My 4 week old eats over 35oz a day....thoughts??

lucky13-9999

My little girl was born at 8lbs 11oz and eats a ton!  She eats anywhere from 5-6 oz every 2.5 to 3 hours.  She will go one stretch of 5-6 hours in the middle of the night.  She uses a medium flow nipple and has since she has been 1 week old.  I started out pumping but had to supplement since she was eating so much.  Last week I dried up and she has been on full formula ever since.  We switched her from Similac Advance to Similac Sensitive because she seemed to be puking up the regular formula.  We haven't had any issues since switching.  I'm just trying to figure out of I am doing something wrong.  I am well aware that this is a TON for a newborn to be eating.  However she SCREAMS if we don't give her the full bottle.  I have talked to the pedi about this and she wants me to do smaller more frequent feedings.  I don't really see the difference in doing that if she's holding down the 6oz and would be getting the same amount.  Any thoughts?  Is this ok?  Would you be concerenced if this was your LO?

jilrsch46

My four week old eats 4-5 oz every 3 hours... I am not concerned...

sheyscorona

If its working why change it?  Keep doing what your doing, if it makes you happy and your daughter happy and enjoy ur sleep.

Question though?  How do you know your milk is drying up, I think this may be happening to me. 

shaw

I would say that is waaaaaayyyyy overfeeding your LO!  She is screaming probably because her tummy is upset...and then that is probably why she is throwing up!  Typically LOs don't ever go over 32 ounces per day for the entire year they drink formula.  At four weeks, she is probably just going through her fussy period.  It doesn't mean she needs food. 

lucky13-9999

kdodge423:

Why did you even ask your pedi about it if you weren't going to listen anyway?

 I just wanted some other opinions.  Haven't you ever asked your pedi a question and then asked other people for their thoughts?

laurapalmer

shaw:

I would say that is waaaaaayyyyy overfeeding your LO!  She is screaming probably because her tummy is upset...and then that is probably why she is throwing up!  Typically LOs don't ever go over 32 ounces per day for the entire year they drink formula.  At four weeks, she is probably just going through her fussy period.  It doesn't mean she needs food. 

She may just be that hungry but I find it highly unlikely. I agree with all of this.

jilrsch46

Like I said... my LO eats 4-5 oz every three hours... she is not fussy and does not spit up. I do not feel like I am overfeeding at all. Your LO could be going through a growth spurt or could just be that hungry. You are the mommy, just trust your instincts.

jilrsch46

But I do use and would recommend the slow nipple... that way they can get a better handle on when they are full.

laurapalmer

I forgot to add that, absolutely switch to slow flow! She's way too young to be drinking that fast. Please look for her cues.

RJHarmon

You definitely need to be using a slow flow nipple.  I think the reason that she is taking so much is because it is basically flooding into her body with that fast nipple.  Think about when you eat really fast, you tend to overeat then feel miserable-same thing here.  Slow her down and let her process what she is feeling and see if she is still giving hunger cues.

Taryn5382

SLOW FLOW! for sure..... 4 week olds shouldn't have a medium flow nipple. She eats so fast she does not realize she is full....

chardonnay24

My pedi said that a 2-month old should be eating 4 - 5 oz six times per day, so 24 - 30 oz total. I suspected that A was overeating and talking to our pedi and lactation consultant about it (I'm EPing). An infant shouldn't be eating over 32 oz/day for the first six months, and that amount should actually decrease as you begin to introduce solids. Our pedi suggested a slower flow nipple (we now use the Platex VentAire with Naturalatch nipples) and to feed half the bottle, burp, and feed the rest.

We have A eating 4 oz bottles 6 - 7 times/day and he is 11 weeks old. He will sometimes scream when he's finished, but after he's had a good burp and a moment for his stomach to register that he is full, he'll usually calm down. If he is absolutely inconsolable, we'll give him an extra 1/2 oz, but never more than 6 oz total per feeding. He rarely will eat more than 4 oz since we've started feeding him more slowly.

posvane

DD2 eats anywhere from 32-36 oz a day of formula. She is hungry every 2-3 hours. She just went for her 6 weeks visit and the pedi told me keep doing what I'm doing since she's gaining weight and is not overweight. She is on a slow nipple (I posted about this and agreed with responses of staying on slow flow).

So you are not alone with the high amount of oz. And, my pedi seemed to feel this was fine. DD2 is 50% weight, 50%height, and 25% head.

cskiwi

My 4 week old eats between 26 and 32 oz also....but I use the slow flow nipple. Some days she eats more.  I will see my DR on Monday..hopefully her weight gain is ok.

Daniela_1021

My LO ist 12 weeks today and he eats 4oz every 2,5 - 3,5 hours. Our pedi told us he is supposed to eat between 20 and 24oz in a 24 hour period. Sometimes he only eats 20 and sometimes we have days where he eats 28 or 32oz. I?m not too worried about it.

 But we also use a slow flow nipple. I accidentally used the fast flow nipples once and he was screaming after he was done eating. He wasnt hungry but he didnt realized that he was full because he was eating so fast.

lucky13-9999

Thank you for all of the feedback.  I started using the slow flow nipples today and can already tell a difference.  She hasn't drank more than 4oz at any of her feedings.  Thanks!