FF questions!

[redhead610]

I know we had one of these awhile ago, but as they grow amounts change rapidly! Sooo:

How old is baby?
How many ounces per day does baby take?
How many bottles/time between/oz in each?
How's it going/questions?

[redhead610]

Ds2 is 11 weeks today. He gets 30 oz a day. 6 bottles per day of 5 oz in each. They are usually about 3 hrs apart. At his 2 mo visit he was 12 lbs 4oz.

I never know when/if to increase. He has never not finished a bottle. Always sucks until air comes out, and then takes his pacifier after to suck more. Sometimes I feel like he would eat forever if I kept adding to the bottle. But I don't want to over feed him (if that's even possible?). Ds1 was bf so I sometimes feel lost!

[watermelonseed]

I'll join! I was just looking for advice on this.

How old is baby? 9 weeks

How many ounces per day does baby take? 26ish

How many bottles/time between/oz in each? About 8 bottles and every 3 hours or so. Sometimes one 4 hour stretch at night.

How's it going/questions? I just switched to an agreeable formula about 2 weeks ago. Things are pretty good, I just wish she'd go a little longer at night. I also was going to ask the ped this week if I should increase ounces or how about going longer in-between feedings.

[joy]

How old is baby? Seven weeks

How many ounces per day does baby take? 24 - 28

How many bottles/time between/oz in each? 4 oz every 3 - 4 hours. She'll go as long as five hours in the right circumstance (not at night, of course... why would we do that then?)

How's it going/questions? It's okay. I never expected to formula feed but there's a lot I like about it.

[elm1214]

How old is baby? 12 weeks

How many ounces per day does baby take? About 25

How many bottles/time between/oz in each? 5 or 6 bottles per day, about 3-4 hours apart during the day, 4-10 hours apart at night. She has been taking 4 oz but just today I bumped it up to 5 oz.

How's it going/questions? Pretty good. She still spits up a decent amount but it's slowly getting better.

[elm1214]

@redhead10, our pedi has always said they would spit up if they eat too much. You can always try more to see, but if he seems content after eating then he might be ok.

DD3 has always finished her bottles too, but if I try to bump up by an ounce too soon then she spits up everywhere. I struggle with when to give more too (and this is my third FF baby).

[hannahbear]

Can anyone here give me a FF primer? We've been supplementing but are very close to switching to F all together.

I got a pitcher to mix more formula in advance. I know it needs to be refrigerated and used within 24 hours.

What do you do for on the go feeding? Pre-prepared bottles? How long can it be out of the fridge? Or bottles with water that you mix the formula in? Is shaking ok? The pitcher has a built in mixer thing.

What about daycare? Would you pre mix and pre pour bottles? They do keep formula there that the teachers will mix - but he's only there twice a week, so I think a lot of formula would be wasted if it has to be used within a month.

[elm1214]

Nov 6, 2016 13:24:30 GMT -5 hannahbear said:

Can anyone here give me a FF primer? We've been supplementing but are very close to switching to F all together.

I got a pitcher to mix more formula in advance. I know it needs to be refrigerated and used within 24 hours.

What do you do for on the go feeding? Pre-prepared bottles? How long can it be out of the fridge? Or bottles with water that you mix the formula in? Is shaking ok? The pitcher has a built in mixer thing.

What about daycare? Would you pre mix and pre pour bottles? They do keep formula there that the teachers will mix - but he's only there twice a week, so I think a lot of formula would be wasted if it has to be used within a month.

I don't premix any formula. I bought the formula pitcher and tried it with DD1, but all my girls have taken room temperature bottles and I hate to take the time to warm them up. I make them as I need them during the day.

So when we are on the go, I pre fill bottles with water and put the powder formula in a travel formula dispenser. I either shake or swirl the formula to mix (depending on the kind, all 3 have used different kinds). I also do this at night so bottles are ready for MOTN.

When DD1 was in daycare, I did the same as above. Pre filled bottles (put the travel discs in our dr. Browns bottles so they didn't leak) and sent a formula dispenser every day.

