My Infant Son Is Always Hungry

This sounds perfectly normal for a 3 week old. His metabolism is high. The first two months of life babies gain an ounce a day, they are growing so fast they need all the nutrients they can get. Please don't give him cereal, you'll make it worse by plugging up his his digestive system with bulk he can't get any nutrients from. Why are you "battling" him being hungry? Just feed him more, that's what babies this age are supposed to do..eat, eat, eat! Also, you should just try to nap when he does, get on his sleep schedule. But I know it's hard with a three year old:)

I put cereal in my sons bottle, but not until he was like 4 or 5 months old. I think right now hes still to young to have any cereal, but I could be wrong. I would suggest talking to his peditrician and asking him, because he may even be able to suggest another formula that will help.

Are you nursing him? I found my son to be a 'barracuda' feeder as described in the 'What to Expect..' book. He ate like there was no tomorrow and every 3 hrs as well. THIS IS NORMAL behaviour. Your other kids might have been different, but to me, the behaviour you are describing is all I know. I would feed my son 4-6 oz. burp him, then feed him another 4-6 oz. Try that. If you find him throwing up, feed him just a little less w/a burp in between.

Please don't give him rice cereal yet. Feeding an infant rice too soon has been linked to early allergies. Yes, the 13lb mark is when my son slept through the night as well. At the rate your son is feeding, you should expect it pretty quick. I found that when I switched to formula, he started sleeping even sounder. He self-weened himself at just 6 mos. I was so brokenhearted!

He may just start teething at around 6 months too. A good cue that he may be ready for a bit of rice cereal then.

In short, don't worry, be encouraged. There is no set way for every child. Sounds like you have a strong personality on your hands as well...! Feed him and feed him and feed him. It will pass and become more normal.

I firmly believe that Jillian is right. I would add that at 3 weeks the two of you are still new to each other and nursing. It takes time to get in sync. I believe in feeding babies when they're hungry. Their bodies know more than anyone else.

I sympathize with you. Life is a challenge when one doesn't get enough sleep. If this were happening to me I'd sleep any time the baby and the toddler slept. Your body needs to get built back up too. I'd let housework go. Rest instead. This will only last for a little time. Enjoy your baby. Focus on your baby and you together. Be sure to include the 3 yo when possible. The two of you will work out a routine. 3 weeks is so young and a precious time in your life.

The formula you're thinking of is called Enfamil AR.
If this is a new-found hunger, he's probably going through a growth spurt and it will calm down soon, and then he'll start sleeping all the time!
The feeding cereal to a baby before they're ready does not really help them sleep longer. They generally start sleeping through the night when they hit about 13 pounds. I don't know why that's the magic number, but my daughter has got 1 more pound to go! (Can't wait!) Of course, it really depends on your consistency and commitment to letting him sleep all through the night too. If you are getting up to feed him in the nighttime and playing with him and/or not putting him right back into bed, he's going to have problems sleeping at night!
Hopefully this has been at least a little helpful!

Hi M.,
A.R. formula yes i've heard of it. It is to help babies that spit up alot, it is heavier and helps stay down so they don't spit it up, might help your son, but not a guarante. Also it is not directly cereal that is in there is it rice protien, so it is formulated to be in a bottle, unlike cereal from a box.

Also babies sometimes have a strong need for suckleing, so see if a binky (paci) might work out better to calm and sooth him. 2 hours between is not bad for a feeding at that age.
I'm not a big fan of putting cereal in bottle, I know many women do it, more of a personal choice.

OH and another thing babies go through growth spurts and 2-3 week range is one of the big ones. I didn't find that out until my 3rd :) So his hunger may increase and decrease over the next 4-5 mos. they seem to slow down after 6 mos.
Good luck!!!
L.

My son was exactly like that! So I switched to formula feeding. But, WAYYYYYYY too young to do cereal. I strongly reccommend that you speak to your doctor before switching anything.

