Do they eat enough?

vlahop

My LOs eat 25-27 oz a day and according to the baby 411 book, they should have at least 30.  They drink pumped BM, so I know how much they eat.  I have been trying to get them to take more, but it is a battle.  They either spit some back out, or it takes them an hour to finish that last bottle I try to squeeze in for the day.  They are truly eating how much they want, and I feed on demand.  Should I try to push it or let it go?  The pedi had no concerns about their weight gain, but they are little peanuts in the 5th and 10th percentile.  They were born at 38 weeks, so I am sure that makes a small difference.  It is so hard for me to have small babies!  DD1 gulped down all her food and would always gladly have more, this is just so different for me. 

xxyankeegrl823xx

As long as they are gaining weight and the pedi isnt concerned I wouldnt be worried. At 2 months my twins were drinking maybe 24oz a day but they were steadily gaining weight so we were never worried about it. They were in the 5-10% when they were born and are now in the 50% for both height and weight so I wouldnt be too worried, they will catch up!

AlishaMay

How much do they weigh?  We were always told to follow the rule of 2-2.5 times their body weight in ounces per day.  For example if they are 10lbs they should take between 20-25 oz in a 24 hour period.  That said, sometimes they just couldn't quite make this, but as long as they were consistently gaining and producing enough wet diapers, our pedi wasn't concerned. 

kafunder

I wouldn't worry too much if your pedi isn't concerned. That sounds like a good amount. At 2 months, DS was eating only about 24 oz and DD was lucky if she ate 20oz per day. They both gained weight just fine and moved up in the percentiles.

blondek8

I agree with PP's. Don't worry too much about how many ounces their getting. As long as they're wetting diapers, having poops and growing, it really doesn't matter how many ounces their getting. My guys are 18.3 and 17.5 -- they eat a different amount of ounces everyday. On the weekend I was lucky to get 25oz into them and they were sleeping 7pm-6am. This week they've been taking 30-35oz and still waking once a night to eat again. So clearly by their weights, they aren't suffering!

vlahop

AlishaMay:

How much do they weigh?  We were always told to follow the rule of 2-2.5 times their body weight in ounces per day.  For example if they are 10lbs they should take between 20-25 oz in a 24 hour period.  That said, sometimes they just couldn't quite make this, but as long as they were consistently gaining and producing enough wet diapers, our pedi wasn't concerned. 

I have heard this too, and based on this methodology they are eating enough.  They are both probably just above 9 lbs at this point.  This is why I should not read stats from baby 411!

vlahop

Thank you all for posting with your experiences.  I do feel better now, I just felt like they were small because I was not feeding them enough.  I feel better about letting them call the shots now.

caden

My kids drank 25-27oz at four months, so hey. Like the p.p.s said, check w/ your pedi for what's appropriate. Each baby is different and weight gain/number of diapers is a better guide than some average in a book. : )

doz&koz

My DC are basically the same age as yours and they are eating about 24 oz a day right now.  I had read that this is what you should shoot for at this age.  We have an appointment with the pedi today and I plan to ask if they should be eating more.