Is this normal?

Robeano · February 2013

So I'm pumping and my supply is increasing. Last week she would pretty much 3oz during the day 2 to 3 hours apart and around 4 to 5 oz during the night. Around 3 to 4 hours apart.

Well today and yesterday she is eating really slow, and kinda stops like after 2oz during the day, sleeps for a bit and then wants to eat just a tiny bit more. Her weight gain has been amazing. I'm just wondering if it's normal for babies to eat less. The other factor that has changed is I'm almost feeding her exclusively my breast milk, I'm probably up to about 75 percent mine. And if she keeps up this eating habit I can probably sustain her myself, which is my dream!

I hope this post made sense...

KaliChick · February 2013

3oz is actually quite a bit for a 2 week old. She was probably just growing. 2oz is more accurate for her age. It's also not uncommon for them to fluctuate how much they eat at each feeding. If she was at the breast you wouldn't have any idea how much she was getting at each feeding, which is why it's stressful when you bottle feed (trust me, I was in your same position). Let her eat what she wants and then offer it to her again if she's hungry later. I'll see if I can find the link to how much is normal by the week/month.

If it helps, my 10.5 month old takes anywhere between 4-8oz per bottle. He was consistently taking 6oz during the day and 8 at night but since he got sick and we think he has reflux, we've backed off to 4-6 (but yesterday he took a 7oz at daycare). We just let him kind of guide us. When I told my pedi that he was taking an 8oz bottle at night he told me that was a lot of formula (we switched to formula at 6 months).

Robeano · February 2013

Thank you for your response. I feel like there is such a fine line. Right after she was born she lost too much weight so we had to do the whole wake her up to feed her thing. But then I think we started overfeeding her. So I got slow flow bottle nipples and I wait for her cues for when she's hungry. So it's good to know that babies do fluctuate in their eating habits.

Saraevh · February 2013

I say as long as she's eating and seems content, go with it. When my LO's were really small I remember feeling like I had a new kid every two weeks or so. As soon as we would fall into a "routine" things would change and we'd enter a new norm. I'm sure she is just fine

Great job with breastfeeding! It takes a lot of hard work and dedication.

Dragonfly1226 · February 2013

Well, when you nurse you have no clue how many ounces LO is taking. As long as LO is gaining properly then it's all good. Newborns also cluster feed so it's hard to look at the frequency of feedings at the beginning. So I would say that as long as your LO is gaining well then it's all good. Yay for increased supply!

pb_bride · February 2013

Looking at your ticker, I'll wager that she had a growth spurt last week (@ 2w) and that was why she was eating so much. Babies tend to slow down and get sleepy for a few days after their growth spurt.

TJ1979 · February 2013

pb_bride:
Looking at your ticker, I'll wager that she had a growth spurt last week 2w and that was why she was eating so much. nbsp;Babies tend to slow down and get sleepy for a few days after their growth spurt.

I agree. I don't have ounce markers on my boobs, but at weighed feedings E was getting a total of 1.5 ounces per feeding up to 6 weeks. That's when I started all the stuff to increase my supply and she went up to 2 oz. per feed. I don't think she went up to 3 until she went to DC at 12 weeks and I put 3 oz. in her bottles.
Congrats on upping your supply, it's a lot of really hard work and dedication. Keep up the good work mama!

Robeano · February 2013

Thanks everybody!! I feel more encouraged now, that I can actually keep up with her demand.

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