Fussy During & After Feeding

hushpuppy201

My LO is 5 weeks old. Over the past few days, he has started becoming fussy during and after feedings (he is bottle fed and is strictly on formula). During feedings, he is fussy when I stop to burp him. Maybe he is just hungry and doesn't want to stop or maybe he doesn't like to be burped? He usually eats 4 ounces every 3 hours during the day and 4 ounces every 4 hours at night. It seems like he only gets fussy during the day. Could it be that he is still hungry after 4 ounces? I burp him, change him and give him his gas drops and he is still fussy. I try giving him a pacifier and he takes it but sucks vigorously on it like he's still hungry instead of just sucking for comfort. I'm afraid of over-feeding him. Can/should a 5 week old eat more than 4 ounces?

He does finally calm down and go back to sleep about an hour before he is supposed to eat again. Maybe he just tires himself out from crying and screaming? Any advice/suggestions on how to calm him while burping and after feedings? This is making feeding a real chore and I want to be able to enjoy this time with my LO.

lindsey1031

Have you tried feeding him a little earlier than you would usually?  Maybe he's too hungry at mealtime?

Beckel84

This is exactly like my DS. Starting in his 4th week, he started screaming during feedings. He would eat a bit, then basically start throwing a tantrum - screaming/crying, thrashing around while we tried to burp him. We figured out he just really couldn't stand the feeling of having to burp. We'd spend 15 mins soothing and burping and once it came up, he'd start eating again. But at the same time, if he was hungry, he didn't want us stopping his eating to burp him early either, lol. At his ped's okay, we switched him to Similac Sensitive. That helped a lot as it reduced his gas, but also I think it's just something they kind of go threw as their tummies are maturing, so time helps as well. He's now 8 weeks and he doesn't scream when needing to burp anymore. Sometimes he's still fussy during feedings, but not anything like before. A sensitive formula may help your LO with gas. We also did/do bicycle legs throughout the day. Oh, and my Ped said there is no such thing as over-feeding a newborn. They are acting purely on instinct and don't just eat for fun, so if he wants to eat, feed him. At times, it seems like he'll go crazy and eat 6-7 ozs in one sitting, but then he'll go back to normal. He's hungry so feed him GL

hushpuppy201

Thanks for the encouraging words. My LO is on Enfamil Nutramigen. The times when he's not fussy during eating, he will still get really fussy after eating even when we've burped him. We burp him after every ounce but don't always get a burp out of him.

aprilbeachbride

Maybe try feeding 2 ounces every two hours? That is the schedule my pedi has us on, except her bedtime bottle and during the night we give 2.5-3 ou so she'll go a little longer between feedings (3-4 hours).