FF mama's come in!

CaliforniaDream87 · October 2013

Quick rant/question. So we had our 2 month check up yesterday and LO is now 12lbs. (Birth weight 7lbs.) so he almost doubled his weigh which is the expectation (yay!) Anyway, the pedi said that he should be drinking about 4-5 oz. at this point. I told her that was not the case and my LO still drinks between 2-3 oz. every 2 hours.

Honestly, 3oz. Is pushing it. She told us to try and push it to 4 oz. within the next few weeks and that should help us get more stretches at night (he is still waking up every 2 hours WTF). Today he has barely drank 2 1/2. I don't get it. He's gained appropriately yet he isn't eating enough?

Weird. How much is your LO eating?

Lovehavinggirls · October 2013

Dd is 8 weeks and weighs 7.5 lbs (4.5 at birth). She just went up to 3 oz. she eats every 3 hrs and sometimes will only do 2 or 2.5.

[Deleted User] · October 2013

I EP but my LO is 14 pounds and still eats only 2-3 oz and is up every 2-3 hours still. I wish he would eat more per feeding but I'm not going to force feed him.

CaliforniaDream87 · October 2013

kkramer1211 said:
I EP but my LO is 14 pounds and still eats only 2-3 oz and is up every 2-3 hours still. I wish he would eat more per feeding but I'm not going to force feed him.

See, this is how I feel. I refuse to "force" but sometimes I wonder why he won't eat more.

pb&jojo · October 2013

Maybe he is gaining so well because he is eating a smaller amount, but frequently? Mine is 8.5 weeks and we just upped her to 5oz. She was eating 4 oz but would barely make it 2 hours before she gets hungry again. Since we changed to 5oz she can go 3-4 hours between feedings.

She also has been sleeping 8-12 hours per night since 5 weeks...usually her first and second feedings in the morning are closer together (i guess to play catch up for the long nighttime stretch)

pb&jojo · October 2013

..she will refuse the bottle if she is full or not hungry..i dont force it. I understand why you feel how you do..you want to follow pedis advice, but who wants to force feed their baby?

PrettyAccountant · October 2013

Sorry mine is just the opoosite. She can gobble down 8 ounces at a feeding. She is 9 weeks old and 13 pounds. We always start with a 4 ounce bottle but sometimes she wants seconds.

Edkitten · October 2013

My LO is almost 11 weeks. She was 7 lbs 8 oz at birth and 13 lbs at her 2 month check up. She eats 3-4 oz of formula every 2-3 hours and at night she sleeps from 9 or 10 o'clock until 5 or 6 in the morning without eating. Our pedi said she is perfect.

CaliforniaDream87 · October 2013

BreanneL24 said:

CaliforniaDream87 said:

kkramer1211 said:
I EP but my LO is 14 pounds and still eats only 2-3 oz and is up every 2-3 hours still. I wish he would eat more per feeding but I'm not going to force feed him.
See, this is how I feel. I refuse to "force" but sometimes I wonder why he won't eat more.
I would assume that his tummy isn't used to eating more? Maybe try to go up 1/2oz. Every week to get his stomach to adjust to bigger amounts. This is what we were told to do with DS and it worked for him.

That's a good idea, thanks!

lkobriant · October 2013

LO is 9 wks and right around 12 lbs. He eats 4 oz every 3ish hours and goes typically 6-8 hours at night before eating again.

ashleyamberRN · October 2013

If he's eating every 2 hours then he's probably not so starving to eat much more than he already is. Hopefully if you take Breanne's advice and you can get him up to 4 oz then he will go 3-4 hours and you can sleep! I bf, pump, and ff. she gets on average 1 ff bottle a day and at 10 weeks she 3 maybe 4 oz but she's only 7 lbs 13 oz, 4-11 at birth

leah0712 · October 2013

Our LO is 12 weeks today (she was three plus weeks early)- 6 lbs at birth and 10 lbs now. She has been steadily upping her intake and we now make her 5 oz bottles consistently. Sometimes she finished, and other times she leaves an ounce or two. She eats every three hours. Hasn't really given us consistently longer stretches yet. But my situation might be unique, because LO has a heart defect that will be surgically corrected in the next two months. I've always assumed that she was super hungry most of the time because her heart was working so hard that it increased her metabolism. GL!

CaliforniaDream87 · October 2013

leah0712 said:
Our LO is 12 weeks today (she was three plus weeks early)- 6 lbs at birth and 10 lbs now. She has been steadily upping her intake and we now make her 5 oz bottles consistently. Sometimes she finished, and other times she leaves an ounce or two. She eats every three hours. Hasn't really given us consistently longer stretches yet. But my situation might be unique, because LO has a heart defect that will be surgically corrected in the next two months. I've always assumed that she was super hungry most of the time because her heart was working so hard that it increased her metabolism. GL!

@leah0712 Many TnP's for your LO. I hope her surgeries go well and she recovers beautifully

BlondieBia21 · October 2013

Lo will be 2 months Saturday. She weighs around 9lbs (I think), 6 when born. She eats 3-4 every 2-3 hours. We always offer 4, but she doesn't always take it.