You mentioned he seems hungry after eating, have you tried just letting him eat till he thinks he's full? I nursed my first child and he ate and ate but due to some struggles we had it was hard to nurse if we were away from home and so I started pumping sometimes. I was shocked to see I was getting 8-12 oz a feeding (which was usually every 3-4 hours). That went on for about 2 months before dropping to more "normal" levels(in contrast my girl ate 4 oz til she was 6 months). Also, there is something some babies naturally do if you let them called "cluster feeding" where they eat every hour or so for several feedings right before bed. Kinda like topping off the tank. I DID try the rice cereal but found it caused gassiness if given right before bed and I tried it a few times the feeding before the night one without much sucess. I have heard it saving many a mom though.
There is another way that takes alot of energy when you just dont have any but this one did work for me. When he wakes in the night, wait a bit before getting up and then dillydally preparing to feed him. If you slowly push back the spacing between feedings at night they seem to adapt and sleep longer (Well, if I am going to have to wait 30 min for food I might as well sleep till then). There are some books worth glancing at just for ideas. "The no-cry sleep solution" and "The baby whisperer" (dont know authors) Good Luck, I've been there. Jen

I would caution you about giving him cereal in his bottle too early. Research has indicated that giving an infant solids too early can make him more prone to allergies later in life. Cereal is considered a solid. They're immature digestive tract just gets overwhelmed. Here's a good link about it: http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/infant/startingsolids.html

Don't worry, this is just a stage your little one is going through. If he's hungry than most likely his body needs the nutrients in milk. I encourage you not to satisfy his craving with cereal. I know it's hard, but it won't last forever! :)

Hope it works out soon.

I breastfed my son and he was hungry like that up until he was almost 2 months. Give it some time, he's still really little yet and needs lots of nutrients for his growing body. Hopefully things get better soon but try to wait on adding any cereal. Good luck!

I am going through the same thing right now, and yes I have realized it's not that he's always hungry, he's colicky and it happens around the clock sometimes. I was tempted to feed my little one cereal already, but doing the cereal in the bottle can also lead to obesity. My advice is to let him cry it out a little, it won't hurt him, and realize it is okay to feed him that often. Make sure you do talk to your doctor and tell him also if he is vomiting (not spitting up). If he's vomiting, it's a sign you are overfeeding him. (learned that one from experience a few days ago!)
Good luck and congrats!

It is totally normal for a newborn to be hungry all the time! Some eat more than others. Some eat fast, some eat slow. It is not a good idea to measure or monitor how much an infant eats though. Just let him dictate what he needs and when he needs it. Most babies that age will eat every 2-3 hours! He will stop when he is full. There is no need to put a baby under 6 mos on a schedule or limit their feedings.

And by all means do NOT even think about giving that baby cereal! He is WAY too young. It can damage his intestines and set him up for food allergies for life. Wait until he is at least 6 mos old before introducing cereal. It does not help them sleep longer. Babies sleep through the night when their brains are chemically ready, you can't influence when they do.

Breastfeeding is great because you're not aware of exactly how many ounces the baby is eating, you just know they are getting what they need and they stop when full. It's easy on your brain, no thinking involved! Just bonding time. If you are not getting much sleep, keep the baby in bed with you and nurse in bed, then you don't have to wake up.

If you are doing formula already, make several bottles so you won't be upset when he finishes off one and wants another. You don't need to measure or monitor unless your doctor thinks something is wrong like a baby is not gaining enough weight.

There is also a growth spurt at 3 weeks I think! Relax and I hope you get to enjoy this stage of life instead of stressing!

Hi M.!
First off, congrats on your new addition to your family! I am a mom of four kids, the youngest being 15 months. My three previous were great eaters and sleepers-all sleeping through the night around three months. My youngest still does not sleep through the night (only on occasion when we have a sunny day and he runs around outside) he still needs a bottle around midnight. I believe it is because of his size. He is a big boy-over 30 pounds, not obese-taller than most (I am 6'3"). He is a great eater and I know this one will be my future line-backer! In the begining, I tried to solely breast feed my son, but that soon took a toll on my body, mental health, and energy level, so we started to supplement with formula. This seemed to eleviate some of the hunger...but then at about 2 months...the same thing that you described happened to me. My mother said to give him some infant cereal in his bottle. My mom always said that with all of my kids- she said it was common place 'back in the day'. We also started him on baby food earlier than most. Now, there are going to be alot of naysayers out there that will tell you 'no!don't do it!' but talk to your Ped and listen to your heart and you will know what is best. My son is healthy, happy, loves all kinds of foods (my others are picky eaters)...good luck to you!

