My 6 week old son stared off with a routine eating about every 3 hours he would wake up to eat but lateley he bearly sleeps throughout the day and is wanting to every 20 to 40 minutes, in every feeding he eats about 4 oz. I bealy breastfeed now so he drnks pure fomula. He also gets a lot of gasses.i cant fugure out why he eats so much. At night he does sleep a good 5 hours befor he wakes up.
Thank you all for your help its a big relief to kknow its part of his growing cycle. I will just keep feeding as he demands and we'll see from there. Once again your help is very much appreciated.
My son had a tremendous apetite, and so at around 2 wks, I started putting a small amount of rice cereal in his formula. I increased the amount as he grew. I would try this/ It should give you longer between feedings.
He's eating because he's growing and hungry. Feed him.
The name for it is "cluster feeding". Totally normal. Babies go through a lot of different cycles in their eating.
If it makes you feel any better I was part of a breastfeeding study (the lactation consultants in the hospital would weight my son on their super spiffy scale before and after nursing at different times during the day from 2weeks to when I lost my milk at 9.5 months).
From TWO WEEKS OLD onward his average was 20oz (yes, 20, not a typo) per feeding every 2 hours except at night, where he ate at around 10, 1, and either 5). Switching over to formula at 9.5 mo he dropped down to apx 64 oz per day (2 premixed cans).
Formulas these days are typically "close" enough that one can feed on demand with most babies. If you're concerned check with the infant nutrition people at your hospital or your ped. But your son sounds pretty normal to me in my limited experience. My 8 week old niece drinks 6-8oz ever 1.5-2 hours (also formula) around the clock.
Both my son and my niece could only handle the premixed formula. It's more expensive but it's "silky" instead of chalky. The powdered kind gave my son and her both *horrible* gas. My son also swallowed air constantly. Burping him took 45-60 minutes. (we nicknamed it 'marathon burping'). First burp in 5 min or so... Trex burp up to almost an hour later. I used burping as times to catch up on my reading.
Babies do that. Honest. It's exhausting, but when the "cluster feed" like that, it usually means they're heading for a growth spurt. Don't worry about the number of ounces. Just feed until baby is done. As he gets bigger, he'll start to eat more at each feeding and eat less often.
He is probably having a growth spurt. Feed on demand and don't worry about him getting too much-he will let you know when he is full.
M
Growths spurts... it's normal... Just feed as demand..
Well it is common for infants that age to go through a growth spurt and eat more..but usually they sleep more too. How are his sleeping habits at night? The same or is he sleeping more than usual? If he is sleeping more than usual at night..he might just be going through a growth spurt.
Call your baby's doctor. They can truly give you the best advice. Besides, just in case (unlikely though, so don't freak out) something else is going on, they are the best in that department.
Make sure you are mixing the formula correctly. It may be that he is not getting enough fatty nourishment from each feeding-like if you were breastfeeding, he would be getting fatty hindmilk and feel more full. So, just make sure you have the right mixture. How long has he been eating like that? Maybe he is going through a growth spurt? Also, if he has gas, be sure to burp him really well after each feeding, and if he still has gas you can work his legs up to his chest and back, gently, like a pump to help get the bubbles out.
It's normal. He is going to go thru a growth spurt. Also, he maybe eating as a soothing method, so try to give him a pacifier after he eats and see if he goes a little longer between feedings.
I would up his formula to 5 or 6 ounces and see if that helps. He is growing and probably needs more to eat. We had to constantly adjust for our son. I tried breastfeeding for 3 weeks and wasn't producing enough milk, so we went to the formula. We had to adjust to our son's needs and when he was full he let us know. Don't worry about how much you are giving him, like others posted he will let you know when he's had enough. My son is 18 weeks and we've been at 8 ounces every four hours with him going to bed at 6:30pm and waking at 6:30am. So he will let you know, trust your instincts, every child is different.
It's normal, they'll do this for a little while, then go back into a more normal routine and then do it all over again. Your okay ;)
Try to get a little break - have someone watch him so you can get a little sleep. I loved my boys but the 6 week feeding frenzy was very exhausting. Gets sooo much easier in about 2 weeks in my experience.
