5mo Baby eating "too much" but still hungry?

[Austin's mom]

Just got off the phone with the Pead...  my 5mo DS is eating 33-35 oz of alimentum formula a day... plus 4 TBS cereal and about 4 TBS fuits/veggies as well. And STILL waking up starved to death at 4/5am for a full 6oz feeding. He is taking full 5-6oz dream feeds at 11:00, and taking 7-8 oz a bottle the other feeds a day. He is on a 4 hour EASY, so normally taking 5 bottles a day, but this waking at 4/5am adds atleast another half bottle at the end of the day.

The nurse echoed what i've heard, that they are supposed to top out at 32oz. But that really doesn't make sense, since i've always been told to give 2-2.5oz of milk per pound... which would bring a 16lb baby up to 32-40 oz.

So how do I "limit" my child on milk? Since he is rather young to be fully on solids. I can't have him starving. When he doesn't eat this much formula, (or I don't give solids) he wakes every 2-3 hours at night hungry (Normally STTN). (I always try to resettle with a pacy first). And if he eats more than once at night, it messes up the rest of the day feedings till about 4pm.

I just think at this age, and with this amount of food in his little belly, he should be able to make it more than 5-6 hours between a feed. He was doing 8-10 hours at 6-12 weeks.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[ethan's mommy]

I asked my doc the same thing b/c I had breastfed my first so was confused about how much formula to give. My son isn't on solids yet (he's almost 5 months old) so he's just getting formula. He gets 41oz of formula per day and sleeps 12 hours at night. 5x7 oz bottles and 1x6oz bottle (dream feed at 10:30pm). I told the doc I was confused b/c as his weight goes up, I've been increasing his formula, which then causes his weight to go up again and it becomes this crazy cycle! He said that's what I'm supposed to do until he's on solids and I can cut back on the formula. We'll be working our way to the 4-hour schedule next so I'll switch to 5x8oz bottles so he still gets 40oz/day. We'll see how the 8oz bottle goes at the dream feed though. Seems like a lot to take in while sleeping but he drains the 6oz so maybe it'll be fine?!?

[deb]

If your baby is hungry, then he's hungry. You can't "cut off" a 5MO baby!

Just curious, what are his length and weight like percentile-wise? How about his build? Some babies are stockier than others, of course babies come in different sizes - those charts really shouldn't be taken as a one-size-fits all, just a guideline. If you had an otherwise slender baby, or a tiny one who was overweight, that would be one thing, but if he's longer or has a stocky build, his current intake doesn't seem unreasonable.

[Austin's mom]

He was breast fed the first 8 weeks and the suplemented till 3 months, then formula. So that might make a difference too. And honestly, im not super concerned about him being too big yet. from 3-4 months he only gained a few ounces, probably due to his MSPI and reflux. But now that those things are undercontrol, he finally is. I haven't weighed him in a month, but last time he was 14.14. And Now, he is in size 3 diapers, which start at 16lbs. So I would guess he is right at 16. He very long, 26 inches, (gained 6 inches since birth, was 20in and 7.5lb)  He isn't a super stocky build, his dad and I are tall and not very big boned. He looks a little chubby, like a healthy baby should, to me, but not "fat" I think he was 50 percentile on weight last time, and 83 for height.

Another thing too, is he is SUPER active. He is constantly rolling around, kicking, jumping (he would jump in the jumparoo all day if I let him!) and moving around. The only moment in a day he isn't wiggling everywhere, is when he is asleep. Which I love, but certainly wears me out!

I do think it is hard to fit a child into a mold!

[deb]

Eh. If he's long and active, I honestly wouldn't sweat it, at least for the time being. :-) That's JMO as a non-medical-professional, of course, but there ya go.

[Lolly]

I agree with Deb! If your baby is hungry then you need to feed him. If he is keeping his feeds down then he is able to handle the volume, as he gets older and he is more established on solids he will gradually take less milk. After 6 months they need a minimum of 20oz to get the nutrients they need so you will be able to increase his solids and not worry so much about milk intake if he is still wanting 40oz+.

He doesn't sound like he is too big - I think my DD was heavier at 5 months!

Laura