I would put rice cereal in his bottle before bed time. It will give it some substance and fill him up which will give you both some sleep. I'm not sure how much, maybe a couple teaspoons, just so it will still go through the nipple easily and he not choke on it. It's been a few years since I'd had this experience. My youngest is 11 now, but that's what we did. You night ask your pediatrian about it. They are always changing the rules.

Are you breast feeding? If so, my daughter was like that too and I started pumping and giving her a bottle just to make sure I was producing enough to satisfy her. She was a quick eater and wasn't taking enough time to eat to fill up.

I would definitely talk to his pediatrician first. I think 3 weeks is too young for anyhing but breast milk or formula. Once your Dr. ok's adding cereal (probably when he's 4-6mos) then you can put a few teaspoons in his breastmilk. I found out that only the rice cereal can be put in a bottle and can fit through the nipple holes. Mixed does not.
Good Luck!

Always make sure to clear anything new you are going to give your baby with your pediatrition.
My daughter is 7 1/2 months old, and we had the same problem. She wasn't hungry though, she needed to suck, but she wouldn't take a pacifier. I thought she was hungry all the time too, but if I would have kept feeding her, she would have been too full all the time, thrown up a lot, and still would've wanted to suck.

Don't give him rice. Not yet. He is way too young. His body is not ready for it, all that will happen is he'll get a tummy ache. It's normal for your son to eat every 2-3hours and up to 4-6oz. but maybe he's still crying because he has gas or maybe he just has a tummy ache. My son was very colichy (I'm not sure of that spelling) Gas drops helped alot and they're all natural so it won't hurt him. You should wait until at least 4months for Rice because his body is still developing and it's not ready for man made food... if your giving hom formula, have you tried Enfamil Gentlease? My son has been drinking that for many months and it seems like if I get him something different, even for just one can, he gets cranky like it gives him a tummy ache.

Goodluck

cereal in the bottle actually does not help, i tried it. has he always been doing this or is it recent? if its recent, maybe its a growth spurt. Are you breastfeeding? babies digest breastmilk a lot faster then formula. All in all though, for his age, this is pretty normal. I know your exsausted, but just be patient, it won't last forever.

My son was the same way we started him on a little rice cereal at 1 month old and it helped so much. I also started to give him some formula and that seemed to help to. Ask you doc but remember that people have done the rice cereal at a young age for YEARS thats how all of our partents did it and we are just fine. So do what you think is best for you child. No baby is the same.

Hi M.,
I have heard of mixing your own formula or breastmilk with the baby cereal but not a formula with cereal in it. I would be leary of giving a 3 week old anything but formula or breastmilk for digestive reasons. You might contact your baby's doctor and see if they can recommend something.

Just mix a little bit of rice cereal into his milk and he will be more satisfied. The Dr. always tells u wait until there 4-6 mths old before feeding them. Thats how we were fed when we were babies,crazy! I wouldn't give it to him every feeding, but start out giving it to him after his longest sleep time cuz thats when there the hungriest. Well good luck! B.

There is a formula with rice cereal in it.Its made for babies with reflux disease.It is expensive though.It would be better to buy rice cereal,it costs less.I started feeding my son cereal at 4 wks.Actually,all my children at 4-6 wks.Some babies are just hungrier than others!Remember though,Cereal can cause microscopic tears in their little digestive tracts that cause tiny amounts of bleeding that can lead to anemia.Just keep an eye on the anemia and get proper nipples to feed him cereal with.I really like the Playtex Ventair bottles because baby gets less air and their stage 2 nipples are great for cereal.Good luck!!