Baby's eating like a mad man...question/help!

Gigi2195 · May 2011

My baby is 17 days old. His ped just told me that he should be eating 2 oz every 3-4 hours & if he were to ask for more, we should give him "some" water. All day he has been SCREAMING for food every 2(ish) hours and this darn water isn't doing anything for him. He just looks at us, really upset with his face all scrunched up...lol...I dunno what to do. I know that we can't use any cereal yet so we're stumped. Any ideas?

koosh ball · May 2011

Whoa, you should not be giving your baby water. It can be dangerous. I would be looking for a new pedi right away.

Any not just feed on demand? Sounds like 2 oz is not enough! He should probably be eating 2 oz every 2 hour at least.

cynnnabun · May 2011

koosh ball:
Whoa, you should not be giving your baby water. It can be dangerous. I would be looking for a new pedi right away.
Any not just feed on demand? Sounds like 2 oz is not enough! He should probably be eating 2 oz every 2 hour at least.

This, please this. Babies do-not need water. At 2.5 weeks DD2 was eating 3oz every 3 hours and at 3.5 weeks she started eating 4. She still eats 4oz every 3-4 hours. But it all depends on her! If she wants to eat sooner, she eats sooner. If she wants more when she's done a bottle, that's fine too.

Your LO is too little to try to set on a feeding schedule. You can try, we do. Every 3 hours is what we aim for. But, if the girl is clearly hungry 1.5 hours later, I feed her.

Google it. Look up infant feeding and how many ounces a day they should eat and if they need water. We aren't making this stuff up. Your pedi sounds like a douche and I wouldn't trust a Dr. that told me to give my newborn water.

Good luck!

OH, and FWIW- they usually do a growth spurt around 3 weeks and 6 weeks. Even though DD2 generally goes 3-4 hours, she'll eat like crazy during a growth spurt. Every hour, every 2. And tons of ounces.

Follow your LO's cues.

lovesBup · May 2011

koosh ball:
Whoa, you should not be giving your baby water. It can be dangerous. I would be looking for a new pedi right away.

This. Also, if he seems more hungry give him more. DD would take 3 oz of BM out of a bottle around that time. It also sounds like a growth spurt, in which case he may just need to be fed more frequently.

Ciaram22 · May 2011

My 17 day old eats almost 4oz every 3-4 hours.

virginiagirl11 · May 2011

What the others said. Baby doesn't need water and it can be dangerous if you overdo it.

I also agree that what you are feeding him does not sound like enough. My LO is 21 days old and has been going through a growth spurt for almost a week now. He has been starving and literally eating until full or asleep every 1-1.5 hours during the day and every 2-4 hours at night. You can't really overfeed a newborn - they pull away or fall asleep when they're full.

Please listen to your baby and feed him as he requests it. Once you get a feel for how often and how much he truly wants/needs to eat, you can work on trying to get a loose schedule down. But right now, just focus on giving him a full meal whenever he's hungry.

ellaNu630 · May 2011

What the frick is up with your pedi? We do a combo of formula and breast milk and LO gets fed on demand which usually means every 1.5-3.5 hours depending on how much he eats at one sitting. Most doctors will tell you that babies this young should NOT be drinking water. Sounds like your LO is def not getting his fill. Yes 2 oz at one sitting is ok, but so is 1.5 oz or 4 oz, let your baby tell you how much food he needs, they don't generally overeat at this age, and if they do, they'll just spit it back up. At 16 days my LO was eating 2-3 oz every 2-3 hours.

karen6784 · May 2011

Ditto the OPS. Feed your baby and get a new pedi today!

Aviee · May 2011

Wow, water that young? I thought babies had to be at least 2 months for the rare introduction of water. I'm pretty sure too much water too often that young leads to internal organ failure (which is warned about on formulas, telling parents to not water down formula to save money).

As for the feeding, that seems like half as much as he needs. Any LC, pedi and doctor I've talked to while DD was having latching troubles in the beginning said that I should aim for at least an ounce an hour that she has not eaten. That would be 3-4 oz every 3-4 hours, not two oz.

I'd try another pedi for sure.

