Constantly Eating Newborn

My daughter ate like that and was very chubby and I just fed her on demand. Now she is 2 almost 3 and is about 33 lbs, 38 inches so she got taller and thinned out and her thighs arent enormous anymore:) Id rather a baby be chubby then too skinny because all it takes is a cold and they drop off pounds. Just think all that extra food will help him if he ever has to fight a cold and loses his appetite. Feed on demand ... hell be fine. Good luck

This is still considered normal at his age. He is too young for anything in his bottle besides formula or breastmilk. He could just be a big eater. It will get better.

I would say that this is normal and he's just a big eater, as long as his weight is normal. I beleive its too early to introduce cereal, you don't want allergies or anything like that!

dear kelly,
my baby is 24 days old and she too eats every 2/3 hours . i gave her a bit of cereal in her bottle and it wasnt agreeing with her so i just feed her the every two hours.and i also breast feed in between no sense of letting that good milk go to waste, good luck hun.keep in touch and let me know , breast feeding in between helps.

Kelly N,

I have 6 month year old twins (I have a boy and a girl)and a few months ago the same thing happen my son. He wanted to eat evey two hours and because I'm breast feed both my babies. I thought he was geting enough milk.

He was just going through a growth spurt. I check with his doctor and he said not to worry after the finish his growth spurt babiesusally cut back on their own. Don't cut out on his feedings a baby weighing 9lbs can taken in from 2 to 6oz some babies need more. Maybe its just time to increace the amount of milk then the length of time in between. Cercel add to the baby milk too soon is not the best thing for you baby. Check with your childs DR. and once he become 3 to 5 month it will be the right time to add somthing extra.

Good luck

Rosie

I found this to be the case with my baby girl, now 9 months old. At times she would eat every 45 minutes (cluster feeding)!
Having done this all before (I have an 8 year old girl also),
I just went with whatever she needed & didn't get crazy about keepoing to a schedule. I did not introduce foods until 6 months. This goes along with what was recommended by my pediatrician, too. Ultimately, when your baby is a little older,
he will level out with the feedings. He is probably just going through a growth spurt.

There are several schools of thought on this subject, my son now 2 was the same way. The pediatrician did not encourage introducing food early. Actually I enjoyed this time as I was nursing and he at I kid you not ever hour and a half night or day. I allowed him to eat as much as he wanted at any given time. It was tiring and sometimes very hard, but he is now a very healthy big boy. He is big, Not fat, but in the 97% for height and head and 90% for weight which is very proportionate to his size. I think there are risks with introducing foods too early, if I were you Id do a web search on that to see what you can find then maybe talk it over with he pediatrician. I don't think there is any harm in allowing them to eat when they are hungry, after all when we are hungry we eat. I know that when the time came that I did introduce cereal and other foods the eating did not taper off. Now at 2 he goes through stages where he eats and eats and then will not touch food for a while. I personally think that there little bodies know what's best if there is no underlying illness or cause for it.

my son was big at birth and maybe you should put just a bit of cereal in his bottle. i couldnt breat feed becuse my nipples were too small. it may help your baby sleep longer and not eat so much. i think its normal depending on the size of the baby.

Very normal for a child to eat a lot. I would consult your doctor first see what they say, but you know your child really well a lot of kids eat a lot remember this they will go through growth spurts and this is just a time whey they are going through a growth spurt. If they are sleeping a lot too this is also a sign of a growth spurt children go through so many changes right now. Just give your doctor a call and see what they say.

