Feeding Still 2 Hours Apart?

carissali

Hi ladies,

My LO is 7 weeks old now, but he's still crying for food every 2-2.5 hours.  We tried to feed him more (I pump 80% and supplement 20%) at a time, but he pretty much just refuses to take in anything more then 3.5 oz at a time.  He also spits up quite often.  Seems like he has a small stomach.  Anyone else have similar problems or have gone through something like this?  

My DH and I were hoping he'd feed 3-4 hours apart now, but nooo...  We're still up 3+ times a night.  LO is almost like an alarm clock, 2-hour mark hits, and he starts whining. =(   Will he outgrow this?  Should I be concerned?

Thanks in advance! 

Qmommy

Don't be concerned.  BF babies tend to drink less than fully FF babies because our milk changes to meet the baby's dietary needs.  DD1 didn't take more than 3 oz until she was 4 or 5 months!  

Spit up is normal and nothing to worry about unless he's arching his back and screaming in pain during and after every meal.  To help decrease / eliminate spitting up keep him upright for at least 15 minutes after he eats.  Since he is bottle fed you can try a different bottle too.  My niece spit up a lot when she was drinking from Dr. Brown bottles but when they changed to Born Free bottles it stopped or slowed.  

DD1 ate every 1.5 to 2 hours until closer to 6 months.  Your DS sounds like he's right on track for his age.  Hang in there, I know you're tired but this too shall pass. 

carissali

Thanks QMommy, but wow, lots of props to you for managing those frequent feedings for so long!

jen mayhill

Our LO is six weeks, and we are in the same boat.  I'm glad you posted this.  I was just reading today that you can introduce a sleep routine btwn. 6-8 weeks.  Not sure if you have tried this, but it said each week they will sleep about an hour longer at a time...we put LO down an hou and forty minutes ago...I'm hoping he can stretch it to another hour and a half... 

Bookwormyone

My FF baby ate every 2 hours until she was at least 9/10 weeks.  She was 6.5 weeks early though, so I don't know if that makes a difference.  She eats exactly every 3 hours once.  She wakes herself up to eat.  Once in awhile we'll get a four hour stretch.  Hang in there.  It will get better!

dizzycooks

My LO (3 weeks) wakes up every 2 hours like clockwork all night, but is much less predictable during the day.  However!  She nursed much quicker last night and I am hoping that means she's waking and needing comfort instead of food because I am back in bed in 30 minutes instead of an hour. (Or not at all like this weekend!!) 

Do you go to LO as soon as you hear a whimper or do you give them a minute to see if they calm themselves?

rlyttle

Yes, still feed every 2ish hours! My LO is 16 months & still eats almost every 2 hours!! He's always been a great eater. When he was tiny he would BF every 1.5-2 hours & cluster feed in the evening. Like I said, now he gets 3 solid meals with snacks in between!!!

JoAnna914

Just wanted to join the "feeding every two hours" club.  DS is a little over 7 weeks old and he still wants to eat constantly.  Since we've had more success with bottle feeding lately, I've been able to see that he averages only an 1 1/2 ounces a feeding - regardless, the kid is packing on the weight, so I'm not concerned, lol.  Hang in there - I know how tough it is!

blu-eyedwife

My guy will be 4 months old tomorrow.  Up until last week he was still eating every 2 hours during the day.  No complaining though, because he was sleeping 8 hours a night!  Now he's closer to 3 during the day.