Too many ounces???

[baby09]

Hello. My little girl has been on 4ounces since just before 2 weeks old every 3-4 hours and 5ounces at the 10pm/11pm feed. It is more than she's supposed to have in a 24hr period apparently but hv said if she is draining each bottle then carry on as she must need it. But at her 6pm/7pm feed last night and tonight she has been routing for more and still hungry! She had 4ounces last night followed by another 2! Tonight she had 4ounces followed by another 3!! Is 7ounces too much for a 3 week old? This was at 6pm, the extra 3ounces at about 7pm then to bed about 7.30pm. She is stirring slightly now and is due the 5ounces. Does this seem a bit extreme? Should i try cooled boiled water in future? I don't want to deprive her but i also don't want to overfeed her x

 

[Scally]

U cannot overfeed, she will spit it back up if she has too much. She could be having a growth spurt. My LO had way more than what she was supposed to have for about 2 months, but then levelled out.

 

[alice&bump]

like scally said, you cant overfeed! my mum's always on at me saying i'm overfeeding, but if they need it then they need it! not every baby follows the "rules", they're all different! ella's on 5oz every 3 hours at 4 weeks and has been since about 2.5 weeks!

 

[sweetlullaby]

matthew is two weeks today and first few days drunk 3oz then straight up to 5oz-6oz every 3-4 hours! and in the evenings would drink 5oz then another oz an hour or so later then again an hour os so later! he's a greedy baby lol but for his weight its good amounts of milk and midwife and HV arnt worried though was told in evenings if drinking 5oz and loking for more an hour later then give boiled water instead coz gives his tummy time to digest the milk he had an hour before and topping him up type thing can make him worse coz his wee tummy is uncomfortable and full of milk. though agree cant overfeed they'll just throw it up lol hope you get something worked out! xx

 

[Vici]

My hv said u can't over feed and advised me to add an Oz to her bottles when she starts to drain them. She has 240ml bottles now and at some feeds I still have to add 60ml x

 

[Mynx]

Evie's the same, she has roughly 5 oz every 3 hours (give or take half an hour) Sometimes she'll drain the bottle, most of the time she doesnt. We give her a 6 oz feed at about midnight but she doesnt always drink all this, most of the time she'll drink just 5 oz out of it. I worried at first that she was eating too much but was told that there's no way that she'll overeat at this age, whatever she doesnt need, she'll spit back up which she has done occasionally.
When it comes to babies, there is no average as such, each one is individual, along with their appetites. Some are just hungrier than others

 

[baby09]

Thank you ladies! She has started to feed every 2hours now so think i may up her feed to 5oz and see how that goes I'll have to buy bigger bottles i have the tt ones which only go to 5oz! lol x

 

[Vicks]

We had to get bigger bottles for Joe at around 4 weeks too!! He's always taken more than the recommended amount on the cow & gate box, but as the other girls have said, they will only take what they need and spit up anything extra x

 

[Buffy71]

Such a relief to read this thread. My hungry little munchkin is also on 4 oz every 3 hours and sometimes wants another oz or 2. Mw said just feed her whatever she wants, but you still wonder don't you, good to see it's another case of averages not necessarily being the average!

X

 

[dom85]

My HV said that the guidelines for age on the formula box are pretty inaccurate, it's more accurate if you go by their weight.

They have loads of growth spurts in the first 3 months as well. Brady went from about 3oz straight up to 5oz at 2 weeks old which I thought was excessive, but then he's stayed on 5oz ever since and is only now wanting more (another big jump though to 7/8oz!). He's been gaining weight exactly on the 75th centile line which means he's not overfeeding, the HV would say something I think if they were putting on too much weight too quickly.

 

[baby09]

Well she's on 5oz at every feed now every 3.5 hours during the day and 4-5-6 hours during the night so it's all good She's happy so i think it definitely depends on the individual child and their weight as apposed to their age. I was getting too caught up in what all the books say and would worry if she didn't 'fit' with what the book was saying. I have learnt to go with the flow and everything seems pretty easygoing at the mo And my little girl is perfect Thanks for the advice ladies x