How much food?

Itsally1011 · December 2013

My LO is 3 weeks old. She has been a BIG eater since day one. However her hunger keeps getting stronger and stronger. Last night she woke up at 3am for her normal feeding. We bottle feed breast milk and formula. She had 10 oz between 3am and 7am!!!! She will not settle for anything except food. She refuses pacifiers and screams until the bottle is in her mouth. We've tried massage, rocking, swaddling etc and nothing works. She cries for one reason and one reason only. Food! She eats on average 24 to 30 oz a day. My pediatrician suggested not giving her more than 2 oz at a time but that is just impossible. She just screams until we give her more. Does this seem like too much food? She just wants to eat constantly. Once she is full she sleeps soundly until the next hunger strike!

mamato3girls · December 2013

I was thinking reflux too. Often reflux babies will scream and only be soothed by eating but really it is just that they are in pain and eating momentarily relieves the pain.

Naeleen · December 2013

Does she keep the food down?

Itsally1011 · December 2013

Thanks! Yes she was born at 38 weeks. She does spit up a few times a day but not much each time. The last 24 hours she has chilled out a little eating 1.5 to 3 oz at each feeding. So perhaps it was a growth spurt?? Our doc suggested 2 oz at each feeding and feeding more frequently to prevent over feeding her and causing her to spit up.

Skylarandsarah3 · December 2013

I'm having the same issue. But my baby does spit up & had colic :-(

Marchmellow2 · December 2013

That amount sounds pretty normal. My baby was early too and at 3 weeks he was getting 2.75 ounces every 3 hours and now he's almost 6 weeks and he's getting 4 oz every 3-4 hours. But my LO is formula fed so there might be a difference. I say just feed her what she wants, but I'm not a doctor, so just listen to your instincts.