Bottle Feeding - Baraboo,WI

I don't know much about formula as we never used it, but I breastfed my boys whenever they were hungry. I didn't follow a schedule, I followed their cues.

he screams for it at two hours because hes hungry every two hours. its important that you feed him when hes hungry, not when its convenient for you. its HARD and frustrating and exhausting, but you have to do it. this will teach him that when hes hungry, he eats, and when hes full he stops... and most importantly that when he has a need, (everything is a ned to an infant!) you fulfill it without making him wait or putting his needs last. during the first year hes going to TRIPLE his weight and DOUBLE his height, thats a LOT of growing!!! he needs to eat a lot, and its important that you feed him when he needs it.
it doesnt matter what formula you feed him. babies wake up often to eat because their tummies are small, and they fill up fast. their stomach is about the size of their fist. then, it empties fast, especially during a growth spurt.

putting cereal in the bottle will not help (solids are OUT of the question until nearer to 6 months according to the american academy of pediatrics) solids interfere with sleep because of the digestion process. the new formula made to help babies sleep well is not a great idea, the other reason for infants waking often is because its a survival reflex. infants who wake often, and are tended to when they wake, are LESS likely to die from SIDS, simply because they are waking up.

try to have patience, and understanding for the basic needs of your baby. he needs you, and he needs you to respond to whatever need he has when he needs it. even if it seems silly, redundant, rediculous, or inconvenient, he needs what he needs when he needs it. it isnt until around his first birthday that he will start to determine a need from a want, if you spend a lot of time between now and then responding to every cry every time, you will notice around a year old that his cry changes. it will sound less urgent.

one thing about babies and cries that people dont often hear is that if you try to make a baby cry it out, often their cry gets more piercing, more urgent, more loud, more screamy, ... just in general its going to sound worse and worse, and instead of tugging at your heart to do something, it will start turning you away from your baby, making you feel like he is being annoying and needy instead of just being a normal infant. after a few times of having to cry it out, baby will start skipping the nice, instinct heart tugging cry and go straight to the urgent cry. baby starts being confused at what will get you to come and attend to his needs. the very cry he resorts to, is the cry that makes you want to run the other direction. its a tough spot to be in.

www.askdrsears.com is a good resource. theres honest information there that will help you to respond to your baby in healthy bonding ways. i will say that dr sears is a strong supporter of breastfeeding, but dont let that deter you. even in cases where a person never breastfed one time, dr sears's attachment parenting is still valid and can still work just the same. so, like i said, dont let that part turn you off.

good luck. but for the most part, dont give him special formula to make him go longer between feedings, its most likely not going to happen until that tummy starts getting a bit bigger and he isnt having a growth spurt. ask your doctor for the ages at which your child will be having growth spurts. one is four months, one is six months.. i think 2 months might be one too. its almost constant in the first year.

You do not have any information about you or about your child, so ages are not known.... But I do want you to know 5 ounces for a baby every three hours is VERY NORMAL. That is not viewed as hungry all of the time. We sometimes have newborns eatting 2-3 every two hours when they are only days old. That amount is very normal. Babies do not over-eat. Just feed them when they are hungry. Similac is one of the most hardy, dense, filling formulas you can buy. So do not change formulas, just feed your baby. I sure hope you were told in the hospital that babies eat every 2-3 hours as new babies up until they start solids. I know some 3 month olds up to 8 ounces every three hours. I do think you need to come back and give us a little background though of your little guy. Congrats on having a healthy baby.

You didn't say how old your son is, but that's totally normal for my kids. My 7-month-old was drinking 6 ounces every 2-3 hours at 2 months. His doctor gave me the OK to start him on rice cereal early. I use the Costco brand, which is similar to Target brand.

How old is your son? Could it be that he wants more at a feeding? My son used to drink up to 8 oz at a time. We used similac and had no issues. It could be he's just hungry! Is he 4 months or older? Have you discussed with the Dr. about starting cereal (if he is that old). That's what happened with my son. He was in the 90% for both height and weight and is now a 6 yr old bean pole. He was just hungry! So we started cereal at 4 months and fed him when he wanted to eat, and how much, my Dr. always said, if he's hungry feed him and don't count ounces so much. Good luck.

I would try increasing the amount of formula. Prepare a couple of 8 oz bottles and see how much he eats. It's possible that if he is hungry after 2 hours and then has to wait an hour that 5 oz isn't filling him up. Feed him when he starts showing signs that he is hungry. Our son sometimes wants to eat every 2 hours and sometimes every 3 hours. In the evening and at night he will sometimes go 5 hours. Sometimes he takes a 3 oz bottle and sometimes a 5 oz bottle. Don't add cereal to a bottle! It is a choking hazard!

More info like how old and how big he is would be helpful. But for now, I would suggest just feeding him every 2 hours, when he is hungry. You don't have to "follow the 4 hour schedule" that is a very antiquated idea. Babies are not like adults, they don't eat out of emotions or boredom, they eat or ask to eat when they are hungry and they stop when they are full.

I would suggect not trying to force him to eat more than 5 ounces (but using a faster nipple) if that is the amount he stops eating at. If you make a bigger bottle, like 7 ounces or so, will he stop at 5, or keep eating? If he keeps eating, by all means, give him more, BUT if he stops at 5 and then is hungry 2 hours later, give him 5 two hours later. Better for his metabolism and his little tummy to eat smaller more frequent meals, than to stretch his tummy with too much and teach him to over eat his fullness cues at this young age, just to try to stretch out his schedule.