I wouldn't introduce rice so early. My pediatrician made me hold off with my son til he was nearly 6 months old for fear that he'd get unnecesary calories in his diet. Also putting it in their bottle can be bad as well because it takes the fundamentals out of serving solids and them learning to chew/eat. 4-6 ounces a feeding for a 2.5 month old seems like a lot but they grow so fast! Every 2-3 hours is about right though. My suggestion would be to do what i did with my son. Make him wait for feedings just a little bit each time! Spread it out by an extra half an hour every time. It might make your little one angry but if you start feeding him more food less times a day he'll get on a better schedule and you'll be getting more rest! Eventually if you keep it up, he'll be totally ready for solids in no time-and be sleeping through the night! Just try as best as you can to spread it out and develop a schedule for him! Hope this helps!

i personally wouldn't put cereal in his bottle. i gave in to the pressure from my MIL and others and did that with my oldest. it did NOTHING besides give her extra calories she didn't need. for that age i think eating every 2-3 hours is "normal". like another response said, maybe try to extend the time between feeding gradually. i did it in 5-10 minute increments every day or two and it seemed to work okay. HTH

edit- i should have mentioned...my daughter was a beast (over 9lbs at birth) lol. the cereal did not help her sleep longer at night...

Yes, by all means. Eveyone said I was crazy for feeding my youngest son cereal at 2 mos. He was hungry and needed something more. My Dr. said not to, but I did it anyway. He is now 6'4" and has never had a weight problem. He is 19 and very healthy. I knew that if I didn't feed him, he would be hungry all the time. So, Dr's don't always know what is best. They know a lot and I am not putting them down, just they are not the ones going to have to get up with them when they are hungry in the middle of the night. A little rice cereal in thier bottle will not hurt them at all. I did it and I had a very happy satisfied baby. I do what Dr.'s say most of the time, but when my mother instincts take over and I feel like I am not hurting anyone I go for it. They were telling me not to take him outside too soon either, but I did it anyway and it didn't hurt him a bit. My mother over dressed me when I was little and now I can't go outside without a hat on when it gets below 30 degrees. She also had to keep it so quiet in the house when I was taking a nap, that now I can't sleep good unless it is totally quiet. I raised my boys myself and I took them to church with me and we has rather loud music there and they both slept through the whole service. They now can sleep in anything from total quiet to thunderstroms. I say if your kid is having to eat more give it to them. They are telling you that they need more.

Hi Kelly. I wouldnt worry. just feed on demand. both my kids ate every 2 hours until they were 5 months old! Austin is 7.5 months and still eats like every 3 hours! I wouldnt rush the cereal, but there are mixed opinions on this:)
A.

This is the norm!! In fact, most doctors will tell you to strive for feedings at LEAST every 2-3 hours, at this age. Mine told me to wake my baby up if she was going on 3 hours of sleeping and hadn't eaten (during the day only!!!). Especially if they are breastfeeding (but this applies to formula feeders too), infant's stomachs are tiny and digest the food they've eaten within one hour or less. Many babies this young have to eat every hour as a result, and some, like yours, can make it longer. Over time, he will need to eat less and less, especially as he gets better and better at sucking; he will be more efficient and will be able to eat more, faster, and then go longer between. But this is still many months away. He is still learning! DO NOT give him cereal; he is FAR too young. You would be doing it as a solution to something that is not actually a problem. He has a physiological need to eat often at this age. Enjoy it; you'll look back when he's older and wish you had as much time to sit quietly and just look into his eyes as you do now!

Hi Kelly,
It is very normal. Be happy you are not breast feeding. I hated when my son would go through growth spurts & eat constantly. I would not reccomend to add cereal yet. There are many negatives to feeding cereal too early. Babies bodies are not ready for anything but "mlk" at that age. Just keep doing what you are doing. His eating habbits will regulate soon. If you are still concerned give your Dr. a call or bring it up at your next well baby check up.
Good luck,
C.

HI Kelly,
I have a 6 month old and she loved to eat when she was first born. Every 2-3 hours. I was nervous she would be getting too much but they know how much they need. They will eat when they need it. If they eat too much they usually will just spit it up. At that age you cannot really over feed them.

Good Luck

At this early age an infant will eat every 2-3hours. You may have to increase the amount of formula in the bottle but cereal should be put off. Some people introduce it but I feel it begins the process of the baby eating too early on a may cause obesity later on. A baby will survive on breast milk or formula for at least 6 months. Just let me say, it is a personal choice but this is just my opinion.

