Formula feeding question

ok, so the babies are moving to formula now and i have what appears to be a very dumb question, but i have to ask:

i pour 7 oz of water in the bottle, and add the corresponding scoops of formula and shake shake shake....and then, voilá, it's 8 oz of fluid in the bottle--magic, i know...but am i then feeding 7 or 8 oz to my child? had to ask

TIA

sandra

 

8 oz. It's the total amount of fluid.

And you're not dumb.

 

thanks!! i always forget to ask the pedi LOL

sandra

 

Sandra,

I had the same exact question when we switched to formula. You're not dumb! (or at least if you are, I am too)

 

the formula adds roughly 10% more to the water. So if you're making a 4 oz bottle it will turn it into 4.4 oz - 7 oz bottle turns it into 7.7. It's normally somewhere in the very fine print on the back of the can.

 

I feel pretty dumb, I didn't know this.

 

wow, i always wondered about this...

 

I just had to comment that that your subtitle cracked me up. I think we all feel this way sometimes.

Anyway, I wondered the same thing at first! Now when I ask DH how much they drank, I'm asking "Five five or five plus?" That makes sense to us :unknw:

 

:friends: Good question! Whatever it ended up as mixed, is the amount that I counted it as!

 

I have been pondering the same thing for 9.5 months. Thanks for posting this!!! I never know what they're drinking - it's either 6 or 7 ounces at a time depending on whether I'm counting powder or liquid!

 

What a great question, we never knew the answer to this either! We were counting it as the amount of water we poured in the bottle, so if we used 4 oz. of water and 2 scoops, even though it went up to 5 oz we were still counting that as 4 ounces. We've been giving the babies 6 ounces this whole time when we meant to only give them 5!! No wonder they never finish a bottle! I really feel dumb!!!

 

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh................................... Are you kidding me??? It ADDs something to it?? I just always fill to 120 ml (4 oz) and add 2 scoops and call it 4 oz! That's not true??

I always kind of see that it stays at the same level in the bottle...

This is amazing news to me! I didn't think it added any to the amt! I wondered how that was possible but it doesn't seem like it would add enough to "count".

BTW- I laughed at the title of this thread also. Funny!

 

Not dumb at all! I actually started mixing big batches each evening for the following day so I'd get the right amount in the bottles but keep the correct water/formula ratio.

 

That's actually a very good question. It never came up for us because we mixed our formula in big batches and then poured it into the bottles. But I think the instructions on the can do say "For a 4-oz bottle, use 4 oz of water and two scoops of formula" (or whatever the amount is) -- and I always wondered how they accounted for the fact that that made it more than 4 oz.

I also liked your post title.

 

Wow! I feel dumb for not even realizing this occurs! My boys are eating a lot more than I thought! What great news since I was worried about their intake. Thanks for posting this!

 

I always counted it as the mixed amount but wondered if I was right to do that. Whenever the PED asked what they ate, I was always unsure of the answer, so I went with the mixed amount.

 

Whenever we give formula, I count the mixed am't too, not the water volume.

QUOTE
This is amazing news to me! I didn't think it added any to the amt! I wondered how that was possible but it doesn't seem like it would add enough to "count".


It really does - that's why the instructions tell you to add water to the bottle first, then formula. If you add the powder first then water, it will wind up being slightly too little water because of the space the powder takes up.

Not a dumb question at all! Bottles are a whole different world.

 

I posted this question about 4 months ago when I was told I was underfeeding my babies (jaundice). I always measured 4 oz of water with then 2 scoops. I asked is it 4 oz I'm feeding them or 4.5/5 ounces? Everyone said it was by how much water you put in so it would be 4 ounces. Now I'm confused.

ETA: After shaking, if you let the bottle settle it will go down to the 4 ounces since most of it is bubbles anyway. This is what I was told so it made sense. :huh: Now I don't know.

 

I posted this question in reference to the drop in bags and what happened when I added the water and the scoops. I am not even going to try to process what I ended up figuring out about it! I was so confused then and my mind is too foggy to try to remember now! See, not a dumb question at all!!

 

wow, now i have no idea how much they were eating!

We have been mixing formula in a blender...and when it settles we pour bottles to the "correct amount."

and with the drop ins, which we use, it's SO difficult to tell how much is in the bottle because you have to read the side of the bottle and it doesn't correspond. UGH...

We were never that anal about how many ounces they took at any serving, just wanted to make sure they were full...