Do you need a baby meter?? - I do!!

Schnoogly wrote: You know, one that says "hungry, will eat 4oz" or "65% tired, approaching overstimulation limit" or "very very wet, change immediately!"

Especially the food one--I still never know how much Iain will eat at any given time. Sometimes he fusses and cries so much and only wants 1 oz, sometimes I think "wow it's been a while since he had a bottle" even though he isn't acting hungry and he'll take 5oz. We waste so much formula, and it is so expensive!!!

Mommieto2Girls replied: I know what you mean, Maddie isn't fussy at all except when she is really hungry, like in the morning. I usually just offer her a bottle when I think it should be time, lol. She eats solids whenever I do so she eats regular food all the time, lol.

supermom replied: Man, wouldn't that be a nice thing to have, but then our lives wouldn't be near as interesting....teehee....

But sorry you waste so much formula, since I know you get to buy it all and the insurance co isn't helping out a bit.....

~CrazieMama~ replied: I would love something like that. But it would have to say something like, "I hurt my hand", "i have a tummy ache", "I am hungry" ha ha ha That would be great.

amynicole21 replied: We waste TONS of formula. I can't stand it - that stuff is SOOO expensive Grrrr. Every time I make a small 2oz bottle she chugs it down like she's starving, so I make another 2oz bottle which she immediately throws on the ground after 2 sips and won't eat it. Arrrrgh!

ediep replied: I think that would be awesome!!! I really need a baby meter.... we waste formula and food sometimes.

Schnoogly replied:
Yes, exactly! I only make 2oz at a time, and if he sucks down the first 2 I make 2 more in the same bottle and he takes two sips of that then shoves it away!
Argh!!!

Kaitlin'smom replied:

hummm just a though have you tried a different bottle, maybe them they would not shove it away....

supermom replied: Or Steph, maybe just 'top him off' with BM??? Just a thought is all - don't know how you all "do it" with the formula and BM, but just a thought is all....

Schnoogly replied: Well I sort of wing it--I get so many different instructions from docs/LCs etc. I have tried to experiment with what works. Normally he gets a bottle about 15 min after he wakes up from a nap, then nurses when he is ready to go to sleep. (He takes about 4-5 naps a day) The LC wanted me to BF first then do the bottle if he was still hungry, but if I do this he won't take a bottle at all, he just gets mad! (Wouldn't you if you were given a small dish of ice cream then expected to eat cream of wheat or something else nasty to fill you up?)

I figure he gets about 2oz every 3 hours from me (that's about what I pump, maybe he gets a little more) so he will normally take 2-4oz in a bottle every 2-3 hours as well. But I also try to feed on demand, not schedule any feedings. I know it would be so much easier if we did EITHER BF or FF but I'm not willing to give up BF and EBF isn't a possibility. He only nurses at night, no bottles.

The doc wants me to alternate feedings every 2 hours or so (bottle then breast) because of his sensitive tummy and that is kinda what we do. But I will also nurse him if he gets mad because it calms him down, so there might not be any left by naptime. I make milk so slowly and he gets mad after the letdown because there isn't any left. He normally will only nurse for 3-5 minutes per breast then gives up.

I guess I do do what you're suggesting sometimes but I just worry that he isn't getting enough fluids...he won't drink juice or water either and some days he won't even eat any solids. Also I think my milk supply varies a lot--some days he seems really really hungry for bottles and other days won't drink more than 5-6oz. It is so weird and confusing!!!

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
Why do you waste it? Just make a jug - or put some mixed formula in a container...then just add a few ounces in a bottle at a time.... That's what I do, and you have like 24 hours to use what's in the jug... I make enough for maybe 4 full bottles at a time, then I just pour a few ounces in the bottle, and give it to him that way....

Schnoogly replied: Well if I put 2oz in a bottle sometimes he will only drink .5 oz. And I don't like to put less than that in because if I have to keep adding an ounce at a time he gets mad.

Also for some reason he doesn't like it "warmed up" from the fridge, he likes it better freshly made with really warm water...go figure. Also if I made a jug he might not finish it in 24 hours since he takes between 8-16oz of formula a day. I never know how hungry he is, and he takes a bottle about every 2 hours. He's not the kind of baby that will just sit and drink a 6oz bottle every 3-4 hours or so. He's very irregular. (Probably because this is the way he is, but also because he nurses too and gets an irregular amount of milk from me)

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Makes sense! I know that you can keep it out of the fridge for a few hours... Mine says on the can you can keep un-refridgerated for up to 6 hours. I don't, but I could....

Schnoogly replied: I'm just going by the "once baby has eaten some it must be consumed within 1 hour rule" they taught me in the hospital. Something to do with germs from baby's mouth getting in the bottle. You're supposed to discard after 1 hour.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
Guess we were taught differently!

Oh well..whatever works for you!

Schnoogly replied: I wonder if it's a canada thing? Nowhere on my formula does it say you can keep outside the fridge for 6 hours...in fact, they say refrigerate immediately. I wonder why it's different up there? Are we obsessed with lawsuits or something LOL??

I know you can keep bm at room temp for up to 10 hours.

alice&arik replied: I get WIC for Arik and they give me 9 cans of formula plus cereal and juice. Doesn't anyone else have access to WIC??? (Maybe it is a minnesota thing.)

When I make Arik a bottle, I make him 8 oz. He will usually drink it all or part of it, then he puts it somewhere for later. Usually in the toybox. or by the toys. If he is hungry and I am busy, he will come up and bite me. It hurts with his 7 teeth!! And yes I do think you can leave it out for a few hours. I wouldn't leave it out for too long. Once in a while I will find bottles that are 1/4 full. All Nasty and curtled. YUK!! they are usually in the car. But I clean them good.

Schnoogly replied: WIC is nationwide but you have to qualify. We make too much money. We make just enough money to disqualify us from every service esp. medical to pay for Iain's surgeries.

Also Alimentum separates after about 10 min. It's different from regular formula.