One day I stumbled across a list of baby formula questions and saw it. “Are your baby bottles the right size?” What?! As if there are not enough things for parents to worry about! Seriously, there are plenty of things to worry about over your child’s nutrition and development. But I could not drop the thought. Babies do start with super tiny tummies. While I let her tell me when she needed more baby formula, what do the experts say about it?
Official Resources for Infant Formula Intake
As babies develop their tummies grow at an incredible rate of speed. They start with a little marble sized tummy at birth. By day three, your munchkin probably has a walnut sized stomach. An 8 ounce bottle is way too much to put into that little walnut shell, let alone the tinier tummy at birth. So what is the right size bottle and how much can you feed your child? If you are breastfeeding, you cannot overfeed, but if you feed your child any type of baby formula, you CAN overfeed them. The CDC recommends starting at 1-2 ounces every two to three hours at birth. By contrast, six to twelve-month-olds need baby formula or solid foods about every four to five hours on average. Alabama public health takes feeding recommendation a step further.
Here is the list by age:
- Day 1: your child can take in approximately a tablespoon of baby formula every two to three hours.
- Day 3: By this time, your child normally can handle between a half or full ounce of baby formula per feeding.
- Day 8 to day 10: Your child should be able to consume one and a half to two ounces of baby formula – still a long way from an 8 ounce bottle.
- Week 1 to 1 month: your child can probably take in two to four ounces of baby formula.
- 1 to 3 months: Baby is taking in between four to six ounces of baby formula at a feeding. This is a good time to upgrade the bottles if you have been using four ounce bottles until now.
- 3 to 6 months: six to seven ounces of baby formula per feeding.
- 6 to 12 months: seven to eight ounces at a feeding.
No List is Exact
Of course these are estimations because each child grows at a different rate, but it does give you an idea of the changes taking place within your child. The bottom line is still watch and listen to your child and notice when their appetite grows. When four ounces of formula per feeding isn’t enough, baby will let you know it’s time to upgrade your bottle size. Loudly.
Bottle Size or How Full?
None of this is really about bottle size unless you like the compact bottle size for on the go use. It is really about how much to put in the bottle and how often. Your child’s appetite usually matches your child’s nutrition needs for healthy development. Knowing how much baby formula is normal for your child’s age group can help you figure out whether to speak to your physician.
The Right Formula in That Bottle
Pediatrician recommended Sammy’s Milk formula is designed to fill your toddler’s nutritional needs, using natural ingredients. We believe in our healthy nutritious goat milk based formula so much we put the ingredients on our site for all to see.