How do you get your baby to eat more?? and can thumbsucking mask hunger?

[lulu520]

I've read a few places that sometimes if you want to eliminate a dreamfeed you should gradually lessen the amt of the feed and add an extra ounce to their daytime bottles, etc...  Well, how exactly do you make a baby eat more during the day?  I'm not trying to eliminate a dreamfeed or anything but I do want my baby to drink more but maybe I'm missing something b/c won't a baby just eat what they want at their feeding?  You can't really make them eat more can you?

My dd is 9 weeks and some change and only drinks about 22-26oz a day.  Maybe that's enough but sometimes I feel like I should feed her more.  For example, in the morning she'll start her grunting at around 5:30AM or so and then start sucking on her thumb and eventually go to sleep.  Then she'll wake up and start fussin around and find her thumb again and then go to sleep.  This continues to about 7:30AM or so when I decide I want to start our day.  Well, as soon as I wake her up, she wants to eat.  Am I missing her cue at 5:30AM?  I'm wondering if her thumbsucking can mask her hunger cry?

She goes to bed anywhere between 7:15-8 depending on when she finally goes down and dream feeds between 10:30-11.  If she'll suck her thumb until 7:30 or 8AM should I just let her even though she's not crying? I can't help but think she's hungry?...

[LŠuren]

Hi there

Your LO will only reall take what they need at this age and it is very difficult to make them have more if they don't want it - they will probably we sick or have frequent spitups.

The dream feed is usually weaned at 7month when a LO is established on solids, therfor easier to 'get food in them' otherways.

To be honest without seeing your LO it would be hard to say if she was hungry when thumbsucking, it is really your call - 0530 sounds like a normal wake up time for a 2nd nightfeed at this age.  If you think your LO is hungry then offer a feed.  If she is waking frequently after the 0530 feed it would suggest hunger.

[lulu520]

Yeah, it seems like the consensus is that the will only take what they want so it's weird when I hear people say.. try to feed them more.  It's like.. how exaclty do you feed them more?  I guess it might be easier w/ nursing b/c they will suck for comfort and get milk even if they aren't hungry.  Anyway...

I guess I'll just try to feed her b/c like you said.. from 530ish to 8 she's just unsettled and in and out of sleep... like she's too sleepy to realize that it's hunger.  Maybe if I fed her then she could go back to sleep and be better rested? I dunno...   I (like most first time mothers) am always worried about if she's getting enough to eat... and her inconsistencies drive me insane.  3 oz here, then 6 oz the next time!! ARRRGGHH!! 

So how old do you think a baby should be to go from DF to let's say 7 or 8 AM?  That's about 9 hours w/o feeding? I know it depends but is that something that's reasonable for a 2 month old? thanks :-)

Hi there

Your LO will only reall take what they need at this age and it is very difficult to make them have more if they don't want it - they will probably we sick or have frequent spitups.

The dream feed is usually weaned at 7month when a LO is established on solids, therfor easier to 'get food in them' otherways.

To be honest without seeing your LO it would be hard to say if she was hungry when thumbsucking, it is really your call - 0530 sounds like a normal wake up time for a 2nd nightfeed at this age.  If you think your LO is hungry then offer a feed.  If she is waking frequently after the 0530 feed it would suggest hunger.

[LŠuren]

I never did the DF, Calum feed at 8pm 11pm 2am 5am for ages, then he dropped the 11pm feed. So he then went from 8pm to 2am then 5am.

I can't honesty remember the weeks he was when he started dropping bottles throughout the night, however I do remember it was at 5months he started sleeping through from 8pm to 7am - but all LO's are different.

Are you on the correct teat flow for your LO?

[lulu520]

Yeah, I guess I'd rather feed her at 5:30AM than 2AM although I'm tempted to skip the dreamfeed one night to see how she responds to hunger while sleeping.  Ever since she's found her thumbs sometimes I can't tell when she is hungry or when she just wants to suck. 

I'm still using stage 1 nipples... I guess I could try using bigger ones and see but she's only 2 months so I think it's fine.  I guess she's just hungrier sometimes than other times... are inconsistencies common or should I change something?

I never did the DF, Calum feed at 8pm 11pm 2am 5am for ages, then he dropped the 11pm feed. So he then went from 8pm to 2am then 5am.

I can't honesty remember the weeks he was when he started dropping bottles throughout the night, however I do remember it was at 5months he started sleeping through from 8pm to 7am - but all LO's are different.

Are you on the correct teat flow for your LO?

[lulu520]

Thanks for the info. I guess I just have to trust that babies will eat what they want and get those ounces in there somewhere during the day.  Like I asked Calums_Mum... did you ever experience inconsistencies in # of oz's?

BTW, how often do you burp your baby while bottle feeding?  Just when he seems uncomfortable or after a few oz?  I feel like sometimes if I take it away and burp her she loses her rhythm and doesn't want to eat anymore.

For info i can share my df experience.  I did a dream feed from 2 weeks onward. At 6 months I started to gradually ween it.  Kaleb was taking around 6 ounces every feed, including the dream feed.  He actually h ad started to take less upon waking, this is how I knew the df needed to be stopped. I did the gradual method and over the course of 10 days Kaleb moved the ounces he was losing from the df to his daytime bottles, and he then had 4  8 ounce bottles.  It does work, they do switch the ounces over. 

[LŠuren]

I never did it after a few oz's only when he started squirming, I know what you mean by them loosing the rhythm of their sucking,  MIL used to burp him every 2oz it did ny head in, because he got bored.