AmberNGIII · May 2011

I think it's so silly when pedis tell you exactly how much and how often your baby should be eating. Every baby is different. DD1 was drinking a full 2oz the day she was born and the pedi told me she should only be drinking a 1/2oz. I knew then that a 1/2oz wouldn't cut it for her, I could tell she was still hungry. From then on out I let me babies eat as often and as much as they want. You can tell if you're overfeeding because the baby will spit the BM/formula back up. DD2 is 5wks old and she was BFing every hour yesterday (normal for her is every 1 1/2 to 3 hours). A couple times I had to supplement with formula and she would drink 4oz and still be hungry an hour later. IMO, just go with the flow, as a mother you know when your baby is hungry.

laurakaz13 · May 2011

cynnnabun:
koosh ball:

Whoa, you should not be giving your baby water. It can be dangerous. I would be looking for a new pedi right away.

Any not just feed on demand? Sounds like 2 oz is not enough! He should probably be eating 2 oz every 2 hour at least.

This, please this. Babies do-not need water. At 2.5 weeks DD2 was eating 3oz every 3 hours and at 3.5 weeks she started eating 4. She still eats 4oz every 3-4 hours. But it all depends on her! If she wants to eat sooner, she eats sooner. If she wants more when she's done a bottle, that's fine too.

Your LO is too little to try to set on a feeding schedule. You can try, we do. Every 3 hours is what we aim for. But, if the girl is clearly hungry 1.5 hours later, I feed her.

Google it. Look up infant feeding and how many ounces a day they should eat and if they need water. We aren't making this stuff up. Your pedi sounds like a douche and I wouldn't trust a Dr. that told me to give my newborn water.

Good luck!

OH, and FWIW- they usually do a growth spurt around 3 weeks and 6 weeks. Even though DD2 generally goes 3-4 hours, she'll eat like crazy during a growth spurt. Every hour, every 2. And tons of ounces.

Follow your LO's cues.

Oh yeah. You don't need to give your 2 1/2 week old baby water. And mine was screaming too when she was only eating 2-3 oz per feeding.

We upped that to 4 oz's per my Pedi and she is perfectly content. She wasn't getting enough food. The water thing is very old school. My grandma has mentioned water b/c that's what she used to give her babies. I'd search for a new Pedi as well.

Temp246483875007510 · May 2011

If you think your LO is hungry feed him! There is no crime in feeding them alittle more, we experienced something similar with the screaming at 3 weeks, he was just really hungry. NO to the water and yes to more formula or BM.

jgoo · May 2011

koosh ball:
Whoa, you should not be giving your baby water. It can be dangerous. I would be looking for a new pedi right away.

This. & feed that baby whenever he's hungry.

I'll also be finding a new pediatrician. Stat.

PartiallySunny · May 2011

cynnnabun:
koosh ball:

Whoa, you should not be giving your baby water. It can be dangerous. I would be looking for a new pedi right away.

Any not just feed on demand? Sounds like 2 oz is not enough! He should probably be eating 2 oz every 2 hour at least.

This, please this. Babies do-not need water. At 2.5 weeks DD2 was eating 3oz every 3 hours and at 3.5 weeks she started eating 4. She still eats 4oz every 3-4 hours. But it all depends on her! If she wants to eat sooner, she eats sooner. If she wants more when she's done a bottle, that's fine too.

Your LO is too little to try to set on a feeding schedule. You can try, we do. Every 3 hours is what we aim for. But, if the girl is clearly hungry 1.5 hours later, I feed her.

Google it. Look up infant feeding and how many ounces a day they should eat and if they need water. We aren't making this stuff up. Your pedi sounds like a douche and I wouldn't trust a Dr. that told me to give my newborn water.

Good luck!

OH, and FWIW- they usually do a growth spurt around 3 weeks and 6 weeks. Even though DD2 generally goes 3-4 hours, she'll eat like crazy during a growth spurt. Every hour, every 2. And tons of ounces.

Follow your LO's cues.

This! I would have caved and feed the baby already no matter what the pedi said.

elle980 · May 2011

The first day/night we were home we followed the doctor's instructions of only giving DS 45mL every 3 hours. Big mistake! I was up all night with DS - he was hungry and was crying all night. Since then we let DS eat whenever he wants and however much he wants. He always quits eating when he is full. He is healthy, growing well, and is not overweight.

Also, around 7 days being home he went through a growth spurt and ate about 9ozs in 4 hours. I wouldn't have thought he could have put that away but he did and stopped when he was full. I'd say feed him if he is hungry. And no to the water!

Want a personalized experience?

Baby's eating like a mad man...question/help!

Re: Baby's eating like a mad man...question/help!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards