is EASY safe? Im worried sick

[shannoncorrin]

Hello!
I have been doing EASY since birth.  For the first 2 months, DS was gaining weight beautifully.  I took him for his 4 month visit and he only gained 1lb 1oz in 2 months.  He is 18 WO and only weighs 12lb5oz.  He went from 35% for weight to 6%.  He is so laid back that I never knew he was hungry.  He hardly ever cries.  He usually EBF, but when he was 2 MO I went back to work.  I work 12 hour days, 3 days a week.  I feed him directly when I'm with him, and he gets bottles of BM when I am away.  I was told by lactation department at my hospital that 4 Oz of food was what he should get.  I was filling his bottles with 4.5 Oz.  He would eat them, and be content afterwards, so I never though he was still hungry.  In fact, he started to not seem all that interested in eating after 3 hours, so I recently started feeding him after 3.5 hours. 

My pediatrician told me that his bottles need to be 6oz, and to start adding 2 Oz of formula to his bottles.  She also said to give him a few Oz when I am done feeding him.  He took 4 Oz after one of his feeds!!  She said I did not have to increase the frequency that I fed him. 

My question is, do you think being on a routine made me not realize he was hungry?  We would just go about our day, and he was never fussy, so it never occurred to me.  But then a very mean person said that I made him laid back because of the routine so he stopped asking me for food.  This makes me sick to think about.  I never wanted to do any harm and I feel like I have. 

[zeri]

That is a very mean person! Both mine were on EASY and were absolutely fine. I don't have much advice (mine are too old now and my memory isn't that good!) but I want to reassure you that putting him on a routine did not make him 'stop asking you for food'. Maybe he is like my DS was, enh not really hungry, but if it was there, then sure he'd take it. I am sure one our fine ladies here can help you. You haven't done anything wrong!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

No you certainly havent done anything wrong! I honestly dont have any experience with a baby who doesnt "ask" for food...mine were crazy vocal. Could he possibly need the next level of nipple on the bottle? Also a lot of time a bf baby will take from a bottle after a feed because it flows so easy they tend to take it even if they arent really hungry and it could have an impact on your supply.

[creations]

What a mean person to say that to you

FWIW I am sure if your baby was hungry you would know about it, esp as EASY is a routine where your respond to baby's needs and not leave them to cry.  I am pretty sure if the bottles of bm were not enough during the day he would have let you know through the night and been feeding all night long to meet his needs.

[amayzie]

PPs are right! No routine is enough to have a baby think they're not hungry!! If there is something else going on that makes a baby more fatigued or have less energy or something you may need to ENCOURAGE more feeds- or to do something like not stick to the age recommendations in the book (eg- not going onto a 4 hour EASY at 4 months but sticking on the 3 hour easy etc)-but all things being equal babies are pretty good at letting you know!

[3littlemen]

I think I'd do my block at them if I were you!

My little bloke doesn't cry when he's hungry, though he does suck madly on his hands or tongue... just these last few days I noticed him doing it more, I wasn't sure if he was hungry so I held him next to the ol' girl and sure enough he opened his gob... so I went ahead and fed him - what was the worse thing that could happen??? one snack wasn't going to spoil him...  what I'm trying to say is you know if he's hungry - back yourself.. and if in doubt remember my mum and my paed's advice - babies, especially BF babies, do not let themselves starve HE WILL LET YOU KNOW!

[Jodes112]

My ds was the same he was so laid back that i think, without a routine, i wouldnt have actually known when to feed him as he just was content all the time if that makes sense. He could have gone 5-6hrs without getting cranky so i think feeding every 3 hours routinely is way better for him, dont you?! What a mean person, please take no notice.

[amayzie]

He could have gone 5-6hrs without getting cranky so i think feeding every 3 hours routinely is way better for him, dont you?!

Hamish was a bit the same! Still is!

[Fiver]

My question is, do you think being on a routine made me not realize he was hungry?

My feeling is that you were probably more able to predict when he was hungry before he got to the stage of having to cry for it by being able to read his cues and understand him.  If a LO has got to the stage of crying due to hunger then their early cues have been missed and they're REALLY hungry.

[shannoncorrin]

Thank you very much.  I should mention that is alway smiling and happy and very active.  He is always kicking and batting at things.    I was so worried about supplementing, but I've come to terms with it and actually think it will reduce my stress.  Since going back to work, it is impossible to pump what he needs and I was completely stressing about it ( I stress about everything!).  Adding formula had taken a lot of that stress away.  So now I'm just praying that I can fatten my little guy up!

[eva026]

hmm from what I see on these forums, a lot of BF babies seem to fall on the charts around 4mo. I know mine certainly did, she went from 50th to 15-20th at that time.
I figure that babies learn to regulate their needs at that age and stop feeding when they are full, whereas with a bottle they gulp it down so fast they don't even notice they are full before the bottle is empty so they end up drinking more.
Mine never ever managed more than 4-5oz of EBM in her bottle, even when she was 1yo, so according to your LC I would have been "starving" her too.

[goldmom]

DS was taking 2 bottles of EBM during the day and I was giving him 7 oz (or so) in each, and he downed them, but he was a very active LO, and hasn't got past the 25 percentile for height and weight (only 1 feed overnight starting at only a few weeks old). He was also the type of baby who would eat anything (and everything) put on his tray once he was eating solids.

DD (on the same routine) doesn't drink nearly as much (never more than 4 oz, usually less - but was taking 2 feeds overnight for many months longer than DS), is also very active and also has never been more than the 25 percentile either.

If your LO seems happy with what you've been giving him, it's likely enough. Like PP mentioned, if he's really starving he'd be waking you throughout the night.

[*Ali*]

Sounds like he is doing just fine. Is he producing plenty of wet and dirty nappies? That is a better indicator if whether he is going hungry than m taking a bottle after a BF.

Hugs.

[creations]

My feeling is that you were probably more able to predict when he was hungry before he got to the stage of having to cry for it by being able to read his cues and understand him.  If a LO has got to the stage of crying due to hunger then their early cues have been missed and they're REALLY hungry.

Oh yes this. I didn't hear my baby's hunger cry until he was 10 months old and recovering from an illness and hospital stay, he needed night feeds for his recovery and that was when I discovered his hunger cry. He'd been on a EASY routine since 4/5 wks so had no need to cry, he'd fuss as his feed time approached but not cry.