We are pumping and supplementing with formula. I hate, hate, hate pumping. I would like to quit and only use formula but I'm not sure we can afford it, especially with daycare and diapers. I'm not sure how many older babies eat so I can't figure out if we could afford it long term.
Here is my question: how old is your LO and how many oz do they eat a day?
cantaloupe / 6800 posts
Fantastic question. DH and I have been talking about this a lot this weekend.
J is 2 weeks old and eats 20-25 oz a day
grapefruit / 4079 posts
@MrsTiz: I can't believe the amount of mom guilt I feel over this decision. I don't make enough to feed him now so I really don't care to do this long term. However, I think it'll be easier when I'm back at work and am not worrying about caring for him and pumping.
Eta: also by looking online it looks like babies top out around 42-50 oz before food is introduced.
cantaloupe / 6800 posts
@ladybee: aw honey don't feel bad about not making enough. There is nothing wrong with formula and you can at least say you tried your best. Heck, I make enough for him to eat and I'm quitting just because I hate it so don't you dare feel bad about it! If it's stressing you out and making you misrabls you have to do what is best for you so you can be the best for your LO.
grapefruit / 4823 posts
My 12 week old takes 4-5 oz bottles.(both of my kids were big eaters) she gets 5-6 bottles a day. I should add that this is formula...she only gets formula.
grapefruit / 4187 posts
I was in your shoes not too long ago, but trust me it gets better! You will either start producing more, or like me choose to stop completely. As sad as I was to stop BF'ing oh man, our household is sooo much happier all around!
Right now at 9 weeks, LO eats 4 ounces around 8 times a day. It costs us probably around $100-$150/month. We didn't have it in our budget either, but that formula is worth it's weight in gold in my opinion. I no longer spend hours pumping, cleaning pump parts in addition to feeding my baby who eats constantly. And other people can feed him to give me a real break.
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
Like I said in the other thread, check out the FFF website...it really helped to get rid of any guilt I felt about formula and reassured me that in 5 years no one will be able to tell (or care) if she was BFed or FFed. As an elementary teacher I know this to be true.
LO is 6 weeks and eats 4 ounces , 6x per day with an extra ounce or two right before bed.
grapefruit / 4079 posts
@char54: I'm a teacher too but only took 8 weeks. I won't be able to pump 2-3 times at work so I know baby will get more formula then.
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
My LO is 11 months and takes 4 ounce bottles. She topped out at 5 ounce bottles and then backed off a little once she was eating solids. But this is Breastmilk. My understanding is that formula fed babies often take larger bottles? I've seen kids in her class down an 8 ounce bottle of formula no problem.
I will say, do what works best for you but try to stick it out until 6 weeks. I wanted to quit breastfeeding every day for the first few weeks of LO's life. But it really does get so much easier around the six week mark!
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
LO is four months old and takes 16oz (four 4oz) at daycare. Usually 4-5 in the morning when she wakes up, and we nurse at night...so I'm guessing about 24?
Ignore the mom guilt voice. We are slowly increasing her formula because she doesn't get enough, and yeah, I wish she could get breastmilk but the stress and anxiety over my supply wasn't worth it. Hang in there 
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
My LO topped out at 30 oz a day.
She is 11 months today and eats about 18 oz a day now.
She gets one bottle of BM and the rest is formula
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
R is 7.5 months and gets 4 6oz bottles a day. She gets gets 3 meals of solids. She is now just on formula.
GOLD / pomelo / 5737 posts
@ladybee: that's A LOT! My LO topped out around 30oz if I remember right. Often less! Formula though..I only pumped 5-6 weeks!
pomegranate / 3768 posts
10 months, 2 nursing sessions and three 5oz bottles so total about 25oz. Probably less cuz I doubt she's getting anywhere close to 5oz on the boob.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
J is 8 months and he currently drinks breastmilk 4x a day. When he does get a bottle, he downs about 5-6 ounces.. so he takes in somewhere between 20-24 ounces a day. He's also now on 2-3 meals of solids.
nectarine / 2163 posts
when we switched fully to formula my LO was 10 months, eating 3 solids meals a day, and had 4 8oz bottles of formula a day
grapefruit / 4923 posts
LO is 9.5 months and has about 20 oz at daycare, and from nursing probably another 12 oz, so total about 32 oz. i think this is going to be the max amount--he's having purees and some finger foods now, and as he gets better with eating finger foods his milk intake will go down.
grapefruit / 4997 posts
I had to supplement from day 1 and stopped pumping at 2 months. Baby has been on formula only ever since. My LO is 5.5 months and eats about six bottles of 6 oz formula a day. Some days she seems hungrier and wants more but some days she doesn't finish every single bottle. We started introducing solids about 2 weeks ago. She's been a terrible solid eater, spitting out purées and making silly/ funny faces at every bite. Hopefully, she will be better at eating solids in the next few weeks or months. Once she eats more solids, I think she will eat less formula.
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
At 8 months, Sadie eats 5-5oz bottles of formula every day (so, 25oz per day). She's been eating the same amount since she was 4 months old. She's been eating one solid meal per day since 5.5 months.
We buy a can of formula about every 10 days, so usually like 3 cans per month. That's about $60/month. It's not cheap, but it could be a lot more if we bought name brand (we use Up&Up Gentle).
apricot / 324 posts
My LO is 7 months old and eats 4 or 5 7-oz bottles a day. Plus, he gets breakfast (oatmeal) and a fruit or veggie puree for lunch and dinner.
I had to suppliment from the get go and after only 3 weeks switched to all formula. I was so so so sad about that, but I realized that it was best for both my little guy and me. We're both much happier now.
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