We have a 2 week old. She's very hungry, and I've been feeding her formula. Our doctor says I might be overfeeding her. Has anyone else ever heard of that? She shows all the signs of hunger..sucking, putting her fist in her mouth, crying...and a pacifier doesn't work when she's hungry. The doctor told me to only feed her 2.5 ounces every 3 hours. She's hungry and fussy before 3 hours passes, and it's really frustrating to not feed her when she wants to eat. She was 5, 11 at birth and now weighs 6, 11. Any thoughts? One of my friends told me her doctor says you can never overfeed an infant, but obviously my doctor has different ideas. She's such a good baby, but now that I'm not feeding her when she wants to eat, she's very fussy and I'm weary! What would you do?
Thank you all for your encouragement. I'm feeding her when she's hungry now, and we're all happier!!
When she gets fussy, try everything you can to settle her, but if nothing works, then it must be a bottle she wants. Maybe she's wanting the sucking reflex instead of a bottle every time? Just a thought. A baby won't typically overeat. We should all eat like an infant, only when hungry and stop when full. Especially at 2 weeks, if she's hungry, feed her.
You are the mom. You are with her when she is hungry. The doctor is not with her for more than the office visits. Just feed her and let her be content and not HUNGRY.
Blessings,
P. <><
Feed her. I was told to only feed my son 2 oz every 3 hours, but he'd easily eat 3 oz and sometimes more often than every 3 hours.
Feed her. She will stop eating when she is full. If it were me, I'd find a new doctor too.
Congrats on the baby!!
My dr said I was overfeeding. He was spitting up a lot but I was breast feeding to there was no way to judge how much he was getting. If spitting up is not an issue, then do what you think is best. I used to follow the dr word for word and then my husband threw all that rubbish out the window. The dr does not live at your house, you do. Do what is right for your family.
I was always told, if they are hungry, feed them. You are the mommy, if you think she is hungry and she wants to eat, then feed her. I would. If she's not throwing the formula back up, then she's not overfed.
Hmmm, I never heard of a doctor putting such a young baby on such a regimented feeding schedule. My middle daughter was always hungry . . . I probably fed her every 1 1/2 to 2 hours (except nights) for the first 3 months of her life! She did put on a bit of weight and the doctor suggested I try to put more time between feedings (that never happened). I think your little one was a bit small so now she's making up for it. I agree with your friend . . . you can't overfeed at this early stage! I say just keep feeding her if she's hungry, and reevaluate in a month.
I would feed her more than 2.5 oz. We used to make 4 oz - she would eat 2.5-3.5 and then go about 2.5-3.5 hours to eat again. 2.5 every 3 just seems too rigid. They are, after all, people just like us. I usually eat lunch around 12:30, but sometimes, I get hungry at 11:55. Use the doctor as a guide, but you do what you know your baby needs. I never had a doctor tell me anything that specific. I guess a pound in 2 weeks is alot to gain, but she will establish a growth curve and as long as she continues on that growth curve, it's good. Plus there is always a chance that something got misread at the hospital, and she didn't actually gain a pound. My neice was supposedly 20" at birth and 21.5" inches at a 5 day check-up. yeah, I don't think so.
I vote for feed her. My children always ate much more than the doctor recommended. My children are just very tall, big kids; not fat at all. My twin two year olds are now wearing 3T and 4T clothes; they actually look like 3 or 4 yr olds. And at 2 weeks you really should not be trying to get your baby on any kind of schedule. After 4 weeks, you can start gently trying to stretch the feedings so that the baby can learn to hold more in her tummy (and thus sleep more). I started with pushing for 15 more minutes; but if baby is obviously very hungry, bag the extra 15 minutes and feed the baby; try again next feeding. This worked well for my kids. When I would go in for checkups, I got lots of stern looks from the dr and nurses about how much the babies eat, but not much more was said. Good luck.!
If your mommy instinct says she needs food then feed her. We fed on demand early on. And she's on the small side -I really would just fix more and feed her the time apart - does that make sense.
My daughter was born at 5, 2 and my son at 6 even - at 2 week they were eating about 15oz a day every 2-2.5hrs with one 4hr stretch in there. The most he ever ate at once was 3oz
I too have a hungry little 2 week old. My doc. said every two hours let her eat what she wants.He said feeding on demand led to snacking all day which is what my DD wanted to do. She gets really aggrivated when I don't feed her after an hour or so sometimes; and I dip her pacifier in something yummy and let her suck on it. I have to dip it a few times but it is just for a taste and it distracts her for a bit. I also walk around and let her see out side or bathe her or whatever to divert her attention. My doc. also said you can't overfeed at this age because they have a reflex or something that lets them know they are full. Good luck and you are not alone!
I would let her eat as much as she wants just not as often as she wants- just my two cents. :)
