any advice for a grazing baby?

[laulea82]

My little boy is 16 weeks old. He's 50/50 expressed breast milk and formula. He takes 45+ oz over 24 hours so plenty. Plus he has 2-3 breast feeds today. He's gaining weight well and is healthy bar bad eczema.

The problem is he snacks all day and night! He goes 1.5-2hrs during the day and 3 at night. He feeds 9-12 times a day taking 2-4oz each feed.

I have friends who whose babies eat 5-6 bottles of 7-8oz. Is this just the way my boy is or is there any strategies I can try?
Any tips gratefully received.

Not much help here - my 10wk old DS takes 4/5ozs at a time every three hours - but it sounds like yours is having A LOT of milk!

I thought 32ozs was about the maximum for babies up to 6m old?

This link backs it up - www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Amount-and-Schedule-of-Formula-Feedings.aspx

Not being critical or suggesting your baby should be fed less, just genuinely amazed st how much your baby is eating a day!

Thanks. Yes it is a lot! Health visitor said its fine. He's following the same centile from birth isn't over or under weight. He's always been a hungry baby! A hungry baby with a tiny tummy!

My 11-week-old is the same, although she's ebf. But she feeds about 17 times in a 24 hour period - and I keep reading that they typically feed 8-12 times!

She goes 3-4 hours at night, but during the day will go 45 minutes - 2hours (and 2 hours is rare).

Hoping she'll grow out of it soon . . .

DD2 was formula fed, and fed 2 hourly day and night until 6 months, 3-4 oz at a time. Could never get her to take a bit more and space it out, she just eventually did it herself when she refused all milk before Xmas

I think it's actually pretty common and HV prefer babies to be fed on demand than on a schedule, and I agree.

Keep doing what you are doing, he'll soon let you know when he's ready for a change

As for the amount of feed, my HV told me if your baby was 9lb at birth, that's 36oz a day that they need, 4x their weight. No idea if this is right or not.

When I breastfed DD1 I never knew how much she was taking, so it was a bit different FF as you can see it, you worry about it!

He's not snacking, he's showing a normal feeding pattern for a breatfed baby. I'd say well done you've managed to reposns feed with a bottle. Most breatfed babies won't take more then 4oz at a time if given a bottle. Hence them feeding 10-12 times in 24 hours.

This is really good for your baby, your doing a great job hear well done.

If it isn't bothering you then let it happen

If it is (and it would me) then extend the time between his feeds, let him grizzle etc and aim for 4 hourly feeds. As to how you do that, well, it's not very fashionable but leaving them to cry works, as does distracting them with a change of environment. Celebrate small 10 min extensions and don't be over anbitious.

Thank you everyone. It is just a case of my convenience and I sound selfish. I'm just painfully tired and it's starting to get me down. I am feeding on demand because until a few weeks ago he was breast fed and that's how I breastfed. I don't mind if he wants to during the day but sleep longer than three hours at night.
He's too young to leave crying or let him go hungry. Think I will try distracting and get longer so he will take more. Might be a slow process.

Good luck! It's the Tiny decisions you make which will help. Finishing a cup of tea or going for a wee before you feed. Getting supper in the oven and turning him watch you. Change the music to something unexpected for 5 mins. All helps

Sounds normal to me! I understand what you mean though! My DS goes 1.5 -3 hours between feeds day and night. He's exclusively breastfed and a bottle refuser and I feel very trapped at times.

Thank you all
Suzietwo that's great advice. If at each feed he waits an extra five minutes eventually he will go longer and eat more I guess.

Mine fed (bf) every 90 minutes for the first 5 months.... It nearly killed me lol

Normal I think, although hard for you. And if he's going through a growth spurt he'll drink more, it's not as easy as calculating one single amount for every day.