Formula for Formula???

[lil monkey]

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me what the fomula is to work out how many ml of formula/breastmilk a baby needs? I was told it by a midwife a few weeks ago but cant remember!

It is something like weight x something divide by something - I think number of feeds is in there somewhere!!!!

Anyone know this equation???

Lu

[mumofethan]

Hi Lu,

most tins of formula should say on the side roughly how many bottles a day your baby should be going thru... althou keep in mind this is a rough guide, my son would never drink the whole amount when he was smaller, and therefore have more bottles...

how old is you little one... my son is now 8.5mths old and has around 700mls of formula a day...

when he was little he would have around 6-7 100ml bottles...

:D

Michelle

[Chickadee]

As Michelle said, formula tins give a rough guide, but it's based on age not weight. So you'd need to consider if bub is on the small or large size for their age and adjust. & it's just a guide on what to offer, bub may not drink that much or may need more - I tended to offer an extra bottle or if she was regularly finishing a bottle I'd start offering the next size up.

The guide below is off the side of my SMA tin. Expressed breastmilk volumes would be similar.

Newborn to 2 wks - 60 ml, 7 times a day (420 ml total)
2wks to 2 months - 120 ml x 6 times a day (720 ml total)
2 to 4 months - 180 ml x 5 times a day (900 ml total)
4 to 6 months - 240 ml x 5 times a day (1200 ml)
6 to 12 months - 240 ml x 4 times a day (960 ml)
12 - 24 months - 180 ml x 3 times a day (480 ml).

[Lallas' Mum]

Hi Lu,

My son is a rather large bub. He was 5.01kgs born and at 5 wks old is 6.4kgs.

In my book "Baby on Board" by Dr Howard Chilton the equation for working out formula is 170mls per kg per day which is then divided into individual feeds according to frequency of feeds. My CHN suggested 150mls per kg per day but it didn't quite suit bub's feeding habits as well as 170mls did)

So my son would be 170ml x 6.4kgs = 1088mls per day.

My son likes to feed three hourly son I then divided the total daily amount by the number of feeds per day.

eg 1088mls divided by 8 feeds = 136mls per feed

For ease I make up a bottle of 150mls sometimes he leaves 20-30mls and other times he scoffs the lots.

Good thing we had to learn maths at school!:rolleyes:

I hope this helps

Tracey
mum to Alec and Zak

[Tannie]

I thought it was 150mls / kg........but I don't think it really needs to be completely "accurate" and anything between 150 - 170 mls / kg sounds fine - my bubs is around 6kgs and has varying amounts each day - but usually around 800 - 1100mls / day divided into 5 feeds. I find she'll have a day or so of really drinking lots, then a few days of smaller amounts - it seems to even out over 2-3 days :)

She's on S-26 and it says 180mls X 5 times a day for her age (2-4 months)...........I really believe that babies will take in whatever they need - I think the whole "bottle feeding baby's are overweight" thing is rubbish! I give her as much as she wants and she is gaining wt etc at normal rate and on the same percentile as when she was breastfed - it's made no difference whatsoever.
T

[lil monkey]

Thanks everyone! That is the formula I was looking for!!! : )

:D

[osmummy]

Hi, thought I would follow this thread rather than start a new one even tho it is a little off the track.

I have been bf my DD until just recently. She is 6.5 months old and due to milk diminishing have had to start her on formula (have tried everything to increase milk supply to no avail). My issue is that I am now concerned as she only drinks at most 120ml of formula each feed

When I was bf I was not worried as I never knew how much she was getting but now with the bottle of course I know.

She is only little...10th percentile for weight and height my MIL and Mum are only small people so may be genetic and she does gain weight and there has been no concern from MCHN or paediatrician.

She is picky with solids also and tends to like a food then go off it. Am also limited as she has some bowel problems so am avoiding starchy foods as they tend to upset her.

Has anyone else found their little one only consumes small amounts of formula. Should I be trying to increase her feeds? She presently is still having about 6 feeds a day and sometimes will only take 60-80 ml.

[lil monkey]

hi there.

I found that when I first starting putting Tayla on formula, she didn't seem to have much and I panicked as I thought she wasn't getting enough but now after several weeks on the formula she has more (up to 210ml) ! She started only wanting around 80 - 120ml and now at just over 5 months she has anywhere from 100 - 160ml per feed and even 210 ml during the night if she wakes up for a feed.

Your bub will only eat as much as they need. I always prepare 30ml more of formula so that it is there for her to take if she wants it but I don't force it otherwise it ends up all over me!

As long as your baby is alert and lively and putting on weight then they are eating enough. Can't comment on the solids yet as we haven't quite started!

Lu