Author Topic: Switching from 3 hourly to 4 hourly...  (Read 1121 times)

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Offline SarahSausage

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Switching from 3 hourly to 4 hourly...
« on: August 12, 2011, 17:06:43 pm »
I am about to attempt to switch me LO from 3 hourly feeding to 4 hourly gradually however I'm a bit confused. Will I need to increase the amount of oz she gets per feed then as she will then be having one bottle less per day & should take the same amount and if this is the case when do I increase the oz. So far I have only adjusted her second feed of the day by 15 mins i.e. Day 4 in Tracy's book. Thanks for any advice. Oh and she is a really hungry baby taking 6 bottles of 6oz each day, is 13 weeks and weighed 8 lb 2 when born. She barely makes it to feeding every 3 hours and begins to cry on the button usually. I did try giving her 7 oz once but she was very sick with this. She also has silent reflux.

Offline Lolly

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Re: Switching from 3 hourly to 4 hourly...
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2011, 17:59:27 pm »
The idea is yes, you give bigger bottles so they eat more at each feed to keep the same volume overall!

That said, with a refluxer it can be a bit harder. How is her reflux being treated? Smaller feeds more often are better for refluxers because of what you have found - more in their tummy means more to come back up (been there, done that twice ::))! Smaller more frequent feeds often work better.

Is she draining those 6oz bottles? If she is you should really add another oz in anyway so as she is a bit bigger now and should have a bit more tummy capacity you could try bigger bottles again and she may cope better now. The fact she just about makes it to 3 hours shows she could do with a bit more at each feed now, or it could be the reflux isn't controlled and she is lloking for food to soothe her throat.

Laura


Offline SarahSausage

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Re: Switching from 3 hourly to 4 hourly...
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2011, 18:29:48 pm »
She's on Enfamil AR formula. She drains her bottles, always has done but would even if offered more! Maybe due to the reflux I'm not sure. When should I increase the amount in her bottles then? And should it be all at once?

Offline Lolly

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Re: Switching from 3 hourly to 4 hourly...
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2011, 18:32:40 pm »
Increase them all by 1oz for now and see how she does, you may be able to add another oz if she is taking it and keeping it down! My two were both on Enfamil AR and ranitidine too. Be aware too that 4 months is a peak time for a reflux flare up - just something to keep in mind.

With bottle fed babies there *should* be enough in the bottle so they stop because they are full and not just because the bottle is empty, there should be a bit left at the end of a feed. That's they theory anyway!

Laura


Offline SarahSausage

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Re: Switching from 3 hourly to 4 hourly...
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2011, 20:45:01 pm »
Cool. Thanks for the advice. I'll increase the bottles tomorrow.