I have an almost 9 month old and I was wondering can I mix 4 oz of water with 1 scoop of formula
No No No No.
The formula is made to be mixed as directed, if you dilute it you will be depriving your infant of calories and nutrients, essentially you could starve her.
Water is not nutrition. Formula is complete food and needs to be mixed according to directions. If you feed your child water with a little food in it he/she will basically be starving for nutrients. Even if you are feeding food to your child food they need the vitamins and minerals in the formula for their nutrtional needs.
Don't mix anything with formula until the child is 10 1/2 months old and eating small portions of food regularly. Ond even then start by mixing 2 oz. reg, whole milk (Not low fat or 2%) with 6 oz formula for week or so then 1/2 milk and 1/2 formula for at least a week, then 6 oz. milk and 2 oz formula for another week. At that time you should be able to go to straight whole milk along with regular food that is cut up, chopped, or pureed. Changing a baby from formula should take about a month so if you want them off formula at 1 yr. old then start around 10 3/4 months old.
If you can't afford enough formula for your child, been there once or twice, there are agencies you can get help from, some local churches may have food pantries that you can get formula from. My daughter stole the WIC formula from us one time and we had run out of money for the month. We could have written a check and just bit the bullet on the overdraft fees but we decided to go ahead and contact some food programs. It was humiliating but we had to do it or we would be broke the next month too. We were able to "pay it back" to the agnecy that helped us because they have a clothing room and I donate all our clothes that are in good condition to them, so someone else gets help too.
Follow the directions on the can of formula. do not try to use less. If you use less your baby is not getting enough nutrition which can result in poor development that can have permanent affect to his/her well being.
Are you trying to save $$? This is a bad idea for many reasons-and I talked to my pediatrician about all of them.
Babies kidneys aren't mature enough until 9 to 12 months but to be on the safe side, my Dr recommended 12 months, to deal with excess water. If you know kidney physiology this will make sense. So it's a bad idea due to the formula/water ratio. And the formula is made to be healthy at the concentration directed on the can and if you change the ratio, you change the nutritional makeup and therefore your baby isn't getting the proper diet.
I don't think you should do it but you need to talk to your pediatrician or at least the nurse about this if you are really set on it.
I know most moms will disagree w/ me, but with one of my kids I had to mix 3 oz of water to a scoop to reduce his gas & stop his constipation. It wasn't a $$$ thing... it was a comfert thing for him. If we mixed it correctly he would go over a week with out goin poopoo & would cry all the time farting and burping all the time. We also had to use tummy drops with him to keep his gas under control. I did tell the doc & WIC what I was doing - they keep an eye on his weight gain & it was fine so I was told if it worked for him & keep him happy keep doing it. We actually started this when he was only about 3 mo old... it was the only we could find to help him feel better - I've had many people tell me he was most likely had colic... but doc never told me it - she was just happy I found a way of helping him.
I don't know that I would "streach" it to 4 oz to a scoop, but like I said we had no issues w/ "streaching" it to 3 oz to a scoop. My boy is a healthy 4 yr old now. Good luck N.!
i think it is for every 2 oz water it is one scoop. it needs 2 scoops.
In addition to the dilution of formula being nutritionally inadequate, there is also the danger of your child's sodium levels being thrown off, which has negative impact on a child's heart. Please stick with the formula prep guidelines for another 3 months. I know it's hard...I have an 8 month old as well, and I've been very tempted to dilute to save money, but my husband who's a physician went ballistic when I told him what I wanted to do.
Check with your pediatrician. Diluting formula - whether to extend the formula or to reduce the caloric intake for an overweight baby - is serious business. All babys need adequate nutrition for body and brain development and they won't get those nutrients if you cut back on the scoops of formula they receive.
You can but why would you? Your baby needs the full nutrition that the formula gives, especially the iron. If it's a matter of giving your baby more water, they don't need it. They get all the fluids they need from the 24 oz of formula they need every day. If it's a matter of money, you can go on WIC to help. You can switch to the Walmart brand formula Parents Choice which is much less expensive and is a great source of nutrition.
K. B
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No, it needs to be mixed properly until he is weaned from formula. Electrolyte imbalances and wt loss may occur.
Your baby needs a high percentage of fat for proper brain development. At your child's age, I would certainly not dilute the concentration of the formula. It is really critical for them to have that nutritional content (high fat) for the first 2 years which is why Vitamin D (whole) milk is recommended until age 2.
If it is a cost issue, I'd see if you can switch to a less expensive brand. We used the Costco brand for our daughter because it was SO much less expensive.
Talk to your pediatrician - they may be able to get you free samples of formula is you're having a hard time affording it. In my case, I had to move to formula to start chemo when my daughter was 11 weeks old. I called the manufacturers to see if they could provide coupons/samples. They weren't really cooperative, but it's always worth a try.
Definately not without your dr's advice first. I remember hearing a story awhile back on the news about a mom who did this and her baby suffered from water intoxication. Yes, it's a real thing and really dangerous to babies.
Doing this can actually starve your child to death (and did just a few weeks ago, it was on the news). Please don't do this. There are very good reasons for the guidelines that the experts put out on things like formula intake, water intake, how to properly transtion to food and milk, etc. While it is possible that there might be a rare case where this is okay to do, it should always be done under a doctor's supervision. And you should not even start to transition to whole cows milk until 12 months. Their bodies can't digest the cows milk until then. Follow the instructions for the formula on the can, and follow your doctors advice if there is a specific issue you are trying to address that prompted your question.
No, 4oz should be 2 scoops. 1 scoop would only be 2oz.
no, check w/ your dr.
