Crritter & everyone how ounces at 4weeks

I asked this before and peek had a great article for me but I was wondering what everyone little one was eatting at 4-5 weeks and how often.  Dr. said cut little Ryan's ounces to 3oz every three hours - sometimes I think he wants more.

[AnnieBrooke]

My son was taking 4 ounces every time he ate, at that age.

[kris123]

How often did you feed him at that age?

[AnnieBrooke]

Well, I was feeding on demand, or as La Leche League says, "on request."  It was at least as often as every three hours, sometimes closer together, and in the night it was sometimes every hour and a half.  He's 6 months old now, and only in the middle of the size range and weight range, so it's not like he is a moose or anything either.  (In other words, it didn't make him fat.)  I don't see why at such a young age your doctor is having you do anything besides feed him "on request" until he (the baby, not the doctor) is done and shows it by turning his head away from the bottle.  It's really up to the baby at this age, and they don't eat when they don't want it.  It sounds like your doctor is interested in you not forcing him to eat when he's not hungry, but that can be better accomplished by following the baby's cues than by a schedule.  He will let you know clearly if he is hungry or full.

[Crritter]

Okay, I posted a response, but it's not here.  Anyway, I agree with AnnieBrooke.  My little one was eating at least 4 oz., sometimes 5 oz. at that point and eating every 2 hours still.  Dr. said it was due to a big growth spurt they get around that time and it seems like they always eat, but give it a little time and he would cut back.  He's 15 weeks and jumped from 6 oz. to 8 oz., but cluster feeds in the evening, doesn't eat much in the day though.  I can't see limiting your feeding, maybe it's just that your Dr. is worried about feeding when he's not hungry.  When you have a fussy baby it's so easy to keep feeding them.  Just watch to see how he reacts, if he doesn't latch right on, he's probably bored or wants something else.  If he's really hungry though, I would not hesistate to feed him.  Cam seems to think he's starving sometimes too and once I begin to feed him, he's not so into it.  I take it away then and wait awhile.  Once the reflux is under control it should get better, also he'll grow out of hte fussiness.

[Crritter]

I have never heard that, but it makes sense going by my little guys weight.  He was just under 9 lbs. at birth, was 14 lbs. when he went in at 3 months sick, who knows by now, but I'll bet he's closing in on 16 lbs. soon.  Good to know.

[Nicki1433]

Our pediatrician said that a good rule of thumb is take their weight in pounds and divide it by two.  That's how many ounces he/she should be eating every 3-4 hours until they get to 8oz.  So, if she weighs 8lbs 4oz, take 8lbs/2 = 4oz every 3-4 hours.  

[kris123]

I knew the dr. was a litte off.  He is kinda of odd.  Maybe Ryan is cring because he is hungry.  He is 9lbs so according to Nicki he can eat up to 4.5oz every three to four hours.  I was worried I was over feeding him and he would be over weight.  I heard a lot from drs and nurses in hospital that bottle feed babies are more likely to be over weight and can be over feed.  Who knows - they got me so worried.

[kris123]

I knew the dr. was a litte off.  He is kinda of odd.  Maybe Ryan is cring because he is hungry.  He is 9lbs so according to Nicki he can eat up to 4.5oz every three to four hours.  I was worried I was over feeding him and he would be over weight.  I heard a lot from drs and nurses in hospital that bottle feed babies are more likely to be over weight and can be over feed.  Who knows - they got me so worried.

[kris123]

How much does your little one weigh.  I guess I got worried because I tell everyon that Ryan eat 4-5ounces every two three hours and they said to much as the dr did.  My bf sister has a baby that is 7weeks and is 9lbs.

[peekawho]

It doesn't always go by weight, either.  Age has a factor too.
A brand newborn 8 # 2 oz baby does not eat 4 oz of formula every 4 hours.  An older baby would, though..

Kris, 4-5 oz every 2 to 3 hours might be too much.  3 oz every 3 hours might not be enough.  You'll have to try varying amounts at varying times to see what works best.  If 3 oz seems to not be enough, try 4 oz at one feed, 3 oz at the next and so on.  Try 3 hours one time, maybe 4 the next.  

Here's another article (I'm not sure if it was the same one I gave you before, or not).  Read it carefully, the whole thing.  Don't just latch on to "X oz of formula per day".  Age and your baby's cues figure in there, too.  You can also google "How much formula should my baby eat" and get about 10,000 websites.  

Good luck.  You sound very frustrated.  

[peekawho]

Dang it!

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/formula/howmuchmilk/?_requestid=177752#4

[AnnieBrooke]

Trust your baby's cues.  He shouldn't be crying because he is hungry.

[Crritter]

My son was already just shy of 9 lbs. at birth, so he probably ate more to begin with, but he's close to 16 lbs. now.  Peekawho is right, each feeding may vary.  We had some 2 oz. feedings and some 4 oz. feedings for awhile.  He is now rounding it out, but if he's hungry I make sure he gets a little more and then he may eat less next time.  It's so hard and you really can't compare babies.  Each one is different.  My son is close in size to my coworker's baby and hers is only a few days older.   Mine eats more often and sleeps way less than hers, hers is just a really easy baby, her second really easy baby.  It's frustrating because she has switched formulas just because she wanted to, puts him down at 7 pm and still sleeps in every day, it's crazy, I struggled to get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time out of mine and she got over 9 hrs.  We have had my sons stomach rinsed out due to formula reaction, been on 3 kinds, had RSV and rotovirus a week after he got the vaccination and have battled reflux, not to mention the joys of colic.  I'm only now at almost 16 weeks beginning to feel like a regular person again and starting to get sleep and not stress so much.  Follow peeks advice and don't be so hard on yourself.  You are handling this so well and it is such a hard time to handle with a fussy baby.