Increase formula

Lovehavinggirls

Dd is currently 3 weeks old. As of last Wednesday she was 4lbs 7oz. We currently feed her every three hours and in between some of her feedings she is getting hungry an hour or more before she is suppose to eat again. We are current ff her neosure and we increased the amount from 45ml to 55ml but this is still happening. How frequently do you increase the amount of formula you give your lo and by how much? Also if she gets hungry early should we feed her right away or try to wait till the next scheduled feeding? last week she couldn't even eat the 45ml at all feedings and now 55 is not enough. I am going to call the pedi when they open but thanks for all your input.

WaitingforGrace

Once our DD's were home we fed on demand as much as they wanted. Most newborns eat more frequently than 3 hours - 3 hours is just a NICU standard for the nurses. Put 2.5 ounces in a bottle, see how much she'll take. You might find that at certain times of the day she'll eat more than others. From what I remember, at that age and weight, mine were on 35-45ml 8x a day, but every baby is different. If she wants to eat more, let her pack on those pounds!

Natalie_may

We fed on demand as well.  Some feedings would be more of a "snack" and others would be a feast!  My two were big eaters and went up in volume very quickly so I would always put 3oz in a bottle and see what they would do, then 4, now 6!  Good luck!

ChickensFive

We just wait for their peds to let us know when to increase. 

Saying that, If they wake up hungry an hour later we give them about 20ml more. If they wake up close to their 3 hour normal feed time we just give them a whole bottle.

As of last weigh in:

A weighed 6lbs 10ozs and has a goal of 60ml each 3 hour feed.

C weighed 7lbs  5ozs and has a goal of 67ml each 3 hour feed (we give her 70ml).

I suspect at the next peds appt they will be increased.

They do get hungry in between especially C she's a little piggy.

MaybeMore

If a baby is hungry, feed him.  Feed him when he wants to eat and how much he wants to eat.  My preemie was EBF, so I can't give you quantities, but when he was born, he ate himself into a stupor every 45 min during the day and every hour at night for the first several weeks.  He didn't eat every 3 hours until he was more than a month old.  He didn't eat every 4 hours until he was over two months.  He had a very tiny tummy and lots of growing to do!

Lovehavinggirls

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all of your feedback. I will start giving DD more formula and if she is hungry I will give her a snack.

katie4253

We actually use the formula they used in the NICU to figure out how much to feed him.  They said he could have between 140-180ml per kilo. Gabe's always had a "big appetite" so we use 180. 

Anyway, we take his weight in kg x 180 / number of feeds per day.

So, yesterday he was 3.42kg x 180 / 8 = 76.95ml per feed.  We kind of estimate his weight based on his average growth (which is about an ounce a day).  We increased him to 75ml yesterday. 

He doesn't have really strong rooting and obvious "I'm still hungry" cues.  So, it is hard to know when to bump him up.  I know it is a little extreme for some people, but it works for us.  He also has had a growth spurt since he's been home.  During that time he ate full feeds every 2-2.5hrs.  He was a hungry little guy during those couple of days.  Perhaps she's having a growth spurt.