My daughter ate every 2 hours from birth (during the day) while breastfed, AND after completely on solids formula at 9-12 months (everyone told me to get her on formula to make her eat less frequently). She never drank more than 5 ounces at a time, maybe 6 oz. a handful of time during growth spurts. She is a perfectly healthy 3 year old, now, and has no eating issues. She knows when she is full, and will even stop in the middle of a cupcake or other treat if she feels full, and says " I'll save this for later, I'm full."

I don't think we should be overstuffing our babies and teaching them to ignore their natural hunger cues and eat more further apart. A different formula won't change how fast he digests.

Godd Luck, this first year goes so fast, don't try to rush it, enjoy this time holding and feeding him, pretty soon you will have to catch him to just get a quick hug!

Jessie

I wouldn't necessarily equate the amount consumed from a bottle with hunger. There is something about the nature of a bottle that makes eating very easy and appealing. When my baby is full, he will simply pull away from my breast, but if I give him the same amount in a bottle - look out, he'll want more. Plus he will take a bottle much more readily than a breast when he isn't very hungry.

Since accepting a bottle isn't always indicative of hunger, it is important to be able to decipher cries. My baby will cry for three different reasons - hungry, tired or gassy. He will really start screaming if he gets over-tired. My baby tends to want to sleep every 1 to 2 hours after waking up - which is pretty close to the interval of time that you are describing...he could just be tired.

K.-
You might want to ask your question again but let us know how old your son is, as that makes a difference for how often he eats/how much!

It can be perfectly normal for him to eat every 2 hours sometimes. We have 3 kids, our youngest being 7 months old right now and they have all done that. Sometimes they would go 3 or 4 hours and sometimes 2 hours. Just feed him when he is hungry! It all depends on what they need for their growth at certain times.

You didn't say how old your son is but if he is screaming for more formula at 2 hours it could be that he isn't getting enough at the time. You might want to increase the amount of formula you give him. Or depending on how old he is you may even want to start introducing him to rice cereal which is easy on the digestive system. Some babies also require to be fed more often than your scheduled feedings. I am not that familiar with the formulas out there but think they are mostly alike. You can also check with your Dr. to get advice.

First of all, how old is your son? He may be going through a growth spurt and needs that extra food. I say feed him if he's hungry, and let him eat until he is full. He may needmore than just 5oz. per feeding. I have 9 month old twins and have done it this way from the start. They eventually established their own time schedule, and have stuck to it on their own. Before you switch formulas, you should speak with your son's pediatrician about it. Switching formulas can be hard on a little one's digestive system, and you shouldn't switch unless it's necessary or recommended by your pediatrician.
Good luck!

Not sure how old your child is but it sounds like 5 ounces is not enough. I had a massive eater and he would go through 8 ounces routinely about every 3.5-4 hours. So, before I switch formulas, I would just give him more each feeding and see if that helps.

If he is older, maybe it is time to supplement the formula with a little food. Talk to your pediatrician first but it could be time for your child to eat a bit more. We had to add rice cereal and food early for our big eating son as he simply could not be satisfied otherwise. The pediatrician gave the okay. By 8 months he was consuming two massive jars of babyfood (when I didn't make it myself), cereal and 8 ounces of formula. He was insatiable. He is now a 99% height, 75% weight, tall, lean kindergarten machine. Literally a head taller than any other kid in his class and a whirlwind of energy.

Your son could be going through a normal growth spurt for his age, which would mean for a time he would need more frequent feedings until he levels off. I would feed him when he starts to cry, not wait. If he fills up he is likely to stop eating. Babies go through regular predictable growth spurts during which they need to eat more frequently.

Put a little rice cereal in the bottle to thicken it up... The doctor might not recommend it just yet, but if your kid is hungry, he's hungry!!! Good luck... :o)

I would suggest that you add another ounce until he gets to a point of being full. While you didn't mention his age, by 6 months my son was up to 8 ounces every 4 hours!

Also check the flow speed of the nipples you are using. If he is ready for more formula per feeding he might also be ready for the faster nipples.

Here are the FACTS from the American Academy of Pediatrics about feeding your child solid foods: http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_Solids.htm
I highly recommend you read it if your child is at least 4 months old. May need more than formula if he's hungry all the time.

You hadn't indicated on whether or not your son finishes his 5oz bottle. If he is, I would suggest offering more than 5oz at his feedings. I am not sure how old he either so I am not sure if he is ready for cereal yet or not. As a rule of thumb, they say to start that at 5 -6 months.

My oldest drank 6oz at about 6 weeks at each feeding. When they are babies, they only take what they need, I would suggest giving more quantity and see how it goes.

Good luck with everything.

G. (Mom of 4)

You don't say how old your baby is...but I'm assuming since he is only drinking 5 ounces at a time he is probably 2 months old or younger.
My son ate every two hours until he was 5 months old [even 8 ounce bottles!]...My niece did until she was 7 months. Every three hours is very normal, and that's not bad, considering it could be every two hours. He is growing so much and burning off so many calories that he really needs all the nutrition he can get. I would not change a thing. If he is hungry, feed him. His body knows what he needs and when.
Plus, switching formulas will only cause more issues. You never know how he will react to a new formula- he could be more gassy, get constipated, spit up more, not sleep well, etc. I say keep doing what you're doing and don't mess with a good thing.
However if your baby is older than 2 months, he could probably take more than 5 ounces at a time, so you could try giving him 6 or 7 ounces each feeding.

We have used Enfamil w/DHA and ARA - have used this with all 3 of our boys. It worked well as a supplement to breastfeeding and a transition from breastfeeding to formula only. But, at the same time, our boys have all started cereal at 2 months, baby food at 4 months, and solids around 6 months.