4 hour EASY and 4 feeds - worried baby will not be getting enough to eat

[mixtim]

Hi.  I have a wonderful 14 week old who is starting to transition nicely into 4 hour EASY.  Trouble is, she only eats 4 times a day under 4 hour EASY and her bottles are the usual 9 oz. variety, so she's essentially limited to 36 oz/day (she does not and never has needed the dream feed and I don't want to start that).  That's fine for now because she's only around 12 lbs., but what happens once she reaches 15+lbs?  I'm worried she either won't be eating enough, or will revert back to 3 or 3.5 hour EASY. 

Anyone faced this or have any suggestions?  Should I feed 2 bottles at a sitting?  Won't that force too much into her stomach causing her to throw/spit up?  WIll she be getting the extra calories from the solid foods I'm to be introducing in the months to come??

I'm so confused.  Please throw me a rope! 

[TJ & Stephy's Mommy]

Hi,
I haven't started transitioning to the 4 EASY yet but I've talked to my pediatrician (sp?) about my son skiipping meals (he's done that a couple of times) and it worried me that he wasn'g getting enough calories/nutrients.  My DR says that as along as your baby is gaining weight you have nothing to worry.  Plus, once you start to introduce solid foods, the baby should be getting enough calories and nutrients.
Hope this helps you.
Melodie

[Mum of girl, boy, boy]

I have been breast feeding my DS and he transitioned around the same time as your baby to the 4 hour routine. Obviously I can't tell how much he is getting so I had to do it by trial and error. I ended up doing split feeds and still do around 5 and 7. I am about to try again with 4 feeds but worry this will lead to night wakings (I also don't want to start dream feed and he's not ready for weaning). Sometimes I can't get as much in him with 5 feeds as I can with 4 big ones (if you kwim). Obviously with breastfeeding the supply isn't so good in the evening so the split feeding can sometimes help with this but as your bottle feeding it might not be a problem. It might be worth you posting your concerns in the bottle feeding thread.

Sometimes you can only find out what works for each baby by giving it a try. My DD was such a different feeder. I struggle to get her to a 4 hour routine. She seems to like to be feed more often where as my DS won't feed unless it's 4hrs + at the first feed and as the day goes on it moves to 3 hr 30 and then the cluster at the end.

Good luck

J.

[HeatherC]

If she's carrying on nicely with 4 hrly feeds, I'd say she's getting enough.  I know a baby that liked to have 10-12 oz, so you can try, but 9 is probably just fine.  If, however, she seems to be acting hungry, just give her another bottle when she wants it.  You can be flexible with her feeds.  She may want some feeds after 4 hrs, and maybe once or twice in the day be ready at 3.5 hrs, and then you could add a small top up before bed. 

[Tatumsmom]

I also worry that my dd is not getting enough to eat on the four hour easy. She will only take about 4oz at a feed and sometimes can't make the four hour mark. She is five months and weighs about 15 pounds. She was on th three hour easy but thought she was being a snacker. No matter how  much time is between feeds she only takes about the same amount. I have started rice cereal once a day but not enough to make a difference (only about 1tsp to 2oz of bm). I've tried cluster feeding and dream feed at 11pm but she is still unsettled at night. Help!!
KH

[HeatherC]

KH-I answered on your other post.  Let me know if you need anything else.