3 Week Old Eating Habits

I have an 8 weeks old baby and he was hungry all the time the first 3 weeks too. I supplemented with a little formula once or twice a day until my milk came in really well. I don't produce milk quickly so he wasn't really getting enough w/breast feeding initially. Because of this he would nurse for 2-3 hours at a time (it was driving me nuts!). I'm not sure why you are giving him formula but maybe for a similar reason? I just kept breast feeding him and I pumped w/a dual electric breast pump to increase my milk production. At about 3 weeks I was able to stop the formula and only breast feed. He also stopped nursing for hours at a time! I definitely wouldn't give him cereal and I would try to limit the formula b/c you might run into more problems w/baby having tummy aches and then you'll be up all night w/another problem! Eat well and get rest when you can and that helps w/your milk production too. Good luck and enjoy your new little one!

Absolutly NO on the cereal in his bottle... every doctor I've talked to and book I've read says not to do that, no matter what old wives tale you may hear (it can cause problmes later). I have a 4 month old and she eats on-demand only. When she's hungry I let her eat whatever she wants. My little one is breast and bottle also. At 3 weeks she'd eat about 2 oz. and nurse at night(had no idea how much she was getting from nursing). Slowly but surely she worked up to 4 oz (+nursing) and now she nurses in the morning, eats 6oz. bottles during the day, and eats formala plus nurses at night. The peditirician just now released me to let her start trying rice cereal and she said only to use a spoon and at no time to ever put cereal in a bottle.

You don't want to give a 3 week old any solids, even rice cereal. The earlier solids are started, the more likely other allergies will develop and you can develop allergies even to rice. It sounds like you're pumping rather than nursing. You might try just nursing more frequently as that will help increase your milk supply and nursing allows a baby to eat as much as they need at a single feeding without you having to worry about it. They can be overfed with bottles because the milk comes eaiser and it's more difficult for you to read their "I'm done" cues especially at this age. That all said, I exclusively breastfed my son who weighed 8 lb 13 oz at birth and he weighed 11 lbs at his two week checkup and then 13 at his 4 week checkup, so I wouldn't worry he's eating too much. These bigger babies just eat more and often gain more earlier, but they do slow down after a while.

Congratulations on you new baby! My little girl was very hungry when she was your son's age. At 3 weeks, he will be wanting to eat all of the time since he is so little. My 4 month-old daughter now eats about 7 times a day, but was eating close to 12 times a day at 3 weeks. I recently asked my pediatrician about starting rice cereal, but he said that they recently found a link between starting solids early and asthma. He told me just breast milk / formula until 6 months. I know other people have started earlier, but I am going to go with what the dr. says.

He is way too young for cereal, wait till he is about 3-4 mos. old ! I have never heard of doing formula & breast milk it has usually been 1 or the other ! I had to change to just formula because my 2 small children were not getting enough breast milk & I couldn't produce enough to keep up w/them ! the formula kept them happy & content !
You may want to increase your formula intake.
Good Luck ~

Congratulations on your little one! This is such an exciting and sometimes overwhelming time. 3 weeks is way way way to earlier for cereal. Solids shouldn't be introduced until about 6 months or when a baby shows interest in what you're eating. You've got a ways to go there...

As far as how often he should eat... He should eat as often as he likes. Bottles deliver milk much quicker than the breast so babies will fill up before they realize it. They will often act like they want more, but that's ok. Have you tried nursing him? This might help. Take a look at this link, it shows how much a baby eats, etc. http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

Hi N.,

I would agree with the other posters. I would not give him solids yet. It's really early for that and can cause allergies later. I would also say to nurse him instead of using a bottle if that's possible. He will get all he needs that way and will be able to better interpret his "all done" cues. I know it's tough when you're nursing and you never know how much they're getting, but if they're still growing, then they're getting plenty! Keep up the good work. He will do fine.

N., I had large babies and they ATE A LOT! All 4 of mine were at 8 oz. by 2 months....I really think you're doing great - if he gets fussy, they add a little, but if he makes it the 3 hours he's jus perfect!!!