Not eating enough, help!

[Cloverdale_Mom]

My ds is 4 weeks old and seems to not be eating enough. We started working towards EASY yesterday and it is going well, only he is not hungry every time he gets up. Yesterday I fed him anyway and he only ate 1-2 oz at a time. So, can I hold him, change him etc after he wakes up and before he feeds, waiting for his hunger cues? I am worried because he isn't really eating enough not only at each feeding, but for the day either.

Second question - once in a while he will spit up a whole feeding. Should I try to get him to eat again right away, or wait until the next feeding?

Thank you for your help!

[Kimberly®]

What EASY are you trying to work on? My DD ate only 2-3oz tops per feed at 4 weeks, she didn't have larger feeds till after that.
How often do you burb during feeds? how often does he spit up? and does it seem to hurt him to either eat or spit up?
How many wet diapers does he have a day, and how much is he growing (average) these are good indicatores of if he is eating enough, also how big is he right now? and at birth?

[Cloverdale_Mom]

What EASY are you trying to work on? My DD ate only 2-3oz tops per feed at 4 weeks, she didn't have larger feeds till after that.  I suppose we are working towards a 3-hour EASY because he consistantly sleep 1.5-2 hours at a time.

How often do you burb during feeds? every time he seems to stop sucking, probably twice per feeding

how often does he spit up? every few days he will spit up a whole feed and once or twice a day he spits up just a little bit when he gets to gulping

and does it seem to hurt him to either eat or spit up? nope, doesn't seem to bother him at all

How many wet diapers does he have a day, probably around 6 or so

and how much is he growing (average) these are good indicatores of if he is eating enough, he had gained a pound at his last doc visit which was good, but he was eating better then

also how big is he right now? 9 lbs 11 oz     and at birth? 8 lbs 9 oz

I would love any ideas to get him to eat more.

[donna_issabella]

my ds is 14w4d old and drinks 4-5 oz 5 times a day. That equals 20-25oz a day, and that is the ideal. Some feeds he only drinks 3 oz and that could be after 3.5-4 hours.

As long as he is gaining weight and having plenty of wet nappies, i won't worry too much, he is but 4 weeks old. About 2-3 weeks ago ds used to drink 3 oz with each feed, which was 3 hourly in the day - 5 feeds- and then two in the night. BTW This was also expressed breast milk, not formula, so technically would be less volume with formula, as it takes 'longer' to digest.

I also found that my ds went through a period of drinking less, but then he had a growth spurt and he is feeding much more now again.

Not much advice, only personal experience. HTH

DI

[Kimberly®]

Iwould say that since he is growing and he seems content, and you have many wet diapers, you probably habe nothing to worry about. If you are trully concerned then talk to your doctor.

[Cloverdale_Mom]

Thank you so much for everyone's comments! I really appreciate the sharing of personal experience and encouragement.