Worried my LO isn't eating enough

[missy1]

My little girl is 11 weeks old and weighs around 11 pounds. She has been gaining weight fine according to the health visitor but the past few days she seems to have lost a bit of interest in her bottle. She has practically been sleping through the night for about a week and although she wakes up a couple of times, she goes right back to sleep if I shush and pat her.

Up until a few days ago I would give her one feed in the night when she woke up but then she didn't want her feed at 7am so I decided to see if we could get through the night without the middle of the night feed but she still doesn't seem to want her feed in the morning. Today for example she only took 2 oz and this was about an hour after getting up. Then at 11am she had 5 oz. At 3pm I offered her 5 oz but she kept crying and refusing the bottle. About 4pm I managed to give her 1 oz. She goes to bed at 7pm so I split a 5 oz feed and gave her 2 oz at 5pm and 3oz at 7pm. Later tonight at 11pm she will get 6oz (she usually doesnt have a problem taking this feed)

So my concern is that if you count this up it equals 19oz over a 24 hour period. According to guidelines they should be taking 2 and a half times their weight in formula. ie she weighs 11 pounds so should be taking 27/28 oz of formula. She seems happy and well and is a content baby but I'm worried she is not eating enough. Any thoughts? xx

 

[choc]

Can't really help I'm afraid, but just wanted to say that my son just went through a phase like this, but is back to normal now. I don't know if I did the right thing but I kept to our feeding routine, I didn't try and give a few ounces here and a few there as I felt it was then a vicious circle. So I kept to every 4 hours roughly unless he asked for it before and whatever he ate then is all he had til about 4 hours later. He soon went back to normal! Not sure why.

 

[missy1]

Thanks. Yeah it is a vicious circle and I really want to stick to the routine. I think I'll try that tomorrow, stick to the 4 hour routine and see how it goes. Thanks again

 

[OmarsMum]

Hi hun. Omar was 12 lbs at 8 weeks. At 11 weeks he was taking four bottles 4-5 oz each (16-20 oz) & was sleeping through for 12 hrs without feeds in between. The maximum he went for was 24 oz at 4 months. It never affected his weight gain. He was also suffering from reflux & used to throw up so he wasnt really getting the whole 20 ozs.

He's still a big baby & his weight is 25 lbs. He's never been a big eater or drinker. As long as your LO is happy & her weight gain is steady there is nothing to worry about.

 

[choc]

You're welcome, good luck xx

 

[missy1]

Nmwb78 thanks for that. That really does make me feel better. I think maybe we shouldn't pay so much attention to these guidelines. Every baby is different and as you say as long as baby is happy and gaining weight. Think I should just relax and give her what she wants. She is quite a small baby anyway. Thank you x

 

[LotusFlwr]

I want to add that my LO rarely takes over 20 oz in a 24 hr period. Weight gain is good. He's just not a big eater. Don't worry too much. As long as they are gaining and seem happy/content they are fine. Just don't force the milk - could create bottle aversion and stress.

 

[AlwaysPraying]

It's really hard to figure out! I'm told time and time again to make sure baby has enough wet diapers and regular poop diapers to tell if he's getting enough. That's the easiest way to tell. And the guideline is 2 - 2.5 oz per pound. So technically your bottom is 22 oz per day and 19 oz is damn near close to that. For most of our feedings since birth my boy takes just under that 2 times his weight rule. He's gaining normally as well.

He's had days where he's taken 10 oz less than usual but generally makes it up the next day or at least the next day is a bit more. I'm sure this will be your case as well.

 

[missy1]

Thanks everyone for all your replies. Great advice. I'll just give her what she wants. No more stressing lol x x