Author Topic: how much is enough??  (Read 1652 times)

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Offline busymomof2

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how much is enough??
« on: March 20, 2006, 02:01:23 am »
dd is 5 months old..was 8lbs 8 oz at birth and weighs in at 17 lbs at the moment..
she does not really have much of an interest in eating and it is a real mystery as to how she gains weight??
she does have a terrible constipation problem which ped is looking into further with thyroid check, she has had xrays done which show she is full of stools..when she tries to go, she literally goes purple from pushing and screams in agony only to push out a tiny little bit, if that...
she has had cereal for about 4 weeks now but not really that into it...she has been formula fed since day one (parent's choice formula) but has only begun the constipation since about 4 months..
i feed her around 4 times a day and she takes about 5-6 oz which only makes her daily intake about 24 oz which is well below the recommended amount..she goes to bed about 730 and sometimes just falls asleep w/o eating so i will dreamfeed her about 9pm to make sure she gets something..she does wake through the night but i have tried feeding her and she is dis-interested..i think it's more of a soother issues..
so her last feed is anywhere from 730-930 pm, she wakes at 6am and is not interested in food at all until about 8am??

could it just be a small appetite?? i'm confused as she is not a "small " baby and is in the 97th percentile with weight?.
perhaps a thyroid problem?? i hope not .

Offline gabriels mum

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2006, 10:41:38 am »
Hi

Wow, our little ones sound similar (although yours is a better eater!).  My DS is 5.5 months old, and is also not interested in feeding!  It is a real struggle to get feeds into him.  He also never wakes in the night for feeds, and putting him onto a 4 hour schedule does not seem to have made any difference to his hunger.  This morning was particularly bad, he took 2 ounces for breakfast (best feed we get at the this time is 4.5 ounces!)

I know how terribly stressful it is, as you feel as if your are force-feeding them!

Sorry, I don't have any answers to this, but I think as long as they have around a pint a day, and are growing, then this is fine!  The only other thing to possibly try is to drop a bottle. (I've not done this yet, but please refer to "very difficult feeder, or just small appetite" on page 2)

As for the constipation, will your LO take any water?

Good Luck with it - let me know if you find any miraculous tactics, as I'd love to try!!

Gabriels mum
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Offline EASYconfusedMom

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2006, 20:35:21 pm »
Hi there,

Just a thought... I know that my dr. told me when a bay is constipated, their appetite goes down.  Thier bodies feel full because they are "backed-up" and I guess it could be a response to not having room for any more waste.  My LO gets badly constipated when she eats bananas, and I have noticed that she doesn't eat as much until she has cleared herself out.  They she eats quite a bit to make up for it.  Hopefully if your dr. can clear up the constipation, then the appetite might improve also.

Until then, it may just be a case of light eater.  My LO is BF, so I never really knew exactly how much she was drinking, but now that she is on solids, she only eats 2oz a meal, maybe 3oz at dinner (apparently the norm is ~4-6 oz).  She is doing fine, gaining weight still and happy, so we are just assuming she has a smaller than average tummy.

Hope that helps,
Jennifer & Ashleigh

Offline busymomof2

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2006, 22:45:29 pm »
thanks to both of you for your responses..funny enough..today i fed her at 630 shortly after she woke up then waited 5 hours for each feeding and she took 7 oz at 1830, 9 oz at 1130 and 9 oz at 430!!!!!!  i gave a little cereal at lunch and i think i'll lay of cereal at dinner now and see how much she will take at 730 bottle...
as for the constipation...she does take water, very minimally, but we see ped again friday for bloodwork results with regards to the thyroid...
we'll see if i can take the same path tomorrow..guess it could just be waiting until she gets hungry which is 5 hours for her??

Offline *Natasha*

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2006, 23:20:06 pm »
Well i know how you feel as my DD has never been a huge bottle drinker, she was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and put herself onto 4hr EASY at 2 months so having 4x7ozs. We started her on solids at 4 months as she was still hungry and taking 4x8.5ozs (maximum in Australia) so we started and she absolutly loves it.
At 5 months she dropped a bottle and now has 8ozs morning and night and we often struggle to get 5-6ozs into her at lunchtime. She has 3 decent sized solid meals including yoghurt, custard, fruit,vege,meat and sometimes pasta/rice. I have also just started giving her a snack of either arrowroot biscuit or cheese as an afternoon snack.
She also gains weight well always averaging 150-200gms a week so i am not worried.
As for the constipation have you tried pear or prune juice?
Anyway my advice is if she is happy and putting on weight then that is fine. Catherine has her bottles 5.5hrs apart at 7.30/1&6.30 and solids 4-5hrs apart.   

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Offline busymomof2

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2006, 01:42:43 am »
okay, that's maybe where i am messing up...when are you giving solids in relation to the bottles? before with or after and long before or long after? maybe you could send me a sample schedule if you wouldn't mind??
like i said, she had 7 oz at 630am, 9 oz at 1130 am, 9 oz at 430 pm and then only took 6 oz at bedtime which was 7pm..i'm debating whether or not to dreamfeed her around 10pm as i want her to be hungry in the morning again then start the 5 hr stint from there..but was 31oz plus 2 tbsp of cereal enough today? it's hard to tell b/c she does wake often through the night but goes back to sleep when i replace the soother into her mouth (although it's every 1 1/2 at least!)  could she be waking from hunger but just can't be bothered to eat? i have offered her bottle when she wakes in the past and she eats maybe 2 oz so i figured it was never hunger..plus she never wakes up starving and crying??
they are so hard to figure out!  my son was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and was having 8 oz bottles from about 3 months, was a very good and aggressive eater..she is so different...(plus i forget so much of how to do things!!)

