Formula Feeding Help: How Much/how Often Should She Be Eating??

K. when my first son was born he ate every 2hours no matter what time of day it was this was all day and all night.
One of my good friends who was a mom of 2 children that at the time where 7&5 told me to try and put a little cereal baby cereal that is in his bottle and maybe he wouldn't eat so much this however did not work for me and a doctor will tell you not to do this. It is intirely up to you.By the time my son was about 1mnth old he slowed down on eating I started feeding him about 6oz at a time when the cereal did not work and he lasted a little longer. Maybe you can try feeding her a bigger bottle she won't eat more than she can hold. When she doesn't want anymore she will not eat she will just spit it out. I breast fed my other two children and they also wanted to eat contantly. However the pediatricion told me to give them a pacifier because they were'nt really hungry they just wanted something to suck on. That might be an option for you also. I don't know how you feel about Pacifiers but worked for my girls my son wouldn't take one. Hope this helps

Hi K.,

I am a mom to two younger children and a 8 year old step daughter. With my son, he didn't eat very often at all. I was always concerned that something was wrong with him cause he wasn't eating very much. However, with my 8 month old daughter.... that's a different story she ate the same way you're baby is at the same age. It didn't really slow down until about 4 months or maybe even 5 months. She now eats 3 jars of baby food at night for dinner. She has slowed down on the formula but has increased on the baby food. She loves her food. ha ha ha. The doctor doesn't seem to be worried about it. She was getting up like 3 times a night and we are now down to about one sometimes none. Be thankful that you're little one is sleeping at night. I think that is the hardest part. I would just feed her if she is hungry. Have you said anything to the doctor about it? She also might be going through a growth spurt. When my kids went through a growth spurt they ate ate ate ate and then the next week all they wanted to do was sleep. You're doing the right thing. :) Good luck. :)

Sleeping 6-8 hours at night is great! I would consider bumping her to 6 ounces per feeding and see if that will give a little more time in between, especially is she is finishing each bottle with no problem. The "standard" for a 2-6 month old is 4-6 ounces at a feeding or around 23-32 ounces per day. My daughter ate about every 3 hours-not a minute after during her first 2 months! My son, however, was more 4-5 hours-he would wait until his stomach was empty before making a sound about being hungry. Of course with every stage, their eating habits and sleeping habits changed. Every baby is different!

If I've done the math correctly, your baby is drinking about 32 ounces of formula per day. That's absolutely average. A rough rule of thumb to calculate how much the average baby needs per day is is to multiply the baby's weight in pounds by 2-3. A 10lbs baby would therefore need 20-30 ounces per day.

The size and frequency of feeds can vary widely, but 2.5 hours/5oz sounds normal to me. Some babies have fewer bigger meals, and some have more smaller meals. 2.5 hours between meals may not seem very long to an adult, but it's totally normal for a baby. She can't eat any more than her tiny little stomach can hold, and her tiny little liver can only store enough glycogen to last her a couple of hours.

On the other hand, sleeping 6-8 hours at night is not normal :-) Not that it's anything to worry about -- on the contrary, that's fantastic, and I'm really jealous! Personally, I haven't had a good night's sleep since the late 1990s.

Seriously, your daughter's appetite sounds normal to me. If what you're doing now is getting you 7 hours of sleep, I'd say you're doing a great job and you shouldn't change a thing!

Hi K., she sounds like a typical, healthy 7 week old. That amount sounds about right! Don't worry - her schedule will get much better as the months go on. :)