Overnight bottle

[packerup]

i know the general rule of thumb is one ounce per hour, but how much would you put in a bottle if your baby sleeps 6-8 hours during the night? My parents are watching my 3-month old son overnight tomorrow night, and I'm not sure how much milk to tell them to give him if he does sleep longer. He usually has one longer stretch (usually 4-6 but as long as 8, hours between feedings) during the night, but I don't think they should give him that many ounces.

[Deleted]

When they sleep longer at night it isn't because they ate 6-8 oz to sleep 6-8 hours. It's because they ate enough thru the whole day to reach their daily total. So they may be eating say 1 1/2 oz per hour during the day. Kwim?

Kellymom has a milk calculator to give you an idea based on how many feeds they take in during a day. It's likely they are still only taking in about 3-4 oz at a time

[packerup]

I don't think I worded my initial post correctly. I'm not thinking DS eats 6-8 oz before he sleeps 6-8 hours. What I'm asking is: if he sleeps 6-8 hours, how much should they feed him when he wakes up from that? I've told my parents when they've watched him before (during the day) to give him about an ounce for every hour since his last feeding, but I know he shouldn't eat 6-8 oz in one feeding, so I'm just wondering how much they should give him when he wakes up. Is 4 oz a good amount, or should I do 5? I know it's not a big difference, but I don't want to waste my pumped milk. TIA.

[Deleted]

Do the math on the kellymom milk calculator for how many feeds he takes in a day then have them start at the lower amount and have a separate bottle with an extra 1-2 oz to top him off if he's not satisfied with what they give. So if he usually eats six times a day a four oz bottle might be perfect. If he is still eating 8 times a day a three oz bottle might be fine.

Or he may be a baby that wakes up starved and likes more or he may take a while for his appetite to wake up and he'll take 2.5-3 oz first thing and a bit larger amount at the next feeding. So a lot of this oz going to be trial and error and look at the baby and see if he's happy.

[casey]

I'd start with about 4oz. Can they add another ounce if he's still hungry in am? Or maybe second feeding will just come faster.

[theresat858]

Feb 5, 2015 12:21:10 GMT -5 casey said:

I'd start with about 4oz. Can they add another ounce if he's still hungry in am? Or maybe second feeding will just come faster.

This.

When DD sleeps a long stretch, her first feeding is usually normal, but she wants to eat again in 1.5-2 hours rather than 3.

[packerup]

Thanks everyone!

[spacedew]

Feb 5, 2015 12:21:10 GMT -5 casey said:

I'd start with about 4oz. Can they add another ounce if he's still hungry in am? Or maybe second feeding will just come faster.

This. DD has never taken more than 3-4 oz for my mom. If DD acts like she is still hungry and my mother makes her another bottle she may have a couple of sips but that's it. I think the amount of time it takes to warm up a bottle allows her stomach to register she is full.