Offline BRMsMom

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2006, 02:17:14 am »
It's also really important to look at how your lo is growing. It sounds like that wt-for-ht (%tile) is right on, perhaps the iron in her formula &/or ceral is contirbuting to the constipation (which in turn is decresing appetite)?

Offline LŠuren

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #7 on: March 21, 2006, 18:12:02 pm »
Hi busymomof2  :D

My DS is 6 months and is 17lb 6.5oz, I still have a huge battle at feeding times (except his last feed). I find that I feed him 4.5hrs apart during the day, hes not always hungry at the 4hr mark. Here is my routine, feed times are approx.
Wake 7 (although recently waking at 5am ish  Shocked, but we put him back to sleep)
E 0730 7/8oz
   0815 cereal & fruit
A
S0930/1000 for 1 – 2hrs
E 1200 6/7oz
   1245 Veggies E 1600/1630 6/7oz
A
S 1330/1400 for 1 – 2hrs
E1600
   1645 Veggies
A
S sometimes catnap, more of then not he is up from his 2nd nap – his choice will not always nap.
E 1900 10/12oz bottle 1st half
A bath
E1930 2nd half of bottle
S 2000
no d/f

Although this is his most recent routine, he is eating NO WAY near this amounts at each feed, more 4oz - he does have a cold and chest infection at the moment.  :'(

when are you giving solids in relation to the bottles? before with or after and long before or long after? maybe you could send me a sample schedule if you wouldn't mind??

it's hard to tell b/c she does wake often through the night but goes back to sleep when i replace the soother into her mouth (although it's every 1 1/2 at least!)  could she be waking from hunger but just can't be bothered to eat? i have offered her bottle when she wakes in the past and she eats maybe 2 oz so i figured it was never hunger..plus she never wakes up starving and crying??
they are so hard to figure out!

Your feeding times/amount look fine, the last one is a bit low have you tried giving some before the bath and some after ( I am presumming her you do a bath at night) this way I get more oz's into DS  ;) ;)

The night wakings; if you are sure she is not hungry, has the soother maybe become a prop and she need it to get back to sleep?

Try not to compare both their eating habits, but I know it is difficult.
Lauren x


Offline busymomof2

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #8 on: March 21, 2006, 18:34:18 pm »
thanks calum's mom!  are you from england? my family is from england...
anyway, last night after i posted, i decided to go ahead with a dreamfeed..i'm not sure how much she took actually because the  8 oz bottle was empty at the end however she was soaked afterward as i discovered the bottle had leaked..ha..
but she did wake once about 1330..husband went in and put her over on her stomache (she seems to want the switch lately throughout the night, she has rolled over on her own during activity time but i guess doesn't realize she can do it in her sleep) so anyway, he flipped her over and gave her a soother (which she actually went to bed WITHOUT) and she slept til 6am then i heard her talking, singing etc on and off until i went in at 7am!  so i fed her at 710am she took 7 oz and i just fed her at 1145 and she took 9 oz then gave cereal around 1215 which she barely ingested....so....i think i will try to feed around 4ish and cereal just after 5 then start again..i did put her to bed at 7pm last night and she went right off to sleep and had one of her best sleeps yet..i wonder if that's the key? she needs the earlier bedtime?

Offline EASYconfusedMom

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #9 on: March 21, 2006, 21:26:08 pm »
Glad to hear the eating and sleeping are improving!  Tweaking can be frustrating but boy does it feel good when you find the right solution!

Just curious about the constipation... what has your dr said about suppositories?  People seem to have mixed reactions to them.  I used them the first time lo was really consitpated (it had been 6 days since she had pooped and was screaming when she tried to push it out) and it certainly helped get most of the stool out.  Luckily haven't had to go there again, but it may help relieve some of the immediate discomfort for your lo if you haven't already tried that.  Hope the dr can give you some answers!

Offline LŠuren

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #10 on: March 21, 2006, 21:39:45 pm »
Hi busymomof2

I am from Scotland, between Edinburgh and St. Andrews.
Lauren x


Offline gabriels mum

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Re: how much is enough??
« Reply #11 on: March 22, 2006, 12:05:07 pm »
Hi there

Sounds like your LO is eating great!  31oz, sounds like a really good amount (with good sized feeds at each feeding!).  If it's any help, my LO takes feeds of around 3 - 6oz, and yesterday only had 23oz! (he is 5.5month old & weighed 17lb 2 weeks ago).  It really stresses me out how bad the feeds are, but my Dr said that it would be impossible for them to deny themselves food if they were hungry, so I guess we have to trust them that they will take what they need?!  I think I will try to push the feeds to 5 hours apart, but it's hard when we start the day off on a 2oz breakfast feed, as I keep thinking that there is not enough hours in the day to get a decent amount into him!
I read something quite helpful on the internet somewhere, it said "baby's eat like birds, some like vultures, some like sparrows"!.

I wish I had been successful at continuing at breastfeeding past 6 weeks, as I'd have no idea how many ounces he were taking, & could not be able to compare!

Keep up the good work, sounds like you are doing really well!!

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