Wondering...

When 3 of my 4 children were to this point I would start giving them rice cereal so they would have something to stick to their ribs and milk. Both of my boys were eating some rice cereal by 2 weeks old. They wanted to have a full belly for comfort. All of my children were not overweight because of this either.

Sounds like a growth spurt to me. Babies go through growth spurts every few weeks. I can't remember all of them, but I do remember it's at about 6 wks and 12wks. They act like they can't get enough to eat for a couple of days, and then they go back down to normal. I'm nursing, and when my daughter does this, it seems like she takes FOREVER to finish. It sounds like you're using formula, so I can't help you with whether or not to increase the amount per feeding. If you research infant growth spurts I'm sure you'll be able to find something that helps you and gives more info.

I would say more than likely your little girl is going through a growth spurt right now, and that's why she wants to eat so much. I breastfeed both of my boys, but I always told myself to feed them when they were hungry, whether it had been 2 hours or 5 hours. Also, I couldn't control ounces, but I could control time. I let them nurse for as long or as short as they wanted. Babies know how much they need. If you offer 6 ounces and she only takes 4 or 5, then I would say she's full. My son was 9lbs 7 ounces at birth, and did always seem to be alittle chubby, but not at almost 3, he's thinned out and is in the 50 percentile for weight, right in the middle!!

I also recommend getting the book "What to Expect: The first year" It gives you a great deal of advice of what average amounts babies should take at feedins, and just tons of advice and information. I don't know what I would have done without it with my first child, or my second!!

Your baby is growing! Don't give here cereal or rice in her formula unless you ask her ped first! Just add a few more ounces until she's done with her spurt. It's a proven fact that an infant can grow up to 1/2 inch in a night!

L., There are so many questions when they're tiny. There are just as many when they're bigger--just different! I haven't read previous responses; I just went straight to responding. Forgive me if I'm redundant. Just try 6 oz., and she'll stop when she's full. You can call the nurse at your pediatrician's office as well, and they should be able to give you advice. Hang in there! Nap when you can--even if it means there are a dirty dishes in the sink :) Nan

Hello L.. I understand how it goes with feeling like you are constantly feeding the baby. My daughter goes in spurts where she can't get enough to eat for a week or two and then it seems like she doesn't eat enough. Personally, I think we can be over worried about how much our little ones eat. If your little one appears to still be hungry when the bottle is empty, I say make the six oz bottle, if she doesn't finish it you can put it in the fridge for the next feeding. Just remember that young ones suck to sooth themselfs and (I know mine will) eat to sooth herself and then spit up b/c she ate too much. You could try to offer her a pacifier (if you use one) once the bottle is gone. If she isn't happy, let her eat more. And, there is nothing wrong with having a big baby; my six month old wears 12 month clothes (she gets her size from her 6 foot dad). Best of luck and enjoy the moments; they start to crawl and move about before we are ready! :)

I don't know the exact amount a baby her age should eat but I'd say if she seems that hungry you should give her more. I think my daughter (who just turned 1) was drinking about 6 oz. by that time. Give her 6 and see how she does. It can'thurt her.

S.

Follow your baby's signs, not some chart of "this many oz at this age" -- 6 weeks is *prime* time for a growth spurt. Ditto for 9 weeks, and 12 weeks. Infants grow SO quickly in their first year, so it's not unheard of to have periods of wanting to eat more. For breastfeeding moms, it's called "cluster feeding" where they just nursed the baby, but the baby's hungry again. Just because a baby's getting a bottle instead of a boob, I'd still think "cluster feeding" would apply!

Also, you say, "would be great if I could stretch her feedings out some." While that might seem more convenient for *you* right now, it is definitely not as healthy for your daughter. Little babies have small, young stomachs that are meant to be fed smaller amounts, more frequently. It's really not a good idea to try and increase the number of ounces right now just to hopefully stretch out the feeding. She's way too young for that, in my opinion.

