Ok, so it's very obvious that my little girl IS going through a growth spurt - as opposed to all those other times I ask myself that question (she would be 6 feet long by now if it always were
). She downed a 5 oz bottle yesterday between "scheduled" feedings, and during one of her several wake-ups last night she nursed completely on both sides, which she NEVER does. So is it ok for us to be feeding her whenever she seems hungry right now and pretty much ignoring the 3-3.5 hours between feedings routine? It doesn't seem to be leading to snacking at the moment...
Since we switched to the medium flow nipple she seems to be taking feedings very well, but she pretty much has to be in a darkened room (and pretty dark, not just dim) and swaddled, in her room, otherwise she just gets too distracted and ends up playing with the nipple after taking only 2-3 oz. No matter how hungry she is. We can't even feed her first thing in the morning (bottle or breast) when she must be pretty hungry under any conditions because she is just too interested in other stuff at that time. Is this just a phase that will pass? We're really hoping that she'll be able to take a bottle in other conditions (like with the lights on), places (like when we're out and about), and be willing to eat when she's hungry. I know this is common for this age, and she's not my first so you'd think I'd remember, but do they eventually settle down and eat when it's time to eat? If so, when does that tend to happen?
