Question about formula intake for 7week old??

[iluvmy2boys]

First off this isn't my baby - it's the little boy I babysit. Also, I breastfed my second child (oh heck, he's still breastfeeding!) but formula-fed my first but that was 5years ago.

Does 6-8oz every 3hrs sound like a lot for a baby this age? He also spits up a fair amount, but not a ton usually. I've noticed his mom doesn't use the same type of bottle - she uses whatever is around.

I'm wondering if his spitting is #1 - caused by a certain bottle. #2 - if it's the excessive amount (at least, to me) of formula he's intaking and #3 - what should I do?!

I've noticed baby doesn't spit up nearly as much with the Playtex Ventaire bottles, so I've asked her to send those particular bottles for when I have him. Also I've noticed he doesn't spit as much when I give him 4oz, and then maybe 30mins later, give him the rest.

Issue is mom has him on a "schedule" and doesn't want to mess with that since she's working (and the dad is in highschool). So, do I do what works for him while he's here, or what?

[dotgirl]

My 4.5 month old takes 6oz at 9:30, 12:30 & 3:30 pm every day while he's with his nanny. On weekends, he adhere's reasonably close to that schedule (+/- 30 minutes on either side.) He also takes 6oz between 6-7pm, and then another 6oz around 9-10pm. After that he goes to bed, and will wake up anywhere between midnight and 7am to eat - it really just depends on his mood. However, we didn't put him on this schedule - he did it himself. *grin*

So he's eating about 36oz per day, roughly every three hours. (Which is a substantial amount, but the standard for formula is 2.5oz for every 1lb of body weight, and he's 17lbs, so he's right in the middle.)

At 7 weeks old, our little guy weighed about 13lbs, and took about 27oz per day - 4 5oz bottles during the day and one 7oz bottle just before bed (mind you, at that point, we were feeding mostly breastmilk). And at 13lbs, he was 90th percentile for weight. So I think, just my opinion, that 6-8oz every three hours is way too much for your little charge, especially if it's formula. *Maybe* 6oz is ok, but not 8oz.

Our son also spits up frequently - nothing we've tried has helped (different bottles, less formula, etc), so we just burp him after 3oz and then at the end, and try to have lots of urp rags laying around. I don't think spit up is anything to worry about - I was concerned about Riley, but our ped (who just had a baby about a year ago) says that it often looks worse than it is. (We use the Playtex bottle with the disposable liners and the rounded nipple.) But if a certain bottle cuts down on his spitting up, you should definitely use that sort.

Anyway! I hope that helps a little.

[vikivoly]

YES! That is waay too much for a 7 week old. I was told 32 oz is right about where you want to be, but not at 7 weeks. I can't remember how much DD was taking at that time, but I know she was still using the 4 oz bottles.