Is 2 Oz per Feeding Too Little for a 5-Month-old?

We all know the saying that breast is best, but really the most important thing for you now is to get her to eat more, whatever she eats. If she takes more from the bottle, no matter what is in it, then she should probably take all meals from the bottle. You can keep pumping to get what you can and keep the production going until she plumps up, and then try BF again, or just go straight to formula. At 5 months she has had breast milk enough to get good benefits, and gaining proper weight is paramount at this age. Best wishes!

Yes, that's about how much a newborn takes at each feeding. She should be getting about 32 ounces a day. You'll just be feeding more often to get her to that point.

Does she have gas?
Does she burp?
She may need a good burp or has gas, thus her discomfort after feeding for only 5-10 minutes.... and that she can't take in anymore.

Next, is she latching on properly? If not, a baby will not, be getting adequate intake either... and make sure you are producing enough milk... or she will not be getting enough intake either.

With gas or not enough milk coming out... a baby may seem to 'reject' nursing and be done feeding... but is not.

Yes, 2 oz. per feeding is hardly anything, at 5 months old.

Perhaps, see a Lactation Consultant to check your milk production AND her latch... if something is wrong with either of these, baby will not be getting proper intake.

Next, my other question would be: HOW does she feed, when given Formula at the Babysitter??? Is her intake better with that, and from a bottle??? Some babies, if given a bottle... will not want to breastfeed anymore...because a bottle is easier to suck from... it being just by gravity. So, then they don't want to nurse from breast because it takes more work and mouth/tongue coordination.
So that is something to think about, too.

all the best,
Susan

yes. but all that means is that she'll need to feed every 2 - 2 1/2 hours instead of 4.

have you tried burping her after 1 oz? Maybe she has reflux or an allergy?

.

I would talk to your my pediatrician again soon and see if maybe he thinks you should bottle feed the baby with formula or breast milk? If my baby were in that low % of weight for her age, I would be pretty concerned. Maybe some tests need to be run on her to see if there is any type of gastro-intestinal problem that may be causing her discomfort when she eats so she only eats only a little at a time. Ask the Pediatrician if this low eating habit is unusual nad ask for more suggestions Hope things improve for you and her Mom.

you have to make her wait until she is hungrier.... they need much more food than that... the formula or breast milk is what they really need... good luck

Breastfed babies are a totally different animal than bottle fed babies. I read on kellymom.com that from about 1 month old to around 6 months old breast fed babies actually eat about the same amount at each feeding! So it sounds like your little one is doing what she needs to do.

Both of mine still woke in the night to nurse at that age. Parenting doesn't stop at night no matter how tired we are. ;)

My daughter was a power nurser. She rarely nurse longer than 7-8 minutes at that age. She was in and out and done lol!

Neither of my breastfed babies ate enormous amounts when they were given a bottle of pumped milk. I always stare in awe at bottle fed babies and the volume they take in. Mine never ever took an 8 oz bottle. Maybe 5-6 max.

Please do not go by the charts that your doc is using. Most likely it is based on formula fed babies. Again, totally different animal.

It is best to delay solids until at least 6 months and then only when baby shows signs of readiness. The reason we are told to wait is because baby has an "open gut" meaning everything they eat passes into the blood stream. I had one start solids around 7 months and my second was over 9 months old. Solids are for practice, to a small degree to supplement the primary nutrition of breastmilk but not to replace breastmilk! Again, follow baby's lead.

Bottom line is nurse her on-demand, round the clock 24/7. You never, ever put off a breastfed baby! Just follow her lead! She is telling you exactly what she needs and when she needs it. Breastfed babies are amazingly adept and getting what they need.

Don't be surprised if she hits a grow spurt soon (around that 6 month mark) and is nursing even more for a week or so. That gets you to make more milk (and the amount she'll take in) for these next 6 months.

