Formula feeding newborn, please help me!

[veryfondoftea]

Hi ladies,

My baby is 10 days old. I gave up breastfeeding at 5 days and started on formula. For the first couple of days she took 3oz each time and slept roughly 3-4 hours in between each feed...like clockwork. And then for the last 3 days she has refused to drink anymore than 2oz per feed for most feeds....meaning that she is eating every two hours. So I haven't had much sleep the last few days!

My question is...how can I get her to go back up to 3oz per feed? According to the formula packet she is supposed to be doing 4oz per feed from next week onwards which just seems impossible to me.

I'm not concerned about her healthwise, she's alert and well and has put on weight. I'm just concerned about my own sanity with the feeds being so close together, and I also feel uncomfortable about trying to almost force her to drink more and making her feel ill etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, or if anyone knows how long it might take her little tummy to stretch naturally so I can have an end point in sight would be great!!

 

[dragonhawk]

Hi,
Firstly, congratulations on the birth of your daughter.

The amounts of formula that they state on the cartons, are guidelines, and to be honest you cannot overfeed a baby, when they've had enough, they'll either vomit it back up or stop drinking altogether.

My son rarely drank the amount of milk (in one go) that they state on the cartons. However in terms of making it easier for yourself in coping with the 2 hourly feeds, I would suggest making up a flask of water that is the correct temperature for your daughter to drink, and keeping that available all the time. I would suggest that during the night, make up the 3 oz in case she suddenly takes it, but don't be disappointed when she doesn't take it all.

Ds is nearly one and some days he'll only eat and drink a little, and then some days he'll eat a LOT.

GOod luck and try not to be disheartened. It's hard, but soon you'll get into a pattern that you can cope with.

 

[Twinkie210]

Like the PP said you can not overfeed her. Is she burping well? My son sucks in a lot of air when eating and if he doesn't burp well he doesn't always eat as much.

 

[Twinkie210]

Oh and at 2 months old he will vary how much he eats. Sometimes he just wants a snack of 2oz and other times he will eat all 7 oz I offer him and seem like he would have ate more! So it isn't that unusual for her to vary the amount she eats. I would keep offering her the bottle to see if she will drink just a little more

 

[essie0828]

Oh dear, I feel for you hun. My daughter did that 2oz every 2hrs crap for almost 3 months! That on top of 4 weeks of colic was tough but you can make it through. DD is over 9 months and still barely takes more than 4oz at a time and nibbles her solids, which means im still pretty much feeding her all the time. She isa long slim little girl and we joke that she is our humming bird.....sounds like you have a humming bird baby to Just keep feeding her when she wants it, she will stop when she's full. Burp her a cpl times while she eats, sometimes that would make my lo take more and sometimes she would stop at 1oz and fall asleep. Its tough.

 

[essie0828]

Btw it was extremely hard to keep my sanity when lo was on such a demanding schedule. That amount/kind of sleep deprivation will almost kill you it seems. Be sure to get help now and then. Have someone take lo for a couple feeds so you can at least get a 4hr block of sleep, then cat nap when she sleeps. Co sleeping helps, just do it safely. This is a very exhausting time but it will pass and then things start getting really fun you get to see your little squishy become alert and aware, play games like peek a boo, see that first real "hey mom" grin. Its amazing!

 

[socitycourty]

My Lo did this, we had to start FF at 8 weeks old and she would still only take 2-3 oz at a time and then feed every 2 hours or even less sometimes. the doctor told me to just feed on demand just like BF, they're too little for feeding routine at that time.

it is a pain, and a lot of formula gets wasted, but eventually she'll get a better routine

 

[Indigo77]

Feed her on demand. Don't force her. If it's every 2 hours, then it's every 2 hours.

Some babies are just frequent feeders.