DF..Give More Ounces then Normal Feeds? HELP

[ChicStylishMom]

My l/o will be 1 mnth old this Tues. hes 7 lbs 7 oz according to last Monday weight check he was born at 6.15 oz on 10/11. We have been trying to follow the 3 hr easy routine but had some trouble. Some nights he sleeps through from DF(10pm) until 2 am then Ill feed him and he'll sleep until 6-630am I was only giving him 2 oz and he would finish it. I increased it to 2.5 oz yesterday all day and night but he still woke after the 10:15 DF at 130am crying so I fed him...could it be Im not giving him enough? Should I increase it to 3 oz? Ive also been having some gas issues so Im giving him colic calm. My last q is Im also doing a 6 and 8 pm cluster feed...should any of those be more then 3 oz to get him really full or should the 10 pm DF be more then the rest? Last night he was so sleepy he didnt finish the 2.5 oz DF he only took 1.5 oz which is probably why he woke at 130 hungry! HELP

[Lolly]

Is he draining his bottles? If he is you need to put more in them. With a bottle feed there should be a bit left in the bottle at the end of a feed so that you know they have stopped becuase they were full and not just because the bottle was empty. With cluster feeds, offer a full feed and let him take what he needs.

By a month a 4oz feed in quite a normal size feed, some babies wil take a touch less some a bit more.

HTH!

Laura

[ChicStylishMom]

Thanks Lolly Ill do that for the 6 & 8 cluster feed...what about the DF offer the same amount and let him take what he wants??

[Lolly]

Yes, offer a full feed at each feed you give him.

Laura

[ChicStylishMom]

lolly Ive noticed teh last 2-3 mights he only takles 2 oz of the DF instead if his normal 3 oz that he gets all day. He takes his 3 oz cluster with no problem at 6 and 8. He woke at 230 last night and was sleeping after his 1015 DF any suggestions?

[Lolly]

Sorry - not sure what you want suggestions for? Is it to get him to drink a bit more at the DF? You could try feeding him about 30 mins later so you catch him in a different part of his sleep cycle and it would be closer to 3 hours after his last feed. Going 4 hours to his next feed is good - did he take a full feed at 2.30?

Laura

[ChicStylishMom]

Yes He took his full feed at 230...(3oz)then slept until 645am but it took awhile last night to do the DF because he was so sleepy then he didnt even drink the full feed...well I wasent sure if I should cut out the cluster so he takes more at DF?..maybe do a 4 pm feeding, then 7 pm(normally i would feed him at 6 cluster) then do the 10 DF?

[ChicStylishMom]

My little guy took 3.5 oz at his 7am feed should I feed him that amount all day and reduce it to 3 oz at 6&8 cluster feed so he takes more at the 10 df? Not sure what route to take. What do you think?

[Lolly]

If he is taking 3.5oz then you should be offering 4oz bottles for all of his feeds, at this age it's not a good idea to reduce some feeds to increase others as it doesn't really work that way. They will take what they need at every feed and even if he taes 3.5 oz at most feeds you may get some feeds where he takes silghtly less and some where he takes slightly more which is why you should offer a bit more than his average feed size.

I would offer a full feed at 6 and 8 and do the DF a bit closer to 11pm.

Laura

[ChicStylishMom]

Thanks so much Lolly I'll try that! This is my first baby sorry so many q I appreciate all your help!

[Lolly]

Hope you get a good night!

Laura

[ChicStylishMom]

Morning Lolly I talked my hubby about what we've been discussing and he wanted to try only giving 2 oz even though he normally eats 3 to 3.5oz for the 6 & 8 cluster feed so that little one will take the DF. We cannot move the DF any later then 10 because he does that last feed to give me a break and he has to be up at 330am for work. Heres how our day went yesterday gave him all feedings at 3.5 oz he had activity & napped great in between feeds. The 6 cluster hubby gave him 2 oz...the 8 cluster 2 oz..then we had company over so baby was up for a little then at 10 in his sleep he offered 3.5 oz but he only took 1.5 oz(we wasted 2 oz of formula ARG LOL) normally he was really sleepy days prior and would barely take any but hubby said in his sleep he started drinking within 4 mins but again only took 1.5 oz...which took hubby from 10-1045 before he was back settled in his crib. Little one awoke at 3am(had a poopy diaper who knows if he would have slept longer despite the poo??) After change I fed him 3 oz he took it all and fell asleep...2 hrs later at 5 am he woke fussy I laid him in my bed(eeks) and he was farting away i didnt feed him I think he was just gassy we both fell back asleep until 7 am and I gave him 3.5 oz which he left .5 oz- put him in for his nap-which he only slept 1/2 hr. His 10 am feeding he was still crying after he finished 3.5 oz so I gave him another 1/2 ounce and he was good after that and pretty much had only 15 min A time before falling asleep(I guess because his 1st am nap wasent so great). My q is should we stick with cluster feeding or try to focus on the DF? We are on a 7 wake up schedule so how would the late afternoon/evening feeds work without clustering if we decide to try that..when would I do bathtime/PJ time I do like our 6&8 cluster schedule...but have read if you cant do DF because the hes not that hungry because of cluster feeds then offer less at cluster or cut it out and do evening feed then DF...sorry theres so many different ways to go about it so its a matter of finding one that works. He did spit up a little in his crib after the DF but i guess thats normal when you lay them down right away?? Seems like it was just the extra hanging around in his mouth-no amt that was significant(hes never spit up before-just ever since Ive increased his amt in feeding) Your help is greatly appreciated! Again hes 1 mnth old tomorrow and was 7.7 oz on Oct 31-not sure what he weights now but he has his Dr appt this Thur.