This is up there with should we breast or bottle feed. I'm telling you, it's a hot topic around the water cooler.
So I breastfeed, but Parker does get bottles... of my milk that pump at work. That's it, no formula. For those of you who are formula women (no judging, i actually dream that i become one) breastmilk changings over time to meet your babies nutricinal needs. It gets thicker and fuller of the good stuff that makes yummy baby rolls! So while formula babies need more formula to meet those needs, breastfed babies do not. Kinsley never went above a 4oz bottle at daycare... she didn't need to. She was content. Parker is different. Maybe it's the boy in him?
So my pediatrician said Parker needs to be eating every 4 hours. I really don't remember if/when K did that and I didn't blog about it (AH the important stuff I missed, but look back to read about swinging boobs and it's there!) so I have no previous kid for comparision. I am pretty sure she had one nursing session in the middle of the night until she was close to 9 months... I KNOW she didn't go past that by much since she rejected the boob at 9.5 months and i was NOT going to start making bottles then. So back to what I was saying... eating every 4 hours. Now, do I want him to eat in the middle of the night... I would like to say No I don't, but in actuality I'm okay with it, as long as it's just once. SOOO that would mean that he would eat when he wakes up, 2 bottles during the day, when i pick him up, a little top off before bed, and once in the middle of the night. So we'll call it 5 1/2 feedings (since the top off isn't a full feeding). Now it's hard to gage but he should be eating around 24-32 oz a day... that's a BIG range. Lets just call it 28-30. So if we're shooting for 30ish that means he gets 6oz bottles... but what if i want him to sleep through the night... I have to up the bottles right? But what if that doesn't work, now i've upped his bottles AND he's eating at night AND my supply will not keep up AND am i over feeding him?!?!? AND AND AND
So what are your thoughts on feeding your kid? My co-worker (who breast feeds and formula feeds, yet didn't know that Breastmilk changes in consistancy) thinks it's weird that I'm making him wait for 4 hours... yet he has adjusted... I feel like she over feeds her son... I mean the kids eats A LOT, often and BIG bottles.
So who's right? Obviously the Momma of each child is right (so politicially correct aren't i???) but what do you do?
I pretty much could have written the majority of your last few posts. With DS#1 he NEVER ate more than three 3.5 ounce bottles of expressed breast milk while I was at work. He stopped nursing at night at 8 months, but between 5-8 months he widdled down to once a night. After 8 months when he was no longer nursing at night my supply was CRAPPY! I pumped like 1000x's a day to keep up with what he ate.
ReplyDeleteDS#2 is now 6 months. He eats FOUR 5oz bottles while I am at work. He still is up 2-3 times a night. I fear that he actually NEEDS to eat in the night and once I let him just cry it out like my pedi recommended that he will need much more during the day and my supply will be crappy again! What to do, what to do????
I fed on demand--if DD was hungry, I fed her. If she wasn't (and was sleeping or not interested), I didn't force it. I figured she was growing just fine and knew what her body needed. You do what is best for your child and you know that better than any doc. If he needs the extra feeding, go for it. If he doesn't, don't. As long as he's healthy and growing/developing ok, I think you are good to go.
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