[redhead610]

Nov 6, 2016 13:24:30 GMT -5 hannahbear said:

Can anyone here give me a FF primer? We've been supplementing but are very close to switching to F all together.

I got a pitcher to mix more formula in advance. I know it needs to be refrigerated and used within 24 hours.

What do you do for on the go feeding? Pre-prepared bottles? How long can it be out of the fridge? Or bottles with water that you mix the formula in? Is shaking ok? The pitcher has a built in mixer thing.

What about daycare? Would you pre mix and pre pour bottles? They do keep formula there that the teachers will mix - but he's only there twice a week, so I think a lot of formula would be wasted if it has to be used within a month.

We use the formula pitcher. Ds2 has been taking 5 oz bottles for the last month. Not idea for on the go, since you need to do 4 or 6 oz of scoops. So, we make the pitcher and pour each bottle, but it ends up being a little over 5.5 with the added powder volume.

If I am going out, I grab a bottle and put it in a cooler bag with an ice pack. Both our kids have always taken cold bottles, so I don't know about heating them on the go. I believe if you have it totally out of the fridge, it should be used within an hour?

Today, we were put and didn't have the pitcher for premade bottles. I made a bottle with 4 oz of water and A bottle of 6 oz of water. Brought a thing with 2 scoops of formula and one of 3. Made the bottles, and just poured one into the other to equal.

Shaking is fine, but it does create a lot of bubbles, which can lead to gas in some babies. Also, I have occasionally had a clump of formula block the hole in the nipple, so check for thst if baby is having trouble sucking.

It it were me, for daycare I'd pour out the bottles you need and bring those if they can leave them in a fridge. We have some 8oz ready to feed bottles on hand - you could always send one to leave at daycare in case he's extra hungry one day (just take it home and use the rest within a couple days of opening).

[hannahbear]

Thank you all!!! This is so helpful!

[quirks]

Nov 6, 2016 13:24:30 GMT -5 hannahbear said:

Can anyone here give me a FF primer? We've been supplementing but are very close to switching to F all together.

I got a pitcher to mix more formula in advance. I know it needs to be refrigerated and used within 24 hours.

What do you do for on the go feeding? Pre-prepared bottles? How long can it be out of the fridge? Or bottles with water that you mix the formula in? Is shaking ok? The pitcher has a built in mixer thing.

What about daycare? Would you pre mix and pre pour bottles? They do keep formula there that the teachers will mix - but he's only there twice a week, so I think a lot of formula would be wasted if it has to be used within a month.

We use the pitcher too. So much less work!

For on the go, I normally have 1 cold bottle mixed and ready to go that I keep in the insulated pocket of the diaper bag. She eats every 2-3 hours so it's still cool by the next feed. Then if we need more than that I have another bottle (with water in it or empty if I can buy a bottle of water) and a formula dispenser with the powder in it. I try to stir the bottle with the filter (Dr Brown's) rather than shaking it, if possible. Shaking makes a lot of bubbles but some times it's just easier.

For daycare we have to pre-make our bottles. If we don't use daycare's formula they are not allowed to mix it for us. H makes a full pitcher before we go to bed. He fills 2 bottles for overnight and then 4 for daycare. They are in the fridge overnight and I just grab them and go in the morning for daycare. When I get there I stick them in their fridge.

[quirks]

How old is baby? 14 weeks
How many ounces per day does baby take? About 5 ounces
How many bottles/time between/oz in each? Between 2-3 hours. We must have had a growth spurt last week because she was barely making it 2 hours for a little bit.
How's it going/questions? It's going well. We've been FF from the beginning, my choice, so we've had lots of practice. The past month there's been a lot more spit-up. I hope she grows out of it soon.

[meagpt22]

hannahbear with DD I pre filled bottles with water and left for room temperature. Then when ready to feed would add the formula. You can shake formula.
For on the go Id bring the water bottle and a formula storage container where the amount needed was in each compartment.
For daycare I stopped sending formula mix in and just sent already made bottles and they just heated it up.