Is she eating too much?

[loveandterror]

hey ladies, our lo turns 5 weeks on tuesday and we formula feed her.
now according to the box it says to give her 120ml (about 4 oz), 5 times a day.
but she wants to feed every 3 hours, more or less, making it to 7-8 bottles within 24 hours.

is she eating too much?
and what should i do, if it really only needs to be 5 bottles?
she wants to be fed and will cry if she doesn't get her bottle.

any advice is appreciated

 

[mel28nicole]

LO was upped to 5oz by 4 weeks old (about 3-4 hours as well). I was scared she was eating too much but her doctor said it was fine as long as she's takijg it. She also started sleeping through the night at 3 weeks so she was going 8-10 hours without eating. She's 11 weeks now and she's just now starting to take 6oz

 

[loveandterror]

LO was upped to 5oz by 4 weeks old (about 3-4 hours as well). I was scared she was eating too much but her doctor said it was fine as long as she's takijg it. She also started sleeping through the night at 3 weeks so she was going 8-10 hours without eating. She's 11 weeks now and she's just now starting to take 6oz

wow, she was sleeping through at 3 weeks? no wonder that yours wanted 5oz then, no? (maybe she compensated for not eating 8-10hours at night)

our lo sleeps about 2-3 hours and then she wants a feed...

 

[staralfur]

Sounds perfectly normal. Just feed her on demand.

 

[GemM83]

My HV said if she wants it, give it to her as she obviously needs it.

My OH was bordering obsessive about making sure she only got what it said on the tin, and she practically had a go at him saying how would you feel if you were hungry and someone made you wait an extra hour.........she had a point!!!!

 

[noon_child]

As far as I know, the official guidance is to feed on demand whether you are formula feeding or breastfeeding. I think your baby knows how much she wants better than a formula packet does! I have no experience of exclusive formula feeding but I know that at that age it would not be unusual for a breastfed baby to eat 7 - 10 times a day.

Is there a reason you don't want to feed her every 3hours, or is it just that you are worried she shouldn't be feeding that often? It sounds fine to me. Little and often ensures she won't overeat by accident. If she drains the bottle and then seems upset and unsettled afterwards I'd consider upping the bottle size but I wouldn't do that just in an effort to get the "magic" 4hr gap. Every child is different, and the formula box doesn't know what your child needs like you do.

 

[Wannabe Mommy]

My LO never goes more than 2.5 hours without feeding during the day and has never matched the guides on the box.

She has followed the same percentile line at every weigh in and HV has said her weight is perfect.

The guidelines are just an average there have to be babies on either side of that. I say feed when baby wants it and ignore the box.

 

[loveandterror]

As far as I know, the official guidance is to feed on demand whether you are formula feeding or breastfeeding. I think your baby knows how much she wants better than a formula packet does! I have no experience of exclusive formula feeding but I know that at that age it would not be unusual for a breastfed baby to eat 7 - 10 times a day.

Is there a reason you don't want to feed her every 3hours, or is it just that you are worried she shouldn't be feeding that often? It sounds fine to me. Little and often ensures she won't overeat by accident. If she drains the bottle and then seems upset and unsettled afterwards I'd consider upping the bottle size but I wouldn't do that just in an effort to get the "magic" 4hr gap. Every child is different, and the formula box doesn't know what your child needs like you do.

no, i was only worried about her overeating. im happy to feed her whenever she likes

 

[RileysMummy]

Feed her when she wants it. My dd was on about that, now 7 weeks old she has 5oz every 3/4 hours x

 

[Countrygirl13]

Our LO is nearly 9 weeks old. She is having 5 7 oz bottles a day and sometimes sucking fists and grumpy after feeds because she could take more. I'm worried i will need to wean her sooner than the recommended 6 months on the basis that the she will be drinking a 9 oz bottle dry way before 6 months.
I worry a lot too about overfeeding. Want to go with my instincts and feed when she wants it as it is really tough to watch her cry and cry because she is hungry but has 'used up' her milk allowance for the day!

 

[claudinator]

I had to go into hospital at 5weeks so my DS was left with DH and my sisters he was EBF up untill then, he drank 7 6oz bottles and when I came out he was still being BF 4times a day with 6 6oz bottles. He's not a particularly big child. I'm petite so he always looked big next to me. He's on 5 7oz bottles and 3meals and a snack a day. Again he's not a big child but he's VERY lively!
Keep that little belly full!!!

 

[mel28nicole]

LO was upped to 5oz by 4 weeks old (about 3-4 hours as well). I was scared she was eating too much but her doctor said it was fine as long as she's takijg it. She also started sleeping through the night at 3 weeks so she was going 8-10 hours without eating. She's 11 weeks now and she's just now starting to take 6oz

wow, she was sleeping through at 3 weeks? no wonder that yours wanted 5oz then, no? (maybe she compensated for not eating 8-10hours at night)

our lo sleeps about 2-3 hours and then she wants a feed...

Yeah she would sleep at least 4 before waking up for a feed when she was born. Around 3 weeks she stopped waking in the night and slept on through. Her doctor told me if she's sleeping, she's content. And her weight is right in line with the percentile. When I first brought her home I would wake her during the night to feed, but I stopped after2 weeks because she just woke herself up. Since she's been sleeping through she's only woken up twice in the night. I formula feed and feed on demand as well. Sometimes she wants a bottle after 2 hours but it's usually 3-4 hours. The formula I use doesn't have guidelines for feeding but in paperwork I receive from the doctor, typically a 2 month old eats 20-35 oz a day. My LO eats about 25-30

 

[RosieRosieP]

Our LO averages 7-8 5oz bottles over 24 hours I just feed on demand sometimes she will cluster feed (every two hours) and sometimes last that for a few hours longer.

My HV has said it isn't a problem as long as she isn't sick.