Milk intake

[Aleshia31]

Hey everyone :)

So my little girl is almost 4 months old - in two days lol .. but this morning and last night she's not really been finishing her oz ? She's started to teeth could this be the reason ?
She is still happy and smiling away plenty of wet and poo nappies 🤷🏽‍♀️
She's not been weighed since her first jags but she had defo out on weight as my back is breaking lol & Ovb we can weigh them at the clinic ect the now.
Has anyone went through the same ? Is it just a phase ?
I understand she is too young to wean

They do it all the time. Amounts can fluctuate all the time and as long as they are gaining weight its fine

That's my point but If this continues how will I know for sure she is gaining as there's no where to weigh her ?

3-4 months is when babies go through a bit of a growth spurt and start getting distracted during feeds too so it could be a lot of things together. If you suspect it’s teething pain related try calpol / teething powder / a cold teething ring to see if it helps.

Do you have scales at home? We've always used those and weighed one of us without holding the baby and then weighed again holding the baby. The difference is roughly what your baby weighs. It's always been pretty accurate whenever he's been weighed - he's now one. You can then use your red book to see if she's following the curve - expect some fluctuation (mine has been between 7th and 25th percentile since being born, he's stabilised to around 9th now) but if she's always been tracking around say, 90th and you now think she's dropped dramatically from that then you can book a phone app with your GP or HV?

As others have said the amount your baby drinks will vary, teething will be a factor as will getting distracted. Sometimes they might take a bit and then come back for some more 30 mins later or so - I primarily breast fed though so I can't comment on the 4 month mark exactly. How much milk is she drinking/leaving? Could you try giving her what she doesn't drink as a separate feed at another point in the day? Leaving some formula at the bottom is normal though as it's harder to get out. If you're only bottle feeding you could also try going up a teat size if you feel she's getting bored/frustrated which is why she's not drinking it all.

Thanks everyone x she's a big sturdy girl so I'm not too worried she's on 8oz and has 5 bottles a day .. sometime sleazing 3/4oz x
She has been getting up more during the night ect so maybe if it's this growth spurt and sleep regression. !
Oh how they like to keep us on our toes ! X

That sounds like an awful lot of milk although I don't now know what the reccommended amount is as we've got rid of our formula tubs now. They do also take less milk over time so you could try dropping an ounce or two for some feeds? Mine has never drank more than 7oz and he's now one, usually most of his bottles were 5oz but he only had one formula bottle a day.

I would reduce the amount in some of the bottles if she's leaving a good amount in some. I used to have larger AM and PM bottles and then a smaller amount in the daytime bottles e.g. 8oz in AM and bedtime and 6oz in the daytime ones

The recomened is about 6 oz ... but my baby is a big baby and they are guidelines only ? She. Doesn't get a feed during the night so I was told she would feed more during the day to compensate.
Also this has all went out the window as now we are not sleeping at night which is great fun lol 🤣 x

Is hungrier baby milk still a thing? I'm not sure what the difference was between regular and hungrier baby formula but my DS was always on the 90th+ percentile and really hungry so had it. It might be that the extra volume of milk you are trying to give is too much but it's not filling enough so needs feeding more often and then can't take the volume. Hope that makes sense.

Welcome to the joys of the 4th month sleep regression!! You say that you don't feed her at night... Is that her choice (as in she doesn't wake up) or yours? As most babies of 3/4 months need feeding at least once during the night because their tummy is only little. Mine breast fed during the night until I stopped at 10 months, I feel he probs only "needed" the feed until about 8.5 months though as once we'd stopped he didn't wake up for it.

Mine is now on whole milk, but when he was purely bottle fed between 10-12 months he had different amounts (between 4-7 oz) during the day so maybe try feeding her the same volume per day but at more regular intervals. This is particularly important in this warm weather as like us babies need to drink more, which you can top up with water if you're exclusively formula feeding. Apologies if you already know this but it was honestly a revelation that I'd need to feed more in hot weather to me!

Also what she's drinking at 3 or 4 months isn't what she will drink forever, as you get closer to 5/6 months you'll find the amounts will change and again they'll decrease once she's established on solids.

It was hers she would only stir for a dummy and then straight back to sleep... do you think maybe feeding her through the night would help ? Today she actually fed every 3 hours which makes sense as it's hot outside ... but again up every 15 min is brutal x

I wouldn't wake her if she doesn't wake up naturally, if it were me, but if she does wake up naturally then offering milk then can't hurt. I'm not sure what you mean by up every 15 mins? Do you mean at night? As if she's awake that much then definitely try some milk to see if she's hungry. They go through a growth spurt around 4 months when they're more likely to be hungry, but potentially at different times to you're used to so you might have to adapt your feeding times/amounts. Mine only had one bottle of formula before he went to bed and then I breast fed the rest of the time which I appreciate is much easier than dealing with formula all of the time.

Yeah sorry it's like her eyes just ping open and then she thrashes around the basket u till I settle her and that's basically how the night goes lol she's formula fed .. I will attempt a night feed tonight when she wakes and see how it goes x

How did last night go? I used to feed my baby at least twice a night (around midnight and then about 4am) at that age then he dropped to one feed a night (usually!) by about 6 months. Then nothing from about 9 months. This is a similar pattern to the majority of my mum friends regardless of whether they were formula, combi or breast feeding.

Hi so she 2 nights ago she only woke every hour and actually refused the feed .. and last night she slept right through ! So here's hoping it was just a growth spurt thanks everyone ! X

Has anyone had a baby that brings legs up and slams down ? As this is now waking her up constantly too ?!
Is she not getting enough room in the basket 🤷🏽‍♀️ X

Yep and yep - it's very common/normal as they become more aware of their body parts around 4 months. Do you have a week by week book (Your Baby)? We found that very reassuring in the first few months at times like this, you can probs pick up a second hand one for pennies. They're obviously not gospel but even so it was interesting to read the background to what our baby was doing.

What is she sleeping in? If she's in a small moses style basket then you might need to move her to something bigger as she will also be trying to roll over if she isn't already but if she's in a bigger cot or next to me style crib then she should be ok for another few months size wise and whatever you put her in she will do the leg banging things, it's just annoying for you.

Thanks so much for your reply ! I've actually put her down for a nap in her cot the now and no leg banging 😍 but we live in a. Small house so it means her room but if it means I'm getting a sleep then I'll move with her lol ! Hopefully doesn't last long it looks bloody sore but she just laughs !
I'll have a look for that book x

That's good! No, they do stop at some point and then they move onto head banging against the walls of the cot(bed) if my son is anything to go by... He's 14 months. We've established that it sounds worse than it is and again most of our friends kids do it.

Hahaha god they love to keep us on our toes don't they !! I'm actually a nursery teacher but it's soo different when it's your own ! Xx