Feeding question..

JulyMomma2U2 · August 2012

LO is 6 1/2 weeks old.. we are formula feeding.. he's currently taking 4-5oz bottles.. lately, he's wanting even more.. usually he's consuming 26-28oz/day.. but, the past few days he's been close if not over 30oz..

When is it too much to feed him?? For instance, he took a little over 4oz.. but is acting like he is still starving? Should I feed him more??

He was 7lbs 9oz at birth.. we had him to the doctors yesterday.. just over 6 weeks and he's 10lbs 14oz.. clearly, he's eating plenty...

But, if he's hungry.. my thoughts are to just feed him.. if he's overfilled himself, he'd spit it up, right? The pacifier isn't consoling him.. he's just rooting for more bottle.. suggestions??

JulyMomma2U2 · August 2012

We were at the peds office yesterday.. she asked what he's eating per bottle, I said 4-5oz every 3 hours.. she was fine with that.. also asked if his weight gain is normal, she said he's just fine... they expect 1oz/day, and he's a little over that..

He's on a new formula mix, so I thought maybe he's digesting it quicker (it's predigested).. so maybe that's why he seems more hungry? I don't know.. I guess I will call tomorrow if he's still acting starved..

big_noise · August 2012

Might be worth a re-call. Do you have one of those cheater cards that has range amounts with age? I think Similac puts one out. That was helpful to me, although DD always fell on the lower end. She probably took an 8 oz bottle twice before she was done with bottles. We did a combo FF/EP/BF so I don't remember what total oz/day we were at when.

JulyMomma2U2 · August 2012

Okay, I'm thinking he's probably just going through the 6 week growth spurt.. and, from what I can find on some old posts on different message boards, lots of 6 week olds are taking 5oz bottles.. he usually takes 6 or 7 bottles a day.. and will eat between 4-5oz.. at night, he can go 7 hours between feeds.. he usually eats around 10, goes to bed by 11:30, and sleeps until 4:30-5:30.. so, he eats a bit closer together in the day time, but that's because he has such a long stretch at night.. I'm thinking he's okay.. maybe he's just needing the 5oz bottles all the time now.. usually I'd only offer him those as his last bottle before bed, and then his 5:30am bottle since he's gone so long since eating.. and the rest were 4oz.. but today, he still seems starving.. go figure, at this last feeding I made him 5oz and he only ate 4oz.. I can't seem to win!!

I think I just need to go with his cues.. make 5oz bottles, if he eats it, great.. if not, then no big deal.. I find he's pooping more with the Nutramigen, which is great, but it also makes him want to eat RIGHT after having a bowel movement.. he's not used to his belly being "empty".. typically he'd go 3-4days between BMs.. so he was always very backed up..

It's all a learning experience.. sigh. Thanks for the input.. I might call the ped tomorrow if he goes over 30oz of formula today..

The guidelines I've read are 2.5oz/lb of body weight split over a day.. so he's just under 11lbs.. that's 27.5oz/day.. I think as long as he stays under that 30 mark he should be okay.. I don't know.. I feel like my ped office is going to label me as a super whack job for calling so often!!

vflipo · August 2012

It's also possible he has silent reflux. Not all babies with reflux spit up, and eating soothes the discomfort. It's worth a call. If they think you're a whack job, so be it. You're his mom and if you feel like something is wrong, it's worth checking out. Of course he could just be a hungry baby. That happens too

JulyMomma2U2 · August 2012

vflipo:
It's also possible he has silent reflux. Not all babies with reflux spit up, and eating soothes the discomfort. It's worth a call. If they think you're a whack job, so be it. You're his mom and if you feel like something is wrong, it's worth checking out. Of course he could just be a hungry baby. That happens too

He does, indeed, have silent reflux.. it's actually pretty bad, too.. he's on omeprazole 2x/day.. and, I've been told this.. that because of the reflux he'll want to eat more often if he's awake..

I honestly think this is more hunger.. normally, if he's eating to "soothe" his belly/reflux, he doesn't gulp down his food.. all day/night, whenever I've given him a bottle he's GULPING it down.. so, he's clearly hungry.. we'll see..

Feeding question..

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