pablum...when to start??

these past few days my ds has been drinking 5 oz every 4 hours but lately he has a hard time making the 3 hour mark..sometimes will wake up more than once hungry at night...my ds is 4 1/2 months old..we see his ped weds and ive been thinking about starting him on pablum once a day...his doc is veryuhm insistant about things..he said not to give him more than 5 ounces until we see him and he gets really mad if i upped him 1/2-1 ounce at night or in the day etc...i dunno wat to do..hes very insistant on not starting our ds on pablum until the 6 month mark but i find he needs a little more than just milk...what do you all think?

[mami1323]

I don't see anything wrong with upping the formula about 1/2 an ounce.  My son is 2 months and he drinks 5 oz. every 3 hours.  He was big when he was born and now probably weighs 13 lbs.  He still has times where he's hungry before 3 hours.  I feed him when he is hungry, I don't believe in schedules.  If they are hungry feed them.  He eats a lot during the day and sleeps from 11 pm to about 6:30 am without waking up.  I think it's because I feed him enough during the day that he's good for the evening.  Try feeding your ds when he is hungry during the day instead of trying to have him hold out and see if that helps.  Also I think he may be old enough for a bit of rice cereal in his formula for his last bottle in the evening.  Some people may not agree but if you start him off slowly with a pinch and see how he digests it then you can up it to a teaspoon.  It thickens the milk and they aren't as hungry.  My friend tried it with her son at a month old and it worked like a charm and he was ok.  I tried it with my son and he had trouble going to the bathroom so I stopped it.  He does just fine on 5 oz of formula, his little belly just couldn't handle it.  He's not damaged for life or anything.  

[New Mommy 2 Be 2007]

my son is 13 weeks and he drinks 5 to 6 oz why does ur doc care if he drinks more but sometimes he will drink 3 to 4 thats cuz he isnt that hungry his last feeding is 12 or 1 and he sleeps to 8 or 9 am give himas much as he wants my son at first didnt eat a lot at all now he is a fatty boy lol hes 12 pounds 7 oz

[mum2beagain]

Give him more formula, babies under 6 months should be fed on demand, ie give them as much milk as they want when they want, rest assured an infant will not over eat. Try giving him 6 oz at a time, you may find he takes this and is satisfied for a bit longer. Definately stay away from solids until the 6 month mark, although many say it is okay to introduce solids before 6 months it has been linked to food allergies later in life and milk is all he needs right now to provide him with the correct nutrition and calories for growth and development.

[kelthecutie]

So what do you say if your baby is only 2 months old weighs 14 ilbs 5 oz and is eating 8 oz of formula but now cant even make it to 4 hours anymore???

[CYW]

i think i would introduce pablum..some people do..if youve waited that long..speak to the dr..my ds just began monday and he is 4 and a half months and weighs 14lbs 12 oz...he was 6lbs 15 oz when born..it depends on your baby's size at birth i find.. my cousin had to begin her baby on pablum at like 2 months as well because it took him too long to drink the milk..i mean he drinks an ounce and it takes him like 2 hours just to do so...

[mum2beagain]

kethecuite: Feed baby more often or larger feeds; he is probably going through a growth spurt and needs the extra calories and nutrition formula will provide him with.

I fed cereal at 4 months with my first child, it happened to be the advice given by medical professionals at the time. I wished I hadn't, contributed to all sorts of feeding issues that we are still dealing with today and he is nearly 4 years old.

My second child didn't start solids until he was 6 months and then it was introduced very slowly, he didn't have much interest in cereal or baby food but by the time he was 8 months was eating table foods.
He had milk as much as he wanted when he wanted it until 6 months, sometimes that mean't every couple of hours when he hit a growth spurt. He was 15lb's exactly at 3 days under 4 months old (8lb 10 at birth, 3 weeks early), he also slept 10 hours a night from 4 months old too. He is now a very health happy one year old who eats almost anything we do.

Having had a bad experience with giving solids early and the mounting medical evidence that feeding solids earlier than 6 months can cause problems in later life I chose to hold off with solids until six months.
I also know many people who introduced solids earlier and have had no problems but second time around for me it just wasn't something I was in any hurry to do.


There is lots and lots of advice on the internet, med help actually has a forum for child nutrition too, there's lots of related posts on that forum too.