OT: How much formula does your 9 month old drink?

[laughinplace199]

The guidelines from my pediatrician's office for formula fed babies say a 6-9 month old needs 5-6 feedings totalling 24-32 ounces/day, and a 9-12 month old needs 4-5 feedings totalling 16-24 ounces per day.

DS just turned 9 months on Saturday. He was taking in about 25 ounces/day (4 bottles plus formula used to make rice cereal). He has never been a great eater and had some weight gain issues as a newborn. At his 9 month visit on Friday, he was just under 15 pounds. My pediatrician told me to make the formula more concentrated so that DS gets more calories/ounce. But, he said that 25 ounces/day was not enough and he needs 32 ounces/day. The problem is, I can't get him to eat that much.

Any suggestions? I'm now trying to give him five bottles a day, one bottle every four hours. He usually refuses the mid-morning one or the one after that, or both. Or sometimes he'll take an ounce or two of each.

Help! I'm really starting to worry about my little guy and don't know how to get him to eat more. Thanks for any advice!

 

[PrincessMom4]

what kind of formula? My little guy just turned 8months and is 20lbs... he just started formula about a month ago. He was on the Emfamil DHA (really expensive stuff...lol) and we now switched him to Follow-up (yellow can) which is just as good, but costs less.

 

[laughinplace199]

He's on Nutramigen due to a milk allergy. I just don't know how to get him to eat more. How often does your baby eat and how many ounces does he take at each feeding?

 

[drivencrazy]

What is his weight? I really wouldn't worry about it if he is growing and staying about the same place on the charts.... You have to think of it this way, that is an avarage, some have to eat more, some less... just like having a child that is in the 10% for weight (witch my oldest has been from day one) someone has to be in the 10%... we can't all be in the 50% range... babies are all different, as long as your little one is growing and healthy and eating when he is hungry don't worry about it. You can't force him to eat when he isn't hungry, he will let you know if he needs something. Is he eatting any other foods?

 

[laughinplace199]

What is his weight? I really wouldn't worry about it if he is growing and staying about the same place on the charts.... You have to think of it this way, that is an avarage, some have to eat more, some less... just like having a child that is in the 10% for weight (witch my oldest has been from day one) someone has to be in the 10%... we can't all be in the 50% range... babies are all different, as long as your little one is growing and healthy and eating when he is hungry don't worry about it. You can't force him to eat when he isn't hungry, he will let you know if he needs something. Is he eatting any other foods?

He is 14 lbs, 15 oz., but he was 15 lbs two months ago. He has grown 2 inches in the last three months though.

He is eating solids, but if I give him too much, he won't take the bottle at all because he gets full.

 

[waltskids]

Our DS will be 9 months in a few days. He currently drinks about 24 oz a day of Enfamil but only takes 3 bottles (8 oz in each bottle). We stagger his meals and bottles so he doesn't get too full with the food. His last bottle is usually around 6:00pm. He weighs almost 19 lbs.

As far as food (I forgot about to write about that): I made homemade baby food starting at 6 months, but now he eats mostly table food (soft fruits, cooked veggies, breads, soft cooked chicken, etc.). He also loves yogurt.

 

[nateryan]

My DS is 9 months and weighs 20lbs & 28 3/4" long. He drinks 6oz bottles of Enfamil with Iron about every 3 -4 hours. 5 - 6 bottles a day and he sleeps through the night (since he was 3 months old, so lucky!)

He also eats jarred baby food and table food! He just started table food last week (he goes to a daycare that has started the table food). I mix fruit in the oatmeal or rice cereal (no formula needed). He is eating stage 2 Gerber fruits and veggies. Table food is peas, bread, cranberry sauce, peaches, etc. I couldn't believe it when they told me how great he did. He was gagging on those puff things, now he is eating table food!

Your baby will be fine. He will eat when he is hungry. Have you tried jarred fruit and veggies?

 

[thepeach80]

Do you think he could still be reacting to the Nutramigen? If he is, he might not want to eat b/c it hurts him. Evan and Ilana both needed rx formula b/c they couldn't even have the Nutramigen. Ilana is on Elecare, but still bf some too. She takes 4ozs at a time normally, sometimes 6 (before bed or nap) for a total of about 20ozs a day I think. Evan was on it till 2 and right after he turned 1 he wasn't drinking enough either (he was not allowed to have solids). We just made the nipple bigger on his bottle so he didn't really have to work (not something you want to do w/ 'normal' babies) and that worked like a charm. He was drinking a lot more then. He was also our no weight gain baby (and now toddler). He was 14#15oz at 6 mos and 16# at 10 mos. He made it to 18# by 12 mos w/ the rx formula instead of the Nutramigen. Are you making sure you're not feeding him anything w/ dairy in it? Does he have soy problems too? Evan was intolerant to pretty much everything under the sun, we think b/c the formula messed up his stomach so much he just reacted to everything. Feel free to pm me if you want. It's not an easy road and Evan finally gained some weight for the first real time in the past 8 mos (he's up to almost 26# now at 32 mos) so it can go into toddlerhood too. All of my kids are MSPI and so far the boys both could eat whatever they wanted right at 2.5yo.

