Author Topic: 3 month old, barely eating but gaining weight (Read 6172 times)

MommyMoulton · « **on:** January 04, 2013, 02:13:04 am »

I am just looking for some ballpark people FF their little ones. I am FF my DD and she is barely eating, mostly 3 or 4 oz per bottle. and only 4 or 5 bottles a day. I dont think this is enough, but she is gaining weight, sleeping well, and generally happy all day long. I know that I shouldnt stress but it is stressing me out, and now I no longer enjoy feeding her at all.

I recall my DS at this age was drinking nearly 7 or 8 oz 4 times a day, thats a HUGE difference. Please help me understand what other FF babies are eating right now.

*Kara* · « **Reply #1 on:** January 04, 2013, 20:32:11 pm »

Hi Melissa

Just dug out my records from when DD was Roni's age... average was 5 ozs every 3-3.5 hrs. Total for 24 hrs was about 26-28ozs. She had 5 bottles during the day and one overnight.

Does Roni still wake for a NF or are you doing a DF?

MommyMoulton · « **Reply #2 on:** January 04, 2013, 20:41:26 pm »

Kara- no DF or NF. She typically is on a 3 or 3.5 hour EASY with 4 sometimes 5 daytime bottles

She has developed a cough and runny nose over the last 24 hours so maybe its just illness

*Kara* · « **Reply #3 on:** January 04, 2013, 20:54:20 pm »

Ugh.. baby colds are the worst ever

That could well be the issue though... Put some Vicks on her feet at night

Could you maybe try a DF with her just to get some more into her?

MommyMoulton · « **Reply #4 on:** January 05, 2013, 02:50:00 am »

I tried a DF and she just coughed and spit out the bottle. Then screamed for 45min before I was finally able to get her to calm down. Then a few bum pats and she was back to sleep. Hopefully she sleeps the rest of the night.

*Kara* · « **Reply #5 on:** January 05, 2013, 04:02:06 am »

Sounds like my experience with a DF

Fingers crossed she has a good night now that mommy isn't going to bug her

MommyMoulton · « **Reply #6 on:** January 06, 2013, 00:55:21 am »

Ok after a possible dehydration scare that was a false alarm, Dr says " Shes just not hungry". So likely the lack of eating is from lack of hunger. the slight cough and runny nose she has just seems to be coinsiding with lack of hunger.

So today she ate roughly 1.5-2 oz every 2 hours. So I think now the problem is that we have a 'snacker' on our hands. Hence why my next question does she now sound ready for the 3.5-4hour transition. Her A time is roughly 1.75 hours, and she can nap for 1.5-2hours. When not coughing of course.

Thoughts?

*Kara* · « **Reply #7 on:** January 06, 2013, 05:05:04 am »

She is a bit young for the 4 hr routine, but maybe a 3.5 hr would work for her?

No way to know unless you give it a try!

lilisuze · « **Reply #8 on:** January 06, 2013, 07:47:24 am »

it's only been a few days since you were on a 3 to 4 oz bottles right? it's normal if babies are feeling poorly to drop right off their food. and fwiw, my DS never had more than 6 oz in a bottle in his whole year of bottle drinking.

if you think she's snacking, you really need to stretch it out slowly abecause if she's been ill, she need energy to build back up. so just stretch by maybe 10 mins after she gives you the hunger signs and see if they're still there after that. does that make sense?

I always try and remind myself how I feel if I have a cold. I feel sad, grumpy, I snack on junk food, a whole meal makes me feel sick! give little v the benefit of the doubt for a few more days

big hugs while you wait for her to feel well

confusedmummy · « **Reply #9 on:** January 06, 2013, 12:20:03 pm »

Hiya, just coming in to say my DD is exactly the same as yours. She is 15wks and barely eats 4oz and that can take almost her entire A time. She is gaining weight (well was since her last weigh about 3wks ago) my concern is that she has been on that amount since about 4wks old and it hasn't increased at all, I haven't even noticed any GS where she eats more, at least not in one sitting.

I think she is a snacker or it gas become habit, the problem we have here is that she is only doing 45min naps so gets fed before she goes down each time in the hope she will sleep longer. The only time I could get her to take closer to 5ml was by changing the teats on her bottle to the next level, but unfortunately as she is on special formula that is very watery I dont think she had much choice but eat more as it poured out, and this caused problems with her reflux.

A way I'll stop waffling. Hope your DD picks up soon so that you can relax. I'll be following to see how it goes and steal any advice. ((hugs)) x

ismaeelsmummy · « **Reply #10 on:** January 07, 2013, 17:53:18 pm »

This sounds just like my LO hes 16 wks on thurs

Everyone said to me that maybe he just has a small appetite but I always make up a 6oz bottle and has 3oz in one go and the rest bit by bit until he goes for a nap..

i think snacker but i also think he needs to stretch out his feeds but i dont know how to do this because i hate him crying.

Not sure how much my LO has gained but i can definately tell he is heavier.

Mummy23boys · « **Reply #11 on:** January 07, 2013, 19:32:44 pm »

Hi ya!

How is V now? My guy was a little like that over Xmas. Xmas day he went about 7 hours without touching a drop! And I tried and tried! He had very little all day. The next few days were the same and he was sniffly and had a cough. But he was fine after a few days and back to guzzling his bottles. Hope V gets better soon and lots of love to you xx

MissChristina · « **Reply #12 on:** January 08, 2013, 15:34:33 pm »

Hi there,

Not sure if this is helpful to you, but I spotted your post and it reminded me of when my son was around that age, so I thought I'd offer my opinion. My baby was also barely eating around that age, but gained weight, was generally happy, and all else was well. It became a struggle to feed him because he would refuse the bottle, and eventually, I started to dread feeding times cuz it always seemed to turn into a fight.