It seems much too little, to me, but she's probably got something going on - reflux?? My best advice for you would be to just let her eat on demand. When she wants to eat, let her nurse. If she nurses for 10 minutes, fine, but let her nurse again when she's hungry in 20 minutes. A pain, I know. But if you can swing it for awhile, I think that's your best bet for keeping her healthy. A friend of mine had a baby with awful reflux and she had to eat like this and she ate nearly every hour for the first 6 monhs and was up several times a night until 12 months. She's now two and a great eater and sleeper and completely healthy!!! It'll work out... Hang in there!

give her a little motrin about 20-30 min before a feeding and see if it goes better. if it does she could be working on a tooth or have an earache.

try changing your diet or try , dare i say it, some formula just to see if she does a better job?

keep distractions as low as possible while feeding. good luck!

My experience as a mom for 22 years is this - if your baby is otherwise healthy and happy - shes's knows when she is full. In fact, in my "mom" opinion, by forcing her to eat more then she wants you could contribute to a very bad habit that most of us adults have - "not knowing when enough is enough". As she grown and becomes more active her demand for food will grow with her. I would not worry - if she is otherwise healthy and happy - you're doing just fine.

I haven't read through all of the responses, I hope I'm not repeating what's been said already.
It's impossible to judge how much milk a baby is getting while nursing. What you get using a breastpump for the same amount of time isn't comparable because babies nurse differently than a pump pumps. At 5 months old a baby's tummy just isn't big enough to sustain her for more than a couple hours & that's normal. Check the growth charts on Kellysmom, the ones used by most pedis are based on formula fed babies & do not accurately reflect normal growth of breastfed babies. Cereal and food at this age is not for nutrition, it's just for 'practice' eating. Breastmilk provides all of the nutrition & calories a baby needs until 6-9 months depending on the baby and provides the base she needs even long after that.
Is she reaching normal milestones? Does she have several wet diapers a day?

I know you've gotten some good responses, but I just had to respond to this one. Yes, it is too little, and I'm going through the SAME thing! My third son is 6 months old and has done the same thing most of his little life. My first two sons would take about 8 oz everytime they took a bottle of breastmilk, and I know they would get about that much when I nursed them because they would nurse from one side and I'd pump that amount from the other. With this little guy, he has almost always nursed for about 5 minutes max on each side. The exception with him is at night, when he will nurse both sides. The difference with him is that he is rarely hungry during the day. I have to make him eat every 3-3.5 hours. With yours, I would try to make her wait 3 hours. She is definitely old enough to go that long, and she may not be getting the fatty hind milk that she needs. You may see a difference with that. Oh, by the way, mine, at 6 months, is finally beginning to show a little improvement and has slept from about 11 to 7 twice, so maybe there's hope for both of us. Good luck, and I'll be thinking of you as I'm battling my own little one!

hello
have you tried at the first feeding to mix in a little cereal with her formula and if you pump breastmilk, add it to the container... I believe at 5 mos she can have a little cereal mixed in.. however, DONT wait until the second or third try... perhaps see if she will take the milk/formula along with cereal mixed in at the get go... she may at that point be hungry enough to eat more.. and even if she doesn't she might very well be a little more filled up than if you didn't mix the cereal
best of luck

I'm not sure but maybe wait longer between feedings so that she eats more when she does eat? I havent had that problem but I know my daughter who is 4 months old eats about 7-9 oz when she eats. I breastfeed but I give her a bottle of breastmilk in the mornings and sometimes when I'm gone she'll take a bottle.

I have two points of reference, mine (with my now 7 month old bottle/formula fed baby girl) and my Mom's (she's a preadopt foster mom for newborns.

Our little girl didn't get enough from the breast so we had to augment with formula from week 1. By 2 months she was solidly going through 4 oz per feeding every 3-4 hours. When she was cluster feeding that was the only time when she at more frequently, and still she'd take at least 3 oz minimum.

My Mom's experience (with over 24 newborns - typically zero - 4 months) is that the babies who eat so frequently and small amounts are just not working hard enough, and thus have to be encouraged to wait longer between so they will both eat more and less frequently. She typically tries to lengthen the time between feedings by about 10-15 minutes each day, while keeping the baby soothed and occupied so they don't get upset that they're not eating. She calls this 'stretching' them out. It has worked for all but about 1 or 2 kids. In a week or so the little ones are more satisfied with their meals and Mom and Dad are also able to have a little more time between so they can also do things they want or need to do.