 

[disneyobessed]

I was wondering the same for a 2 month old... mine eats 5oz of Alimentum RX every 3-4 hours but she still seems hungry. She weighs about 11lbs

 

[treboats]

I would cut back on the solids at this point formula is more important. My Daughter has been taking 6 ounces every 3-3.5 hours since four months old. That's when I stopeed breast feeding and she started on formula exclusively and she slept through the night from 10-6 . At her 9 month appt she was 21.8 lbs..

 

[laughinplace199]

My DS is 9 months and weighs 20lbs & 28 3/4" long. He drinks 6oz bottles of Enfamil with Iron about every 3 -4 hours. 5 - 6 bottles a day and he sleeps through the night (since he was 3 months old, so lucky!)

He also eats jarred baby food and table food! He just started table food last week (he goes to a daycare that has started the table food). I mix fruit in the oatmeal or rice cereal (no formula needed). He is eating stage 2 Gerber fruits and veggies. Table food is peas, bread, cranberry sauce, peaches, etc. I couldn't believe it when they told me how great he did. He was gagging on those puff things, now he is eating table food!

Your baby will be fine. He will eat when he is hungry. Have you tried jarred fruit and veggies?

Thanks. I'm sure you're right and he'll eat when he's hungry, it's just kind of nerve-wracking. DS is 28 in and almost 15 lbs. I think the main concern is that he didn't gain any weight in 2 months. He does eat rice cereal and stage 1 fruits and veggies, but I don't want him to fill up on solids since formula is still more important nutritionally right now.

 

[thepeach80]

I forgot to say Ilana is 16#13oz and 27" and 9 mos today.

 

[laughinplace199]

Do you think he could still be reacting to the Nutramigen? If he is, he might not want to eat b/c it hurts him. Evan and Ilana both needed rx formula b/c they couldn't even have the Nutramigen. Ilana is on Elecare, but still bf some too. She takes 4ozs at a time normally, sometimes 6 (before bed or nap) for a total of about 20ozs a day I think. Evan was on it till 2 and right after he turned 1 he wasn't drinking enough either (he was not allowed to have solids). We just made the nipple bigger on his bottle so he didn't really have to work (not something you want to do w/ 'normal' babies) and that worked like a charm. He was drinking a lot more then. He was also our no weight gain baby (and now toddler). He was 14#15oz at 6 mos and 16# at 10 mos. He made it to 18# by 12 mos w/ the rx formula instead of the Nutramigen. Are you making sure you're not feeding him anything w/ dairy in it? Does he have soy problems too? Evan was intolerant to pretty much everything under the sun, we think b/c the formula messed up his stomach so much he just reacted to everything. Feel free to pm me if you want. It's not an easy road and Evan finally gained some weight for the first real time in the past 8 mos (he's up to almost 26# now at 32 mos) so it can go into toddlerhood too. All of my kids are MSPI and so far the boys both could eat whatever they wanted right at 2.5yo.

I don't think it is the Nutramigen because he has been on it for several months now. He eats, just not as often or as much as the ped would like. He's not fussy or anything, except when we try to feed him and he doesn't want to eat. We tried a nipple with a faster flow, but that hasn't helped. He definitely eats nothing with dairy or soy in it (we're not sure about soy allergy yet so we're steering clear, just in case). I've been keeping a log of when and what and how much he eats as well as his sleeping habits. I think I will call the nurse at his ped's office tomorrow and see if there's anything else I can do. I'm wondering if I should take him off solids completely until he's gaining weight. He was doing fine with bottles until he started solids.

Thanks so much for your suggestions and for sharing your experiences with me. It helps a lot to know I'm not alone.

