Newborn with huge appetite?

My newborn son is an eater! I am breastfeeding and supplementing with formula as my milk has finally started to come in. I don't know how much milk I'm producing and if it's enough for my big eater. Is it too much to give both breasts and 3 oz formula (his dr said it's fine to give up to 3.5oz formula per feeding) at each daytime feeding and 3-3.5 oz formula no breast at night time feedings?

He is always hungry! He cries to eat sooner than the 3 hours and starts rooting. His dr says to mske him wait the 3hours but this kid freaks out for his next mealtime before the 3 hours are up. He's a big baby. He's already gained almost a pound in the week since he's been home.

Anyone else with a big eater that can help a new mom?

Newborn with huge appetite?

Honestly I think if you do that your milk is going to dwindle very quickly. For one sticking to a3 hour schedule is unrealistic. Breastfed on demand. That may be every hour at times, two hours, 3 or 4 depending on the day. Your milk just came in but you need to bf constantly to increase your supply to get it anywhere close to his needs. If he's hungry after both sides go back to the first. I would try not to give more than an ounce of formula after nursing. You will overfeeding and make him impossible to satisfy at the breast. You may also want to add pumping to get your supply up if you want to eventually cut back on the supplimwnting.

Newborn with huge appetite?

My little guy took 4-5oz of BM from a week old. Every 2-3 hours. I was pumping and bottle feeding. Doctor never had an issue with quantity. I've heard the norm is 1-2 oz per hour... 3oz just may not be enough. That said, newborns are hungry every 2-3 hours. They are suppose to be. So it sounds normal. Maybe up him 1/2 oz or 1 oz and see. If he's not throwing it up it's fine. You could also be producing less than you think too. Maybe replace a BF session with a pump to get an idea.... Are you giving him Formula at night you mentioned you aren't BFing? Newborns aren't suppose to go longer than 4 hours without a meal... Also, regarding not BFing at night, most women are able to produce enough, so if you intend to BF you should BF or pump every for every meal in order to establish your supply.

Newborn with huge appetite?

Why are you waiting 3 hours? Dd was bf, but especially as a newborn she would often eat even every hour, and we had no supply issues

Re: Newborn with huge appetite?

Newborn breastfeeding- constant. My 5 month old still goes every 2 hrs and nurses pretty much nonstop from 7 to bedtime at 10. Supplementing is fine but will definitely affect your supply long term. If your goal is to Breastfeed exclusively I would cut down on the supplement and bf on demand

Newborn with huge appetite?

Look into paced feeding for bottle feeds

Newborn with huge appetite?

Dd was breastfed. In those early days if I started at noon and she was done by 1230. Sometimes at 130 she was hungry again! Do not supplement if you plan to long term breast feed Bc your body will make what is needed. You need your body to see it needs to make more, not less. I always fed on demand which can be demanding but after a few weeks or so you'll get on a schedule. Breast milk is disgusted faster than formula. That's why they need more sooner.

Re: Newborn with huge appetite?

If you plan I breastfeeding long term, you will need to nurse on demand. Honestly, it sucks in the beginning. My DS' appetite seemed insatiable. I was easily nursing him every 60-90 minutes and then in the middle of the night he would cluster feed for hourS.

Newborn with huge appetite?

Like others have said, you need to feed on demand. No bf newborn regularly goes three hours between feedings. If you supplement you will lose your supply. Nurse him on demand and pump after each feeding.

Newborn with huge appetite?

And honestly, I would think about finding a new doctor - I think that is terrible advice to make your DS wait even if he is screaming to eat. A newborn needs their needs met quickly - I personally don't believe you should let a newborn cry. JMO.

Re: Newborn with huge appetite?

As others have mentioned, you need to feed on demand in order to satisfy your newborn and establish a supply. BFing is all supply and demand based. 3 hours is a really long time between feedings for a newborn breastfed baby.

Why would you not BF at night? That's terrible advice, that's when your body produces the most milk because it's not doing much else. Making a newborn wait to eat is cruel (I'm calling your doctor cruel, not you, just to clarify) When a baby is rooting they are hungry, it's a primal, or innate response. If he's rooting, feed him. That's it.

