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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

4oz at 1 month old

8 replies

RMB1243 · 09/06/2024 04:06

Hi everyone,

My girl is now 1 month old. We had her at the hospital recently as she had a raised temp and some issues with pooping. While we were there they asked how much she was feeding.

She's exclusively formula fed on kendamil and has been since birth. She struggled to get the hang of feeding at first and lost too much of her birth weight so had to be monitored. She thankfully got the hang of it quite quickly and put the weight back on no bother. Since then her growth has been fine.

She's now got into a nice routine of feeing like clockwork every 3 hours. She was having around 3oz for the first couple of weeks but quickly progresses to needing a 4oz bottle. As she was finishing the 3 every time and didn't seem satisfied. She doesn't always finish the 4oz but has done on a number of occasions rececently.

I told the hospital this and the Dr has told us we are overfeeding her and we should knock it back down to a 3oz maximum every 3 hours. We've done this and she's now waking every 2 hours absolutely ravenous. Rooting for her feed and very quickly becoming agitated and crying. We used to have plenty of time to get a bottle prepped between her starting to root and fuss and progressing to a full on meltdown.

This is our first baby so we've just been following her lead and going with her flow. Now I feel like we've done it all wrong and are giving her bad eating habits already at such a young age. Has anyone else's baby been so hungry for food at 4 weeks. How quickly has anyone else progessed to bigger ounce bottles?

OP posts:
botleybump · 09/06/2024 04:40

RMB1243 · 09/06/2024 04:06

Hi everyone,

My girl is now 1 month old. We had her at the hospital recently as she had a raised temp and some issues with pooping. While we were there they asked how much she was feeding.

She's exclusively formula fed on kendamil and has been since birth. She struggled to get the hang of feeding at first and lost too much of her birth weight so had to be monitored. She thankfully got the hang of it quite quickly and put the weight back on no bother. Since then her growth has been fine.

She's now got into a nice routine of feeing like clockwork every 3 hours. She was having around 3oz for the first couple of weeks but quickly progresses to needing a 4oz bottle. As she was finishing the 3 every time and didn't seem satisfied. She doesn't always finish the 4oz but has done on a number of occasions rececently.

I told the hospital this and the Dr has told us we are overfeeding her and we should knock it back down to a 3oz maximum every 3 hours. We've done this and she's now waking every 2 hours absolutely ravenous. Rooting for her feed and very quickly becoming agitated and crying. We used to have plenty of time to get a bottle prepped between her starting to root and fuss and progressing to a full on meltdown.

This is our first baby so we've just been following her lead and going with her flow. Now I feel like we've done it all wrong and are giving her bad eating habits already at such a young age. Has anyone else's baby been so hungry for food at 4 weeks. How quickly has anyone else progessed to bigger ounce bottles?

I had a tiny premie last year who started off on a dinky feed schedule but then quickly wanted more and more.
Once we got home, she started to take more feed to get her through the 3-4 hours to the next. We ended up in hospital with Covid and they suggested the same over feeding and got us to reduce whilst we were in there. My usually content baby was unsettled and hungry throughout.

I put my foot down and went back to our usual feeds and the content baby was back once more.

The doctors follow a simple formula for baby weight to feed in a day, and then divide that up to the amount of feeds they think they should have; as if a human being is a math problem.
There's no room for individual needs within that.

You know your baby best.

Of course, if you start to see reflux, vomiting or discomfort, maybe consider feeding size, but some babies (just like some people) just eat bigger meals!

Even now at a fully weaned 'normal' weight 16 months, my girl will eat big meals and very few snacks.

OzziePopPop · 09/06/2024 04:46

Doctors are great but babies are individuals and didn’t go to medical school (yet?) Feed your child the 4oz, she’s hungry!

Sunnysummer24 · 09/06/2024 06:55

Feeding every 2 hours is normal for a 4 week old baby.

MintTwirl · 09/06/2024 07:26

4oz is absolutely fine if she is finishing her 3ox bottles. Three hours between feeds it also fine and normal. The advice Is her weight gain on track? Is she having plenty of wet nappies? I would follow her lead.

RMB1243 · 09/06/2024 08:04

Thank you all for the replies. It's like we start to feel like we get the hang of things and then a professional tells you something different and it thrown us right off.

@Sunnysummer24 I get that 2 hours can be normal but I'm now feeding her more often with a 3oz bottle that she's emptying and not feeling full. I'm feeding her more formula than I was originally giving her the 4oz bottles.

@MintTwirl yeah her weight gain is fine now and she's hovering around the same percentile. Definitely has plenty of wet nappies too.

I'll stick to the 4oz feeds. I'd much rather have my happy baby back than have her feeling hungry and unhappy!

OP posts:
Magssam · 09/06/2024 09:33

We had similar when my daughter had bronchiolitis. A few weeks later at her weight check up they said she was under weight. Despite me being told I was over feeding her. No one has instincts like Mum. You know best x

brussels3108 · 09/06/2024 09:35

I have a 3 week old and at his 10 day appointment we were told if he's drinking 3.5 oz comfortably (which he was) to move up to 4oz! That was from the midwife.

dementedpixie · 09/06/2024 09:53

You should be feeding to your baby's appetite. No need to put your baby on a diet which is what the doctor seems to be suggesting.

I'd go back to 4oz and be guided by your child as to when she needs more than that.

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