I am a first time mom and we have been having feeding nightmares! We have gone from breastfeeding to expressed milk to formula when my supply diminished. My son is 8 weeks old and weighs between 12 and 12.5 lbs. He has reflux and is on medication for that, sleeps on an incline and eats Enfamil A.R. Any ideas for how much he should be eating each day and how much he should be eating at each feeding? I am getting different advice from books, family and friends. When I asked the doctor he told me 2 - 3 ounces every 2 -3 hours. My son will cry horribly if he only eats 3 ounces and will try to get his hands in his mouth. He will turn his head in to my arm and try to sucj it. I know he is still hungry. He even acts hungry after 4 ounces. It is too much for him to eat 5 ounces per feeding? Please help!!!!
Hi! Thank you for all the wonderful advice. I wanted to update everyone on the situation with feeding my son. I have followed the advice that most people gave me and just let my son eat until he turns away from the bottle. I was not sure he would turn away when he was full, but sure enough, sometimes he does. He is consuming about the same number of ounces but he is eating fewer time each day. The first day I let him guide himself on the feeding he slept through the night the first time. He is just doing great and is very happy and content. I feel good about my choice not to stick with the 2 - 3 ounces per 2 - 3 hours (per doctor) and want to thank you all so much for taking the time to reply. :-)
Hi L. I am a first time mother as well my son is already 15 months. I was just like you when he was that old. i would just try 4 1/2 oz maybe he will get full with that much and even go a little long then every three oz. by the time my sone was eight months he would eat a jar of baby food plus 9 oz of formula. i hope this helps you out.
Hi L.,
My daughter is 9 weeks old and weighs 11lbs, she eats 5 oz every 3 hours. Only you will know what is right for your baby. If he still is acting hungry then you need to up his oz. He will let you know when he is full by spitting it out!
L., think about it this way... if you were still breastfeeding, would you feed him a certain number of ounces or feed him until he's full? Obviously, until he's full. Babies don't overeat, so I'm not sure what your concern is... is it that he'll he too much and then spit up? Well, again, think about it- he has reflux because the valve in his throat isn't fully developed, not because his tummy isn't big enough. His tummy still wants to be fed after you take his bottle away, even if he spits up after he eats his fill. My son ate well and would spit up at least 4 times after each feeding. I became very adept at catching it and such. He always wore a bib (for the first year) and I always had a burp rag next to him. He was always thriving and growing. I would never underfeed him (if he's crying and sucking on you after eating, he's underfed) even if I was concerned about him spitting up. My son also projectile vomited sometimes (he may have eaten a little too much then or I didn't get out the burps). I never had him on meds or any of that. Almost all babies spit up- it's normal. Just make sure you get those burps out (after a couple of ounces if you're concerned about spitting up). The air in their bellies will overfill it, when added to the formula. Oh, and we used Dr. Brown's bottles... they helped a lot with the evening gas problems.
I have a nine month old little boy,and he ate like a little pig when he was little. I nursed him several times a day and when I would pump I would make between 5 to 6 ounces. That meant to me that he was eating that much. He also had reflux and at times he would spit some of it up. But if he is still hungry after 3 or 4 oz then I would keep feeding him a little at a time. Also have you tried putting a little oatmeal or rice in his bottles with your milk. I know with mine that helped him feel full for a little longer. See if this helps. Just remember that putting rice in his bottle will change his diapers a little. It will make them thicker and change the color a little, but nothing major. Hope this helps a little. I know it can be stressful with little ones.
The lactation consultant I used for nursing issues told me that each day they need a total of about 2oz for each pound of body weight - not sure if this is accurate or not, but its what she said. :) I am nursing now so not sure how much my little girl is getting exactly....
Your baby will let you know. I am in the same spot, my son is 3months and eats 5 to 6oz every 4 hours. The Dr.s tell me I am feeding him to much and to cut back to 2oz every 2 to 3 hours. He would scream and scracth his head and face so bad. I couldnt do it. He is my fourth and last. I have always fed my babys till they were full and let them tell me when that was. He does fine. He eats, burps, spits a little and then either snoozes or coos. When it comes down to it, its your choice.
My daughter is almost 6 weeks old and is eating 4-5 oz every 3-4 hours. The amount the dr told you (2-3 oz) seems too little for a 9 week old???
Hi L.!
My daughter is 9 weeks old. She also has trouble with acid reflux and was on medication, but I wasn't sure it helped so I took her off. She is now eating 4 ounces every two hours of Enfamil with Iron and Enfamil AR (we mix the two as it helps with her acid reflux). Sometimes she doesn't even finish the last ounce. If he is eating ok on the 4 oz,but still acting hungry try upping his formula to 4 1/2 and just keep going up half an ounce until he seems satisfied. It could also be gas. A child will act like their still hungry if they have a gas bubble. The formula soothes his stomach so he will keep acting hungry and eating even though his stomach is full. So try to burp him in the middle of the bottle (this is what we do) or between ounces.
Also, with the acid reflux we decided to mix the two formulas (Enfamil with Iron and Enfamil AR) together (this was ok'd by our pediatrician) and her spit ups have reduced considerably. Hope all this helps!!
My pediatrcian says 2-4oz evey 3hrs is normal. My baby takes 3oz of expressed breast milk. she weighs 12.1oz. I would say you need to let your baby guide you. Try experimenting with different amounts. Sometimes my girl will do 4oz.
Let him eat his fill. It will all even out. The only time you need to be concerned about too much is if he is spitting up frequently and a lot of formula is being ejected. Just make sure you burp him every few ounces.
Good luck!
