relax. :D

[sparkleymum]

Oh Chicken, dont worry. Theres a few things, firstly he could be just having an off day, Myles did one day where he left loads of his feeds so dont stress too much just yet.
The other things is like the others said, a hungry baby will feed. He may have a quiet day today and be really hungry tomorrow, he will let you know.

Myles has 5 feeds a day:
07.00 250mls
11.00 200-250mls
3pm-3.30pm 200-250mls
6.30pm 250mls
10.30pm 100mls

I know he has huge bottles for his age but he is 6.85kilos!!!! Some days he drinks less, around the 200mls mark, other days he polishes off the bottles.

Perhaps spacing out his feeds more so its 4 hours or even 4.5 hours might make a difference. I feed every 4 hours because Myles gets hungry every 4 hours. How often does Linc seem to get hungry?

Don't worry, he'll figure it out. As long as he is still putting on 600 - 800g per week and happy and thriving then there is nothing to worry about.

Let us know how you go

[musicalmummy]

don't stress
my ECHN nurse told me to work it out on kg's.
the formula is
150ml X hw many kg baby weighs is how many mls they should have in the entire 24 hr period.
so write down how much bub has each feed then see if it adds up to the amount he should be having.

you know yourself sometimes you have very very hungry days, other days you eat bugger all. :)

[peta1410]

Both my bubs were ff. My first hardly ever finished a bottle so don't worry too much about amounts. Like someone else said the amount on the tin is just a guide. As long as he's feeding and gaining weight then you don't need to worry. As a general rule both my boys were fed every 4 hours. And generally ff babies poo less frequntly that bf bubs and he could have a little bit of constipation as his body adjusts to the formula. But all these things will work themselves out with time and abit of patience. Good luck.

[Eternity]

Thank you all for your advice and Hugs...really appreciate them, Things are sorting themselves out with Linc he is now taking a min of 90 mls sometimes 120mls...and going at least 2 and a half to 4 hours beteewn feeds:) I guess its just taking him a little time to adjust to ff, he is sure thriving though, he has put on 2 kilos since birth, so he is definately growing nice and big :D

[samsgirls]

Happy to help Eternity! My bubs were formula fed from 2wks and 1 wk, so i have had a bit of experience!:laughing: By the sounds of it Lincoln is doing just fine!:thumbsup:

[Bel1978]

We had to change the teat size on J's bottle as he kept falling asleep besides the wind that we have a problem with if he drinks a whole bottle he will sleep... the same with DD i was told i had to bottle feed with both.. both started BF while in hospital but the FF..