You poor thing, you're getting terrible advice from your doctor. I highly suggest ditching the formula and just nursing as much as you can, even if it's an hour between feedings, sometimes it's going to be. BF babies don't really follow a schedule until they are much older.
Bigger babies eat more, so if he was bigger at birth, 3 hour stretches during the DAY is going to be nearly impossible.

Hang in there Mama, it gets easier. You are obviously trying to do the best for your little guy, reaching out for help when you felt something wasn't right. You're doing great :) I would suggest not taking BF advice from your doctor anymore, look into a BF support group at your local hospital, or contact La Leche League.

Newborn with huge appetite?

Dd in the beginning was on me every hour for the first month. If you plan to just bf do not supplement. Feed on demand and definitely bf throughout the night. I remember the pain if I did not once my milk came in.

Re: Newborn with huge appetite?

I'm going on a limb here & thinking you must be seeing your dr weekly with feeding issues.

My DS had feeding craziness where he would feed for 6-8 hours straight. Of course, he really wasn't getting anything. It was killing my breasts & me! Was told to feed 20 minutes per breast, supplement until he stopped (and was full) & then wait 2 hours (not 3) from the start of the feed (so 1 hr 20 min from end) to feed again. It really worked well. In a short while, baby was drinking well from breast (either my supply got better or his suck got better) & didn't need supplementation.

Also helps to pump your boobs & feed kid to see exactly what the kid is getting per feed.

IMO, people always think a baby is hungry. Even after I feed my now 2 month old & she is completely full, I hear from well meaning people that she is hungry when she is crying for any reason (gas, wet, sleepy). Know what goes in, out, & weight changes. 1 lb weight gain in a week is pretty normal (probably just caught up to birth weight).

If your dr isn't seeing you weekly, make an appointment with your concerns.

Re: Newborn with huge appetite?

Message edited 11/7/2015 6:58:19 AM.

Newborn with huge appetite?

I formula fed but my DD ate a lot. I remember when she was around one month old, she was eating every 2 hours on the dot. It was crazy. I always just fed on demand but she got into a schedule with longer periods of time inbetween feedings on her own.

Re: Newborn with huge appetite?

Your doctor advising you to feed your LO that much formula with every feeding? That's just weird. 3.5 oz is a whole meal for a newborn. And to wait 3 hours? Ugh. One pediatrician at my practice told me to wait 4 HOURS between feedings when DS was 5 weeks old. Sure that's fine if you want LO to be formula-fed, but if you want to breastfeed, no way. BF'ing is all about supply and demand - your body will make as much as your LO demands. LO won't demand too much if she's getting a full formula feed in addition to time on the breast. And your body won't produce enough if you force yourself to wait so long between feedings and feed so few times a day.

Listen, I have a big eater. My DS was born at 10 pounds so he had an appetite like you wouldn't believe! We did supplement with an ounce or two of formula before my milk came in, but that wasn't an issue anymore when he was 5 or 6 days old. Since then, he'll get some formula every now and then if I'm out and don't have enough pumped milk in the fridge. I'm not against formula supplementing at all. But if you want to stick with BF'ing, you have to really stick with it to keep up with your baby's appetite, even if it means feeding every 2 hours there in the beginning. In my case, that stopped pretty quickly - by 8 or 9 weeks old, he was eating maybe 5 or 6 times a day total (including nighttime feedings).

As for strictly formula feeding at night - I know it sounds nice, and it will give you a much needed break, but it won't work for another couple of months. Your body has to learn to make milk now. If you go for 10 hours without making milk, when the baby is so little and your body not knowing what to do yet, your breasts will start producing less. If you're going to ff at night, you'll have to get up and pump once or twice anyway. It's probably easier to just roll over and put LO on the boob for 10 minutes. I know it's hard. The first couple of months suck. But it gets easier. Again - no judgement if you want to ff. If BF'ing isn't for you, then it's not for you. But if it is what you want to do, you have to feed from the breast almost exclusively and pretty much every 1.5-3 hours, day and night, for several weeks.

Message edited 11/8/2015 9:18:08 AM.

Re: Newborn with huge appetite?