Best of luck!
J

2 oz. is typically what a newborn eats. Maybe she's uncomfortable during feedings (possibly due to reflux) or frustrated b/c your milk isn't 'letting down' fast enough or too fast, etc. There could be lots of different reasons for her fussing during/after feedings. 2 of my 3 kiddos nursed often, woke up several times a night, and weighed in at the 5-10 % due to reflux and GI issues.

Best of luck.

My oldest was like this 2-3oz every 2-3 hours around the clock. Even at a year old he would not take more than 4oz at a feeding. He was always around the 5th percentile for weight and 15th for height. He was 6lbs 6oz at birth. Now at 9 1/2 he is 60lbs and 54" tall. Completely healthy! I BF for 5mths and supplemented with formula. I could not produce enough milk to feed him so he was on formula. My youngest would eat 4oz at birth and wanted more! He is 6 1/2 weighs 63lbs and is 48" tall. My pediatrician ruled out everything with my oldest and said if he is hungry he will eat. Feed frequently and small amount is what his body may need. We did formula with him until he was two for the extra calories around the clock. He did not sleep through the night until he was 5 1/2 years old anyways so we were up already ;) We did stop the night bottle/cup when he was about 18 months old. He still woke but that was more just his body rhythm not hunger.

If her doctor has ruled out every other possible cause just continue to offer her frequent feedings. Good luck.

Have you tried pumping and bottlefeeding or even a sippy cup? If she isnt interested in "food" then give it a few weeks and try cereal again. I would say as long as she is eating a gain weight at every appt then she might just be a petite princess.

She probably is eating what she needs. My daughter couldn't hold much food at one feeding during her 8 or 9 months. When I did manage to coax a little more into her, she'd always just spit it up a few minutes later.

It seemed to be a stomach-capacity issue, and I just learned to go with what she actually could successfully eat. That did require night feedings, which, in the 1970's, was frowned upon by the pediatric establishment. But I got tired of fighting reality, and when I gave up the schedule, we were both happier. I also started co-sleeping, with her starting the night in a bassinet right beside my bed, and I'd pull her in and nurse while I dozed.

It was very sweet and calm. We didn't have any adjustment problems when she became independent enough to sleep through the night in her own bed.

What percentile of weight was she when she was born? If she was less than 10 percentile at birth and the doctor isn't worried, I would MAYBE go along with the doctor's relaxed attitude. However, I wouldn't be comfortable about it at all.

First, check and see if she has a sore throat. How long has this been going on? If it is less than a week of the crying and not really eating, it could be a cold of some kind. Blood work would tell you if she has an infection. We had a similar problem when our daughter was 6 months old. I knew she was sick, and no one believed me. We ended up in the ER and they finally did blood work, and her white cell count was high. They agreed with me she was sick at that point. Up until then they were treating me like I was crazy. A couple days later the pediatrician discovered she had a sore on the back of her troat. She had hand-foot-and mount disease, which is just a virus, is pretty common, and was gone in about a week or two.

However, if daughter was above the 10th percentile at birth and is now in the 4th percentile. I would take her to a pediatric gastroenterologist. I would have her checked for reflux, celiac disease, and whatever else the doctor can think of. You need to find out why she isn't gaining weight, which is a bigger problem then the eating. A 5 month old why eats 2onces every 3hours and is gaining weight wouldn't worry me too much, but one who isn't gaining, or is losing would have me really scared. Focus on the weight gain or lack thereof -- doctor's clue into that. Strange eating patterns at this age don't get their attention -- failure to gain weight, should.

Best of luck. Please let us know what happens. I am going to worry about your little one. :-(

Has your doctor ruled out any other issues? Like reflux? It sounds like to me if she is screaming after 5-10 mintues that stomach acid may be coming back up into her throat. A lot of times you don't know they have reflux because it's not severe. I would talk to your doctor about it and see if there might be something going on.