I spoke to his pediatrician about it. Like you, I was also stressing out because I thought he wasn't eating enough, etc. But this is what his doctor said: Babies will never starve themselves. If they're hungry, they will eat. And if they're not eating, they are not hungry. Then, he explained that all the guide books out there on baby care, and all the advice about how many ounces a baby SHOULD take at a feeding, and how many bottles a baby SHOULD take in a day -- well, these are all just guidelines. Some babies may follow the guidelines to a T. Other babies will eat a lot more. And then, some babies, like your's and mine, will eat less. A LOT less. So his pediatrician told me to do this: Cut back on his ounces. Basically, drop it down to the amount that he will ALWAYS finish, and offer that amount to him in every bottle. When the baby is able to finish every single bottle, then slowly increase it (by half ounce, or 1 ounce, is up to you to decide).

We went home and tried this immediately. We dropped every bottle down to 4 ounces. He went through a few bottles, and struggled through the others. A few days later, he polished off every single bottle. So I knew he was ready. I bumped it up to 5 ounces. Again, he went through a few bottles, and struggled with the others. A week or so later, he was able to finish the majority of his bottles... though, was not able to finish all. Eventually, we worked our way to 6 ounce bottles by the time he was 4 or 5 months old.

Overall, it was a slow process to get him to eat his food. But it reduced the stress on me... feeding times were no longer a fight every time... and baby was still growing, strong and healthy. Maybe you should give it a shot. I hope it helps you as it helped us.... :-)

lilisuze · « **Reply #13 on:** January 08, 2013, 17:52:45 pm »

mm -how are you doing?

Me.and.my.two.boys · « **Reply #14 on:** January 08, 2013, 18:06:42 pm »

I'm hoping V's feeing troubles were due to her illness and that she will be back to feeding normally once she is better

hugs xxx

Mama2Athena · « **Reply #15 on:** January 09, 2013, 16:43:13 pm »

I can totally relate. My second child, DD, now 9 months old has always been drinking less formula than the average baby. I BF DD for 6 weeks, but never felt full or engorged like I did with my older child. Due to latch problems, I switched her to formula and noticed that she usually drank about 3 oz per feeding. I started charting her feedings and realized that she usually averaged about 17-20 ounces around 2-4 months old. I fed her as often as 9 times a day thinking she would drink more, but it didn't matter because she would drink no more than 20 ounces a day. I brought this up to her pediatrician several times. The doctor asked if I was preparing the formula correctly (i.e. level scoop vs. rounded scoop) because the amount seemed low, so maybe her bottles were mistakenly more concentrated. At one point she was even in the 75th percentile (she was 6 lbs 6 oz at birth, so not exactly big). Anyway, because she was gaining weight and growing the doctor chalked it up to her having a slow metabolism.

Now at 9 months, her intake hasn't really increased. We just switched to 4 bottles a day. I put 6 ounces in each, but she doesn't always finish. So in a typical day, she gets about 20-24 ounces and 3 solid meals. She goes to daycare full time and is ALWAYS sick. On those days, her intake can be as low as 17 ounces with no solids. I still record her intake at every feeding (yes I'm totally obsessed, but learning to relax a bit more). I started tracking because compared to my older DS, she is taking a lot less. DS was more the norm and usually drank 5-6 oz per feeding around 3 months of age.

*Kara* · « **Reply #16 on:** January 09, 2013, 21:57:11 pm »

Quote from: Mama2Athena on January 09, 2013, 16:43:13 pm

Now at 9 months, her intake hasn't really increased. We just switched to 4 bottles a day. I put 6 ounces in each, but she doesn't always finish.

Most move to 3 bottles around this age

Might be worth a shot for you... Spaces solids and milk out a bit better for them.

Mama2Athena · « **Reply #17 on:** January 09, 2013, 23:57:32 pm »

Thanks Kara. We are VERY behind... she was getting five 5 ounce bottles (every 3 hours) up until 2 weeks ago. With 3 solid meals, she began "snacking" on those 3 hourly bottles. So I switch her to four six ounce bottles (every 4 hours) and she seems to be hungrier for the bottles. I will probably hold steady for a bit then switch to 3 bottles. My son is 5 years older, so a lot has been forgotten! But I do remember by 15 months he was completely off the bottle and having a sippy cup full of milk before bedtime.

Interestingly her daycare thinks I'm starving her by switching to 4 bottles - kept asking if the doctor was okay with less bottles. Babies her age at the daycare are still getting 5+ bottles

*Kara* · « **Reply #18 on:** January 10, 2013, 05:12:37 am »

Oh goodness! She's fine on 4 bottles a day... she only needs about 20 ozs a day at this age

Also, most babies do move to 4 hrly feeds at about 4 months of age.

This is a common routine at this age (with three meals):

Wake and 8 ozs
Breakkie solids an hour or two later
Lunch solids at noon
Bottle 8 ozs about 15 mins before PM nap (~ 2pm)
Dinner solids at 5/530pm
Bottle 8 ozs about 15 mins before BT.

kchacon · « **Reply #19 on:** January 10, 2013, 19:15:51 pm »

I just posted on a similar topic with my 3.5 month old. (Sorry that I didn't see this thread before) She takes about 20-22 ounces per day, typically 3-4 ounces per bottle, sometimes less. She seems happy and healthy, but I feel like her intake is not enough. Though we do have plenty of wet diapers.

*Kara* · « **Reply #20 on:** January 10, 2013, 21:59:41 pm »

Just going to lock this thread everyone... if you have questions regarding your LOs intake, please start a new thread...

The LO in this thread actually turned out to be quite sick with an RSV infection - though she is starting to feel better now.

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Author Topic: 3 month old, barely eating but gaining weight (Read 6172 times)