Bottle-fed baby: how do I know when she's had enough?

8 replies

thelady · 30/12/2007 18:54

DD has been diagnosed with silent reflux after 10h of screaming and is on infant Gaviscon. Major improvement! She's feeding every 3 - 4 hours, and I'm wondering if I'm not giving her enough, or if I'm feeding her before she's properly hungry.

Can someone give tips, please, on knowing when she's had enough if she doesn't just shut her mouth (which she does at some feeds) after a pause for burping? Also, if she wakes and is whimpering after 3-ish hours am I right to offer food - she generally attacks it so she must be hungry, right?

OP posts:

lulumama · 30/12/2007 18:55

how many ounces is she taking? how old is she?

if she is hungry , she will eat , and if she takes too much, it will come back up.

Original poster

thelady · 30/12/2007 18:59

She's 6 weeks old and weighed 10lb11 on Friday. She's been taking between 3 and 5 oz at a feed - I've been offering 5. The last feed I offered 6 and she took all bar a tablespoon.

I generally stop a feed when her sucking gets v. slow and she pauses after just a few sucks.

OP posts:

lulumama · 30/12/2007 19:54

offer 6, if she leaves it , fine, if not then you don;t have to make a fresh bottle

at 6 weeks old, feeding 3 hours or so is normal, day and night

she will have days when she is hungrier than others, so don;t think she has to take the same each day

if you were breastfeeding, you would not be able to see how many ounces she was having, so let her and her appetite guide you

Original poster

thelady · 30/12/2007 20:15

Thanks. So if she sucks slowly I'm right to think she's probably had enough? I wish I was breastfeeding, but am not going back to that dark hole again.

OP posts:

lulumama · 30/12/2007 20:21

i think sucking slowly is part of the way babies feed, mine sort of gulped the first part , then slowed, once they either pulled off the bottle, or spat the teat out, or refused to take it again after a burp or break, i figured they had had enough....

you will learn her cues and signals, don;t worry or over analyse too much, enjoy her whilst she is so little

Original poster

thelady · 30/12/2007 21:05

OK thanks. She's been wakeful since 2 feeds ago and whinging with short snoozes in between. Thank goodness my Dad can hold her while I type.

OP posts:

Original poster

thelady · 30/12/2007 21:06

She never goes down in a cot/pram/chair at all - just wakes her straight up. I'm assuming it's all to do with the reflux issues and am hoping things will gradually improve, but sleeping sitting up in bed is doing me no good at all.

OP posts:

lulumama · 30/12/2007 22:01

i'm afraid i have no advice re the reflux, but a lot of other mnetters have experience of it....hope your DD settles

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