Author Topic: how to increase snacking to proper feeds?  (Read 1080 times)

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Offline emgerson

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how to increase snacking to proper feeds?
« on: August 19, 2011, 04:03:53 am »
My baby is 12 weeks old and snacks all day, he has small feeds every couple of hours and recently has started doing this at night too! How do I make him take more food at each feed? at the moment he only takes around 100ml (3-4oz) in each feed which I don't think is enough, but he fusses at the bottle after that and won't take any more.
Any ideas?



Offline *Kara*

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Re: how to increase snacking to proper feeds?
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2011, 04:17:55 am »
First off - any medical reason for the small feeds?  Reflux?  Also, there is a BIG GS at 3 months, so that could be at play as well.

He should be on a 3 hr eating schedule now with a dream feed (if you are going that route, not all LO's do well with it, while others take to it like a duck to water) and then STTN (or close to it).

DD was taking 4-5 ozs per feed at 3 months, every 3 hours... sometimes more frequently during the GS.  She has always been on the low end of formula intake...

As for how to push his feeds further apart, you do just that.  Start pushing him 10 mins at a time... the longer time between feeds will increase what he takes at the next feed, causing him to go longer until the next feed.

Also, could you be misreading his hungry cues?  Once they are a few months old, they mouth movements don't always mean hunger like the did in the beginning... have you tried to calm with a dummy?



Offline emgerson

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Re: how to increase snacking to proper feeds?
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2011, 06:27:48 am »
Hi Kara, thanks for your reply.
No medical reason for small feeds, I think he just got into the habit of snacking and now I have to break it.
I'm trying for the 3hr schedule, most of the time he makes it, sometimes he wants his feed earlier and I try and make him last as much as possible by distracting him, dummy etc.
I've just started dream feeds this week and so far it's just made him wake up even more at night (3 times instead of once) but I understand that it takes up to a week to work so I'm still hopefull.
As far as reading signs go, he doesn't give many signs, just cries or maybe I'm not reading it right...I do try and make sure...
I've also been thinking of growth spurt, in fact I'm praying that's what it is and that in a day or two he will do better...



Offline *Kara*

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Re: how to increase snacking to proper feeds?
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2011, 17:07:26 pm »
Crying is the last sign a baby gives when hungry and that could explain why he only takes a small amount actually.  They get so upset about it, that they only eat enough to take the edge off of their hunger (seems counterintuitive hey!?)  Babies are weird creatures sometimes ;)

Be warned: my DD tends to eat like a horse for up to a week with a GS ;)