BubblyDevil · October 2013

He's been doing 4oz every 3-4 hours during the day since he was about 5 weeks old.

He's now 11 weeks old and weighs 12#, which is awesome for being a preemie.

MommyAmes2 · October 2013

C is 8 weeks today and around 9 lbs. She was 5.13 at birth. She takes 4-5 oz every 3 hours. During her MOTN feeding she takes 2-5 oz, it varies.

amandarins · October 2013

4-6 oz every 3-4 hours during the day, 2-5oz once or twice at night. Total of about 23-30oz per day. He was born at 9lbs 3oz and is 10 weeks Friday

Texasmomma13 · October 2013

I was told by one of Savannah's doctors that she should consume twice the weight number in ounces over 24 hours. So going by this your boy should eat 24 oz a day. It Sounds like he is. That's why he's gaining fine. Savannah used to eat the same amount. When they told us to increase the volume I did it slowly. That was a month ago. Now she eats about 3 to 3.5 every 3 hours during the day. At night she eats 4 to 5 ounces, 3 times (usually every 3 - 5 hours).

Ahtnamas6789 · October 2013

7 weeks and eats 4 oz every 3 hours. She will go a full 8 hours at night.

mommabmb · October 2013

Pediatrician told me to be sure LO consumes 2.5 times his weight (in pounds) per day, feeding every 3-4 hours. We mostly are able to Follow this advice, but we follow his lead for when he is hungry. I agree forcing it is crazy, but maybe adding 1/2 oz a week like pp said is more reasonable.

LO is 5 weeks, and 12 pounds. So, we try to do 6-7 feedings at 4-6 oz, varying with schedule/sleep/etc. I pump, but am only making about 1/3 to 1/2 of what he needs, so we try to alternate BM and FF bottles while I keep working on my supply. I notice BM bottles don't keep him full as long, but FF bottles make him gassier and wake him up at night. Currently, we get 2 stretches at night, one 3-4 hour and one 5-6 hour. If all goes well.

Good luck!!

kmichln · October 2013

My LO is eating 3-4 oz (normally 4) about every 3.5 hours. He hasn't been weighed since 4 weeks, I think he is around the same size as your LO. He was just shy of 10 lbs at 4 weeks. When he was born he was 7 lbs.

I'd say if your LO is healthy and growing fine, then keep doing what you are doing. I let my LO "tell" me when he is hungry. He has pretty much set his own schedule when it comes to feeding. May not work for everyone, but that's what we have been doing.

jchytil · October 2013

my lo does the same thing she is 6 weeks old ands till takes 2.5 oz every 2.5 to 3 hours. Usually she is up every 2.5 at night too. Hoping she will start to sleep more when she eats more we will see

PB102012 · October 2013

My LO is 7 weeks tomorrow, and she does 4 oz. at feedings, at times she has taken 5 or 6 after a long nap.... We had trouble with weight gain at first, so I was happy to see the amount she was eating once we switched to formula (tried to EBF, had a poor supply).

Rowcate · October 2013

I had the same issue with dd, she didn't sleep through the night until almost a year! DS seemed on the same route, snacking 2-4 oz every 2 hours. Rather than force feed I focused on stretching out the feedings (Very slowly, I will not allow him to get so hungry he starts screaming. I just try to distract him and add on 15-20 mins) and he is now 4-5oz every 3 hours and last night finally slept 6 hours! Its only natural to eat more if it's more spread out. It's working just kind of a slow torturous process that I only just started this week. Good luck!

kanned0121 · October 2013

Question for you ladies.. I use gerber good start and one scoop makes 2 oz.. So if you wanted to make 5oz would you do 2.5 scoops? Or just make 6 and not use it all?

kanned0121 · October 2013

crazed178 said:

k4maynes said:

Question for you ladies.. I use gerber good start and one scoop makes 2 oz.. So if you wanted to make 5oz would you do 2.5 scoops? Or just make 6 and not use it all?

Yes to the 2.5 scoops. LO is eating 5 oz now and I measure out 2.5 scoops into his formula cup. I had a couple of scoops when DS was using Similac (he is now eating Enfamil) and the scoop and a line on it that was half way up the scoop. I kept those scoops so I can get a good measure.

Thank you so much! I didn't know if it was bad to do a half scoop.

bluegirl0429 · October 2013

I recently went to 100% formula feeding (I was supplementing with pumped BM but it is not working out anymore). My supply is so low.

Anyways...My LO is weighing in at 10 lbs, 7oz at 6 weeks. He eats between 3 and 4 oz a serving every 3 hours during the day. At night it is stretched out to 4-5 hours between feedings. We feed him about 7 times a day.

I agree, who wants to force feed their child? As a pp mentioned, I would increase his amount slowly until he can take more. But your little boy sounds like he is eating and gaining what he should. :-)

magdalina.h · October 2013

That's weird! The pedi, not how much LO drinks

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