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Help me understand the reduced feedings vs. amount consumed for a 4-month old!

onaedonaed member
edited December 2015 in Babies: 3 - 6 Months
My LO has increased the time between his feedings. Before he was eating 6 ounces every 3 hours, however now he is eating closer to every 4 hours. Since his stomach is "getting bigger", is it OK that the feedings have reduced? I guess I'm confused because that means he was drinking almost 48 ounces a day of BM vs now 36 ounces if he eats every 4 hours.So far he hasn't seemed to be "more hungry" (upping ounces or "catching up") when he delays his feedings.

I was reading that the type of nutrients / substance he is getting from breastmilk now changes to suit his needs, so maybe this is OK?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated! I don't want him to lose weight!

Note: He was 8lbs 12oz at birth and is now at 17lbs 4oz, so weight gain hasn't been an issue as of yet,  just unclear now that he just started slowing down his feedings.



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Re: Help me understand the reduced feedings vs. amount consumed for a 4-month old!

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    BigboobsmcgeeBigboobsmcgee member
    Follow his lead, not an email from TB! His needs will change as he grows so I would just let him do what he wants as long as he gaining weight just fine and your Pedi isn't concerned. Hours of sleep and ounces consumed are two things with kids you can only control so much you know?
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    NurseRiegerNurseRieger member
    Follow baby's lead, they eat as much as they need as long as there's not some underlying medical issue. I have read that weight gain naturally slows down at 4 months for breastfed babies. As long as pedi is not concerned I wouldn't be.
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    Bickey11Bickey11 member
    My baby is formula fed, and seems to be eating less now too. He is 3.5 months old and was doing 30oz a day and now is down to around 25. That being said, he's been congested for 3 weeks and has an ear infection, so he wakes in the middle of the night and downs a bottle, but he'll wake up 4 hours later, not eat until an hour or 2 after than and then only eat like 2 oz out of his 5 oz bottle. And what about when you start adding solids soon? i'm really confused about that. I have a 17 year old child and have no clue how i knew when to feed my kid without the internet! 
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    mrsb30mrsb30 member
    Bickey11 said:

    My baby is formula fed, and seems to be eating less now too. He is 3.5 months old and was doing 30oz a day and now is down to around 25. That being said, he's been congested for 3 weeks and has an ear infection, so he wakes in the middle of the night and downs a bottle, but he'll wake up 4 hours later, not eat until an hour or 2 after than and then only eat like 2 oz out of his 5 oz bottle. And what about when you start adding solids soon? i'm really confused about that. I have a 17 year old child and have no clue how i knew when to feed my kid without the internet! 

    My baby is doing the same thing. She's 4 1/2 months old and was eating about 30 ounces but most days is down to 25. She is tall, 27 inches and 19 lbs. the way my doctor explained it is that when you start solids offer the food first and then the bottle. The more Food they eat they will naturally drink less of the bottle.

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    BigboobsmcgeeBigboobsmcgee member
    mrsb30 said:
    My baby is formula fed, and seems to be eating less now too. He is 3.5 months old and was doing 30oz a day and now is down to around 25. That being said, he's been congested for 3 weeks and has an ear infection, so he wakes in the middle of the night and downs a bottle, but he'll wake up 4 hours later, not eat until an hour or 2 after than and then only eat like 2 oz out of his 5 oz bottle. And what about when you start adding solids soon? i'm really confused about that. I have a 17 year old child and have no clue how i knew when to feed my kid without the internet! 
    My baby is doing the same thing. She's 4 1/2 months old and was eating about 30 ounces but most days is down to 25. She is tall, 27 inches and 19 lbs. the way my doctor explained it is that when you start solids offer the food first and then the bottle. The more Food they eat they will naturally drink less of the bottle.


    Formula is more important than food so if feeding solids is greatly decreasing the amount of formula being consumed then you need to back off the food a bit. Food right now is just for practice (as I'm sure you've heard a million times) and the nutrition needs to come from formula.

    And DAMN! Your 4.5 month old is 19 pounds?!

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    BigboobsmcgeeBigboobsmcgee member
    Bickey11 said:
    My baby is formula fed, and seems to be eating less now too. He is 3.5 months old and was doing 30oz a day and now is down to around 25. That being said, he's been congested for 3 weeks and has an ear infection, so he wakes in the middle of the night and downs a bottle, but he'll wake up 4 hours later, not eat until an hour or 2 after than and then only eat like 2 oz out of his 5 oz bottle. And what about when you start adding solids soon? i'm really confused about that. I have a 17 year old child and have no clue how i knew when to feed my kid without the internet! 

    All you can do is follow his lead and keep offering the bottle. When you do start solids, just keep in mind they are for PRACTICE only. They are not meant to be a source of nutrition for your child. The nutrition needs to come from formula for the first year so it's more important to have a bottle than to eat solids. I'm sure it will all come back to you and you'll be a natural!
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    NurseRiegerNurseRieger member
    Bigboobsmcgee said:


    mrsb30 said:

    Bickey11 said:

    My baby is formula fed, and seems to be eating less now too. He is 3.5 months old and was doing 30oz a day and now is down to around 25. That being said, he's been congested for 3 weeks and has an ear infection, so he wakes in the middle of the night and downs a bottle, but he'll wake up 4 hours later, not eat until an hour or 2 after than and then only eat like 2 oz out of his 5 oz bottle. And what about when you start adding solids soon? i'm really confused about that. I have a 17 year old child and have no clue how i knew when to feed my kid without the internet! 

    My baby is doing the same thing. She's 4 1/2 months old and was eating about 30 ounces but most days is down to 25. She is tall, 27 inches and 19 lbs. the way my doctor explained it is that when you start solids offer the food first and then the bottle. The more Food they eat they will naturally drink less of the bottle.




    Formula is more important than food so if feeding solids is greatly decreasing the amount of formula being consumed then you need to back off the food a bit. Food right now is just for practice (as I'm sure you've heard a million times) and the nutrition needs to come from formula.

    And DAMN! Your 4.5 month old is 19 pounds?!

    Exactly. Formula /breastmilk is most important nutrition source in the 1st year. There are not enough foods a baby can eat that give the fat and protein requirements. A baby will gradually take less formula but you don't want that happening until near the end of the 1st year. Even if your baby is high percentile they still need the nutrition.
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    BigboobsmcgeeBigboobsmcgee member
    I'm still shocked that a 4 month old is 19 pounds. My 14 month old is 22 pounds and she is in the 85th percentile for her age. That is just crazy!
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    NurseRiegerNurseRieger member
    I have a cousin that was born 9lb 11oz and by 1 month was over 12lb and outgrown bassinet because he was too long.my aunt EP'd because he was getting mad while BFing because milk wasn't coming fast enough and would chug a bottle in under 5mins. I dunno how she did it. He is 11 now and was eating more than me by 9 years old. His father is one of those people who can eat whatever and not get fat so I really hope he's like that. My side of the family doesn't have that luxury.
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    mrsb30mrsb30 member
    Bigboobsmcgee said:

    I'm still shocked that a 4 month old is 19 pounds. My 14 month old is 22 pounds and she is in the 85th percentile for her age. That is just crazy!

    Bigboobsmcgee said:

    I'm still shocked that a 4 month old is 19 pounds. My 14 month old is 22 pounds and she is in the 85th percentile for her age. That is just crazy!

    @Bigboobsmcgee yes she is 19 lbs and 27 inches, she's in the 95%. We have not started food yet, she's only formula fed. My husband and I are both over 6 foot tall, so she's right on track according to our height and what her pedi says. She's really tall.
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