The Baby Expert: 26 Cans of Formula and a Slide

A few days ago, the wife had asked me to go to the baby store to pick up some more formula because we were out. I was told to get a box, which would be 12 cans. Instead, I came back with 26 cans. And here’s my reason why.

As I was dutifully waiting in line to purchase the 12 cans of formula that the wife had asked for, I noticed that there was a play slide that was out on display. I asked the saleslady how much it was because I’ve been really wanting to get one for Caitlyn since she loves going down the slide at the park.

I was told that the slide was part of a promotion and in order to get it for free, I would have to purchase 24 cans of formula, with the addition of two free cans thrown in. Well, 26 cans is a lot and I could imagine the hubbub that the wife would raise if she saw me coming home with 26 cans and a huge old slide in tow, so I told the cashier that I didn’t think we could get through 26 cans in a timely fashion.

She asked how much formula Caitlyn was taking in a day and I said between 300 to 450 ml a day. We had slowly been cutting down the number of times we fed formula to Caitlyn to two. Once in the morning and once at night, and sometimes a third time if she happened to wake up in the middle of the night and wouldn’t go to sleep.

She was surprised that an 18 month year old baby was drinking so little and showed me a chart showing that a baby her age should be taking in at least 500 ml a day. Personally, I thought that all the solid food that Caitlyn had been taking in would replace the formula, but apparently, a lot of the nutrition she needs is still in the formula, especially calcium. Maybe that’s why she’s still so little. Can't get nice and tall if you don't drink your milk.

The saleslady recommended we up the number of times we feed Caitlyn the formula, and in doing so, would make it easier to finish 26 cans. Personally, I thought she was just trying to get me to buy the formula so she could make some money, but I really wanted the slide, and this would be a good reason to give the wife. And to make things even easier for me, I was also informed that because I would be buying at least 19 cans, I would be getting a free toy car for Caitlyn too. Sweet!

After explaining all this to the wife, I was surprised that she accepted my reason for coming home with 26 cans. I’m pretty sure she didn’t really care much for the slide or the car, but the fact that we could exchange the formula for other items in the store if we didn’t use it all probably made things easier for her to stomach.

I also went online to confirm what the saleslady had told me, and sure enough, a baby at Caitlyn’s age should probably be drinking between 20 to 32 ounces a day, or roughly 590 to 946 ml. They suggest giving the baby some formula with each meal and also before bedtime. For a baby that’s never really drank over 180 ml at each feeding and typically averages about 150 ml each time, that is a pretty tall order for Caitlyn.

However, we’ve now changed her feeding schedule to once in the morning when she wakes up, another before naptime, one more when she goes to sleep, and then a fourth time if she ever wakes up in the middle of the night.

But I also know that there’s a huge variance between babies, and as long as Caitlyn’s healthy and happy, I see no reason to really try and force her to drink more than she wants. And in case you’re wondering, Caitlyn thinks the slide totally rocks!