How often should formula fed babies feed? (Previously breastfed)

Hiya. Our little girl is 6months and we offer 7oz every 2-3 hours, she often takes between 5oz-6oz of it. I think it’s different for all babies, we just have a little and often girlie :) I know mums with babies that’ll have a big bottle every 4 hours too so just depends what your little one wants xx

@Tia ok fab, that’s good to know. I was just worried I would overfeed him 🫣 it’s been a week and he seems pretty happy and there’s no changes in his nappies, so assume he’s all okay. Thanks so much lovely! xx

@Sophie does your little one take a dummy? If you’re unsure you could offer the dummy first, if he still seems unsettled he probably wants some milk. Don’t overthink it, baby boy will let you know if he’s hungry. Sounds like he’s getting on great with the formula🥰🫶🏻

@Alexandra it does, but he seems to want feeding more than the shown amount on the packaging, so I wasn’t sure if this was just a loose guide or if you shouldn’t feed more than the shown amount x

@Tia he does, and yep I normally try soothing him with the dummy, cuddles, etc.. but it gets to a point where nothing is helping, I try a bottle and he’s happy afterwards, so I’m guessing I’ve just got a very hungry boy 🫣

Mine takes anywhere from 6oz to 8oz every 3 to 4 hours. But if he's wanting it every 2.5, maybe try increasing the formula by .25oz? Work your way up an ounce so you're feeding less often?

Try not to get too hung up on this, I got into a bit of a patch of worrying my baby was feeding too frequently (14 weeks and will drink anything from 2-6oz every 2-3.5 hours) and I was concerned he wasn't drinking enough because it didn't always match what it said on the back of the tin. However I have been reassured by medical professionals that it is completely normal and fine, all babies are different. The back of the tins apparently show the maximum amount you can expect a baby of that age to drink and supposedly a lot of the formula makers over egg it to encourage people to buy more formula. The key focus is that they are gaining weight appropriately and doing enough wet nappies every 24 hours, if you are being led by your baby and feeding them what they want when they want then that's the key!

@Christina ah great shout, I’ll give that a try and see how we get along. Thanks lovelies for the comments!

Please don’t worry about what it says on the formula tin (which our daughter ALWAYS had more than and never followed) or how often babies ‘should’ feed, and just continue to feed on demand as you would with the breast. 😊 If he wants to feed every 2.5 hours then go with that, as the amount in his bottles increase then he’ll probably go for longer as he’ll be fuller for longer. At that age, my daughter (always exclusively formula) was every 3 hours so your boy isn’t far off that. Then as she went to larger bottles, she went to every 4 hours. Just go with what your baby wants, there’s no right or wrong 🫶🏻

@Bec that’s really helpful, thanks so much lovely 🤍

My boy is just over 3 months & takes 6.5oz every 2.5-3 hours. Sometimes goes longer (usually when napping) but mostly only goes 2.5 hours between.