Powdered Formula Servings per Can: Question for Kristen
Updated on July 28, 2007
Hello, I have emailed you once before for help and you answered very quick and it was very helpful. I was just wondering if you know how many bottles an average can of powdered formula makes. I can not find it anywhere on the internet. I was just wondering so I could plan ahead and get an idea of how many cans I will be buying per week or month. Just to be somewhat prepared.' Thank you lots
--Sarah
Sarah,
It depends on the brand you're buying, the size of the can, etc. Most of the ones I've dealt with had about 175 to 200 fluid ounces of prepared formula per can. Babies usually start off with just 2 fluid ounces of formula per feeding, and if baby is still hungry, you just add more. Let's say your newborn drinks only 2 fluid ounces per feeding and feeds every 3 hours. That's 16 fluid ounces of formula per day, so one can would last you 10 days. But, babies don't read the directions, so they may want more than those 2 ounces and they may want to eat more often than every 3 hours. Then, to make matters more complicated, you'll prepare a bottle of formula only to have your baby reject it because he/she wasn't actually hungry, so you can throw that one out. Then if you spill one, that one was wasted. The point is that you're probably going to need more than what you plan, so get more than you'll actually need.
Don't buy a whole case of formula right away. You never know if the formula you decide to try is going to upset your baby's tummy, cause an allergic reaction, etc., and your baby may just reject it completely. Try out different formulas to find the one that works for you, then stock up. Assume that you'll need 1 large can of powdered formula per week to start with, but I guarantee that number will go up as your baby grows, and that can only be estimated by watching and learning from your baby's eating habits.
...by Feed