Another Bottle Sir?

For the countless amount of resources out there on bottle vs breast feeding, there is surprisingly little on how much to actually feed your baby once you integrate bottles (of breast milk) into their lives. They suggest doing so around 4-5 weeks, which we did. And it is a good idea to give him 4-5 bottles a week just so he remains familiar with the concept.

Bottle feeding is great b/c it allows me the freedom to get away for a couple hours and it also gives hubby a chance to hang with the little fella (Ben loves drinking with his dad).

The challenge is with BF you obviously never know how much they are eating. So when it comes time to put milk into a bottle it is a big guessing game. I started with a 4 oz bottle initially, b/c I'd read something that said they would take 3-3.5oz at his age. He plowed through the whole thing. This has happened repeatedly so I have been gradually increasing the amount we've been giving him.

This week I poured a 6oz bottle - sure that he couldn't eat more than 5oz. - and wouldn't you know it, he chugged the whole thing (and apparently was kinda pissed there wasn't more).

The second part of this equation that is confusing is the amount of milk I'm currently producing, and presumably he is eating when not getting a bottle. When he doesn't eat with me, I have to pump. And I've never pumped 6oz before.

So where does that leave us??

Am I starving him? Is he just drinking big to impress his dad? He is growing like a weed so I'm not overly concerned, just a little curious how it all shakes out.

I guess we'll just keep increasing the amount and see where we land. Babies aren't capable of overeating so there is really no harm in letting him pound down a toddler-sized bottle if that is what he wants. Wait till you see his pictures this week. He is SO BIG!