Lastly, sometimes babies do *seem* to ask for more food when really they're feeling some discomfort, whether it's a poop that's going to happen soon, tiredness and wanting to go to sleep, further on down the line it might be teething, etc. So just observe the next few times you give her that extra bottle - does she poop right away? fall right asleep? or is she awake and full and content? If you consistently notice that she's pooping or peeing (all of a sudden her diaper is warm), or falling asleep, then you can respond to those needs the next time *before* the extra bottle - rock her to sleep, hold her knees to her chest to help her get the gas or poop out (you can even take her diaper off and do this over the toilet - babies are born knowing how to do this, but we parents have lost touch with this because diapers seem convenient). If you feed her the extra bottle and she's just full and awake and content, you'll know it was likely hunger.

Congrats on being a new mom and on your beautiful new daughter!

Hi,

I asked my doctor about how much to feed my daughter because she didn't seem satisfied and she told me that if she is hungry for more give it to her and not to worry about over feeding because if she ate too much we would know because she would just spit it up. Pretty much if you think she needs more I would just make her more plus if she's going through a growth spurt they take alot more than they normally would.

Congratulations!

Your idea of giving her more should work, or adding a little baby cereal to her formula will also work. I had five babies, all nine and ten pounds. They seemed to have growth spurts like that, were they think they are starving.

It sounds to me that she's going through a growth spurt. I didn't bottle feed so I don't know about ounces in a bottle. All I know is that whenever my son was going through a growth spurt he ate every 2 hours -- offer her the extra milk if it will ease your mind...I've been told that babies will not overeat. Good luck!

I can't remember if I read this somewhere or if my doctor told us but, we always went by the baby's weight. For example, if the baby weighs 10 pounds (1/2 is 5) so, offer up to 5 oz. This doesn't mean the baby will always want that but, it's a good measure of what to offer. So, if your baby is almost 12 pounds (1/2 is 6) then you could start offering 6 oz. Probably always best to check with your pediatrician but, this "formula" seemed to work for us. "What to expect the First Year" is a great reference book as well! Good luck!

It sounds like a growth spurt to me. Give her what she wants... If that means more, more often then do it. She will go through this several times while a baby and it is totally normal. It may last a few days or a week, but it will be over soon and she will even out more again.

Blessings.
M.

I don't know why people think that there is a magic table that tells us how much a baby should be eating at what age & weight. My daughter was 6 pounds 12 ounces at birth & was 12 pounds at her 2 month check up. If they are hungry, feed them. Mine was eating 6 ounces shortly after coming home. I have always been told that you can't overfeed a baby. They eat to life, not life to eat. As adults we are the ones that teach them to overeat. Babies will eat til they are full. I agree with the idea that you could make a larger bottle & let your little one eat til she's full, then save the rest for later.

My advice would be to try making a bigger bottle (6 oz) and see how much she takes - don't push it though. She may end up needing 5 oz to be satisfied. She's probably about to start a growth spurt and is really hungry - I mostly breastfed and I do remember those times when it felt like I was constantly nursing. She may just need to eat a little more often for a few days/weeks. So as I said my advice is try offering a larger bottle, but make sure you're not pushing her to finish it all - every baby is so different when it comes to this - I used to work in an infant room at a daycare and we had babies who ate 8 oz every 2 hrs and others who had 5 oz every 5 hours. Good luck - hopefully eventually you'll have time to do something other than feed her! I personally don't agree with starting cereal so young - but some people swear by it - but I would talk to your pediatrician before adding anything to her diet.

I am of the opinion that if she wants to eat more, let her. At her age she may be having a growth spurt and therefore may need to eat more. I would give her 6 ounces and see what she does. Most children at this age don't get the concept of Over eating so she will most likely stop drinking when she is full.
Good Luck!

Try starting her on cereal, she'll be happy !!!

It sounds like she's simply going through a growth spurt. My advice is feed her when she's hungry no matter how often/much it is!