I'm dealing with the same issue as well. I've thought the same thing about putting cereal in his formula/breastmilk however I've also read that starting an infant on rice cereal too early can also increase their chances of having nut/wheat, etc allergies later on in life. I've decided to take the advice of my pediatrician and wait until he is at least 5 months old. If you are nursing expect your baby to eat more frequently. If you are bottle feeding then you should find that 8 oz every three to four hours should be adequate. At about 3 - 4 months they start to become more interactive and want lots of attention. Sometimes an infant will cry to eat out of boredom. Try playing, singing, walking around with your child, anything you can do distract before feeding. Not sure if this helps but just to reassure you I understand! Sometimes it seems if as if he's starving and I'm a horrible mother! He's going on 5 months now and things have really started to level out. Good luck!

You didn't say if you are breast feeding. That would definitely be the reason. Also, he is coming up to a growth spurt and his body is needing all extra nutrition right now.

Kelly this is 100% normal. Look at it like this... your childs stomache is about the same size as his clenched fist. He can not fit much milk in his belly at a time so he must fill his belly often. Just as if you have a small gas tank you will need to fill it more often your child will continue to need to eat every few hours for awhile. Introduceing foods early is not a good idea because his digestive system is not mature enough to process it. Introduceing foods too early can contribute to food allergies, and constipation. Also your child still has a reflex with his tounge where if you were to give him food he would naturally push it out with his tounge. This is natures way of making sure he does not eat to early. This reflex tends to disappear around four months. Six months is a good age to begin offering some solids. Good luck:).

Are you breastfeeding? If so - that may be in part why - as breast milk digests quicker then formula. Also - he may be going through a growth spurt and his eating should calm down on its own. At that age i was feeding my 2 youngest ever 45 minutes to an hour. it doesnt last forever.

Since he is bottle fed, I would try a pacifier with him. Babies need to suck and suck and suck....with breastfeeding, it takes longer and this helps satisfy the babies need to suck, but with a bottle, they get formula quickly, he may not realize he's sated, he just knows he wants to keep sucking. Dont worry about forming lifelong habits now, you can always take it away around 6 months when he can find his own fingers, your shoes, the dog...etc (LOL)
good luck, J.

Hi Kelly,

My son was the same way. The general rule of thumb is that they should be eating 1-3 ounces per pound of body weight in a day. So for a 10 pound baby anywhere from 10 to 30 ounces a day is considered normal. My son was eating 8-10 ounces at a time and every 3 hours like clock work, so then I put cereal in his bottle at 3 months. 1 tablespoon per ounce and he was never happier! Incidentally every child is different but it turns out that my son was just growing VERY quickly he is now 9 months and bigger then 2 1/2 year old cousin he is not fat just BIG, so maybe you just have a big boy on your hands.

Hello My name is Jessia i have a 3 month old daughter, and she was eating alot also, i thought cause she was a premie that she trying to catch up, but i started giving her a little cereal in her milk and she became more content and its not bothering her at all. So im saying Kelly it depends on the child. I didnt give my son cereal until he was like 5 months but that was 9 yrs ago.

Yes, it's absolutely normal for your 2 1/2 month old to be eating every two to three hours, especially if he is nursing! OOPs, you said bottle. so he's on formula or expressed breast milk? You can try increasing his feeing a LITTLE an ounce MAYBE.. but by all means do not 'force feed'.

And NO on putting cereal in his bottle! Too early (although this has been argued before in this forum) for cereal, it's a carb. Anyone notice that baby cereal is FORTIFIED? yep no nutritional value except for what they put in it! A baby's digestive system is not ready for that.

Before you know it this little one will be running around...
enjoy him while he's little!

M.

I have to tell you, my baby was the same, I don't know if you are breastfeeding, but I was. I was feeding my baby every other HOUR or sometimes even more! I felt like a huge failure & I almost gave it up. But just try to enjoy this moments, in no time you babty is going to start moving away from you (1st rolling, then crawling...) and you are going to look at those days with nostalgia. Don't give cereal though is a proven choking hazard, plus it increases the calorie intake making you baby more prone to overweight. Just be patient & try to look in the bright side, he's not going to be like this forever.