 

[tiggger1]

my dd did the same thing when she was his age. She went from eating 32 ounces of formula to barely 16! The ped told be to stop feeding the solids but that didnt help. 2 weeks later we finally figured out that she was bored with the bottle and just didnt want it... what we did was give it to her in a sippy cup and also give her baby food thickened with cereal and then thinned with formula...so she ended up getting her 6-8 ounces of formula in her food. that made her have 28 ounces a day and the ped was ok with that....we did make sure she got a cup of water with each meal because she wasnt drinking as much..

my son is 6 months old and he is starting to do the same thing.He just started taking 32 ounces again but we have to fight him to take that last 8 ounce bottle. on the days that it looks like he wont take it, my ped suggested I add a scoop or 2 of powdered formula to his baby food. I also add a small about of water or juice to thin it but he likes it thick!

he was 17lb 7 1/2 ounce last week at his 6 month appointment...since he is such a peanut, you want to get the nutrients in him whatever way you can!~

 

[tonilea]

Do you suppose he doesn't like the formula? (not critizing you!)

My mom tried to BF me, but had to quit at about three weeks because she had mastitis. The Dr. gave her a shot to dry up her milk and viola, I was a formula baby. I hated the stuff and would only drink enough to get by (2-4 ounces a feeding). At six months I weighed less than 12 lbs. She thought I didn't like it, so she asked her doctor and he told her babies couldn't taste. One day, she ran out of formula at my grandmother's and *gasp* gave me raw milk (they had a milk cow). I drank a full bottle and refused formula completely.

IMO formula stinks and tastes vile (yeah, I tasted it - cereal too lol). DS completely refused it when I was hospitalized (he was 2.5 months), so we resorted to giving him goats milk. Not ideal, but it worked for a few days.

I am not recommending you give your son raw milk or goats milk. Only suggesting he doesn't like the taste since he is drinking less now that he has options - solids. (I didn't give my son cows milk until he was over a year old)

Will he eat Avocados? They have lots of good fats and are considered a nutrient dense food.

 

[barrett7890]

my baby has just turned 9 months, she was never a big milk drinker (max ever was 25ozs) and from 7 months my health visitor recommended just dropping her daytime bottles, as it was a fight to try and get her to take them. She has 7oz in the morning and 9-12oz at bedtime. During the day she has breakfast, lunch and dinner (home made, full meals - meat, veg, carbs), and snacks as needed.

cami
x

 

[laughinplace199]

Thanks for the replies everyone and for sharing your stories with me. I'm feeling much less worried now. I'm going to call the nurse today and see what she says about solids. We're leaving for WDW on Monday and I want to make sure he's drinking enough so that he doesn't lose weight or get dehydrated. Thanks again!

 

[MSSANDRA]

I was just going to ask how much solid food your child eats. Our BD (9mo-22lb and almost 30 inches) drinks about 36oz of fourmular a day but does not eat a lot of solids. they are offered but he just is not a huge solids food eater yet.

Now my DS never enjoyed his bottles. He was premature so lot of issues there. He however from first bite took to eating solids and it was tough to get any formular into him after that. What we did was to add formular to anything we could mix it with, such a ceral, oatmeal, apple sauce etc to try and get some into him. He grew slowly but surely.


Prayers that the dr can answer your qurstions.

 

[laughinplace199]

I was just going to ask how much solid food your child eats. Our BD (9mo-22lb and almost 30 inches) drinks about 36oz of fourmular a day but does not eat a lot of solids. they are offered but he just is not a huge solids food eater yet.

Now my DS never enjoyed his bottles. He was premature so lot of issues there. He however from first bite took to eating solids and it was tough to get any formular into him after that. What we did was to add formular to anything we could mix it with, such a ceral, oatmeal, apple sauce etc to try and get some into him. He grew slowly but surely.


Prayers that the dr can answer your qurstions.

DS eats 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp of cereal and about 1 tbsp of fruit in the morning and the same amount of cereal with 1 tbsp of veggies in the evening.

Adding formula to food might be the way to go. I'll ask today. Thanks!

 

[mikymouse]

I have been worried about my little guy not eating enough. I am BF but he gets bottles during the day with the sitter. He is 5 Months old and was taking only 3 3oz bottles during the day plus BF 4/5 times. He is down now to only 2 bottlesbecause with his morning cereal he is too full for the bottle. I just started to have the sitter add BM to the cereal. He has also cut down from only 3 oz to 2 oz in the his 2 bottles! My thought was who ever heard of a almost 6month of baby only eating 4 oz in a 8 hour period! I know he loves his cereal and has always prefered nursing to the bottle but I am getting worried. I have a doctors appointment in a few weeks to check on his growth which i think is fine (he has already trippled his birth weight).To the OP, the first thing I thought was food allergy. Now I am worried that my little man might having a hurt tummy. He is also teething like crazy...does that affect hunger?