Feeding FAQ: 8-12 Weeks – Formula Feeding

My 10 week daughter will only take small feeds so wants to feed every 2 hours

My 10 week daughter was breast fed for the first 2 weeks of her life then I changed to formula. The problem I have is that she will only take 4ozs max of formula at each feed. Consequently she is feeding every 2 hours. I have tried doing split feeds as you suggest but she rarely has more feed when I offer it again 20 minutes later. As a result of this her day time sleep is not working! My son was a perfect CLB baby so I am very familiar with the routines. He is 2 now and feeling very fed up with mummy always feeding the baby.
Her average daily intake in 25-28 oz in 24 hours, however her weight gain is good (8-10oz week).
I have tried giving Aptamil extra to see if this helps her go longer in between feeds but it doesn’t.

My daughter feeds at 7am 4ozs, 9am 2ozs, 11.00am 4ozs, 2.30pm 4ozs, 4.15pm 2.5ozs, 5.00pm 1.5ozs, 6.30pm 3.5ozs, 11.00pm 2.5ozs, 5.00am 2.5ozs.

She weighs 15lbs.

My daughter naps at 9-9.45am, 11-12midday, 2.30-3.00pm and 4.15-4.30pm. She settles at 7pm.

Rather than waiting just 20 minutes before offering your daughter more feed it may be better to fully split the 11am feed and see if this helps her to have a better lunchtime nap. The way you offer her a small feed at 9am shows how this can help.

Try feeding her at 10.30/10.45am, giving her 3ozs at this time. Let her have some kicking time then offer her another 2-3ozs at 11.30/11.45am to see if she will then settle for a longer lunchtime nap.

If your daughter is able to sleep from 12-2.00pm offer her 2-3ozs at 2.00pm and wait at least 30 minutes before giving her another 1-2ozs. This should help her get through to 5pm before needing another feed. If she is a little unsettled in the afternoon offer her a small drink of cool, boiled water at 4pm. This should be no more than1- 2ozs or she may lose interest in her 5.00pm feed.

To help her take a good feed at 11pm try splitting the 5pm/6.15pm feed in a slightly different way. As she will have had her last feed at 2pm/2.30pm she should be hungry for her 5pm feed so give her the larger amount of milk at 5pm. Giving her 3-4ozs at 5pm and 1-2ozs at 6.30pm should mean she is really hungry for her feed at 10.30pm/11pm. This should help her take 4-5ozs at this time and this will help her sleep well in the night.

Check that the teats you are using are not too slow for your daughter. You may feel that she takes a long time to take each feed because she is having to suck so hard and this makes her tired. Try using a larger size teat and see if this helps her take a bigger feed. Once she can take a larger amount of milk at each feed you will not need to split the feeds in order to help her sleep better in the day.