My son is 3 weeks old, he is breastfeed. I am feeding every 2 hours (10 mins each side) during the day and every 4-5 during the night.
We have introduced a bottle and it now seems like 4oz is not enough. So I am now finding myself pumping for the bottle and then still giving him the breast within 1 hour!
Is this too much? Or is 4 oz enough to fill him? Please if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them, I meet with his Dr. next week.
Well we saw the Doctor ... and My son now weighs 11lbs 4oz and is 22.5 inches, he is 1 month old and the Doctor said that is weight looks great and that as long as he is eating enough then we can cut out his 2am feeding and it has worked 2 out of 3 nights! So he is now getting 2-4oz pumped bottles a day and feeding from me every 3 hours! Then going down for the night at 9pm and getting up hopefully at 6am.
Thank you all for your support.
At this point you are establishing your feeding relationship with him so you want to feed him on demand. Do you need to introduce the bottle right now? Maybe feed him once during the day from the bottle but continue from the breast at other times. Growth spurts at this point are normal so I wouldn't worry too much about him eating too much. Good luck!
My guy ate like that, he is 3.5months now. Pretty much as long as he is not throwing up too much and gaining weight normally, any amount he wants to eat should be ok. We didn't give him a bottle much in the beginning but if we did he would suck down 3-4 oz pretty quick. I do notice that if I don't eat enough fat then he does breastfeed more frequently. I just added whole milk and more protein into my diet and his ravenous hunger seemed to be a little more reasonable.
Even now if I miss a meal then my baby eats more frequently later that day and that evening. I am finding that I can still eat almost like I did when pregnant, carefully but with extra snacks.
Also, I found that if my weight falls to within 10 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight then he feeds more frequently. As long as I keep an extra 10 lbs on his feeding schedule is better. Course, that sucks for my wardrobe options since nothing fits!!
I think that babies go through a growth spurt right around the month mark, so they tend to eat more. Sounds like your little man is right on target. If it is possible, I would try to pump after you feed him. That will teach your body to make more milk around that time, while ensuring that he gets enough in that feeding. I used the pump to help me increase my supply while I was nursing. If I ever felt like she was eating more, I would start to pump for a few minutes after some feedings to help get my supply up.
Also, I started off with a pump in style pump and ended up with a rented Lactina. I found that I needed a lot less time at the pump because the Lactina was stronger. Just a suggestion if you are headed to the doctor. The doctor would have to prescribe it. My insurance covered the cost of rental. Good Luck!!!
D.- Congratulations on the house, marriage and new little one!! I have three daughters and have breastfed each one...the youngest (at 9 months) is still nursing. I also work part time so I also introduced the bottle at about 3 weeks. Although every baby is different, you will likely see changes in eating during growth spurts. I believe they go through one around three weeks and this might account for why he is still hungry after 4 oz. For about a week he may feed more often and need more at each feeding. It can take 24-48 hours for your milk supply to catch up with this increase. I am fairly certain you can't feed him "too much" so as long as you are able to do it, go ahead and top him off an hour after the bottle if he needs it. If it isn't convenient for you to have to nurse again so soon, try offering him 5 oz (if you can pump that amount). He'll let you know when he's full.
Nursing is such a challenge and just about the time you think you have figured it all out, he'll change and you'll need to learn new things again! It can also be tough as it is very hard to estimate how much he is getting when you nurse. It's possible that he is taking more than 4 oz at the breast. Again, you can't over feed him and he may slow down in a few days if he is going through a growth spurt.
Good luck and congratulations again!
K.
Hi D.!!!
First off, Huge Congrats on your little boy!!!
I never breast fed so I cant be of any help. Yet 4 oz seems like a lot at one feeding for a 3 week old. But if he takes it and isnt spitting it up, it must be what he needs.
Best of Luck
~K.
Not sure, but maybe you should check with doctor about your diet. Perhaps the breast milk is lacking something because of your diet.
Hi,
That sounds perfectly normal. There's a growth spurt around that time, and the little ones will nurse _a_lot_ right around then. It's not unusual for a baby to cluster feed either -- a bunch of feedings very close to each other for an hour or two and then a longer time between. Nursing a lot like this stimulates your body to produce more milk, which is needed for the bigger baby. I would let your baby nurse for as long as your son wants -- not just 10 minutes. During a growth spurt, there were times when both my children would nurse, going back and forth between sides, for an hour or more. I found the sling very helpful during these times because it left my hands free and I could move around a bit.
Most importantly, I wouldn't worry much about your son eating too much. Babies, especially at this age, really won't overeat -- they eat what they need to grow, and it increases steadily. If he's gaining weight, which is easy to determine, then you've got nothing to worry about.
Congratulations and enjoy your son! These first days are over far too quickly!
