eats hourly

I am a bit frustrated and not sure what to do. My one baby girl wants to eat all the time!! She eats hourly. She does have stretches sometimes of three hours but then later she will cluster feed (or whatever it is called) where she will want to eat every hour or two. She only eats about an ounce each time during these feedings. If she has her three hour stretch she eats about 3ozs. It's more like she is snacking and not eating a meal. If she would have a bigger stretch she would eat more. When I took the babies in for their weight check the nurse said to try to hold her off until 2-3 hours. Well easier said than done. I have just been going with the flow and feed her when she's hungry since she is still a newborn. They will be two weeks on Monday. But I don't like doing this because I don't want her to get into a habit and continue this long term. Does anyone have any advice?

 

I don't have advice - I'm in the same boat. I'm waiting to see what others say. My babies are 5 weeks old now and have been doing the same thing for 2-3 weeks. No one gets any sleep in this house. I can't let them cry it out when they're hungry though, so I'm interested to see what other people say. I was just hoping they'd grow out of it in a few more weeks.

 

Hi i'm also going through the same thing with my 11 week olders (6 weeks adjusted) I also was wondering if it is to young to let them cry instead of popping a bottle that they only eat 1 ounce of in there mouths. Its incredibly frustrated and exhausting!!

 

Hang in there! I promise it gets easier. The 2 and 5 week olds may just need to eat frequently, especially during all the little growth spurts that occur early on, and 1 to 2 ounces is a reasonable meal at that age. They are teeny. But their feeds will naturally stretch as they get older.

The 11 week olds may respond to soothing or want a paci to suck. Do they have any signs of reflux? My refluxy daughter likes to eat frequent, small meals even at 5,5 months.

One thing that may help is to have a friend or mother's helper come by from time to time to assist with the feedings. It can really help break up the monotony of the early weeks.

 

Hi i have the 11 weekers. they are not big into pacifiers sometimes they will take them sometimes spit them out. I think they do have some reflux they get hiccups quite frequently and also arch there heads after meals sometimes. I don't have them on anything at this time..
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Do they fuss at feedings?

 

Hang in there momma! It's tough trying to figure out the feedings. Are you breastfeeding? I know they say to feed on demand while breastfeeding. She may just need to eat frequently. Have you visited the breastfeeding forum here for some advice? They are still really little-so I think their eating habits are going to be all over the place. My friend just had a baby a few weeks ago, and she was going through exactly the same thing with the constant feeding. He's now six weeks old and it has gotten better.

Have you tried the pacifier? Or singing? Or dancing to try and hold her off a bit? To me though, it does seem like she is a hungry little one! And if breastfeeding, maybe she's not getting all the good fattening stuff(I know very little about this-but I remember when b/fing-trying to-the LC/pedi mentioning that maybe Annabella wasn't getting the right type of milk). Hopefully someone with more knowledge will pipe in. Hind milk-that's what I am thinking about! It has the highest concentration of fat. Sorry this is all over the place!

 

teamturner - well I after tonight I def think I'm having reflux issues in at least one of my twins. My one little girl the past couple of days hasn't eaten well at all has missed feedings and now again tonight last ate at 5. she just woke up crying and of course we changed her rocked her and made her a bottle she was crying like she was hungry and since she last at so many hours ago only 2 ounces I assumed hungry. Well we gave her the bottle and she was screaming and crying and pulling off it only ate 1 ounce. Even when I stopped trying to feed her she was crying like she was still in pain, its so upsetting. I'm going to call my pedi sigh. I have them on similac sensitive but maybe I'll have to switch again OR try prevacid or zantac. I hope it gets better.

 

Hi - I'm so sorry that she (and you) are experiencing this! I've been there and it's really upsetting. Zantac worked for us within days of initiating it, as I'd been told it should if reflux was really the issue. We increase the dose as her weight increases. We hope to be able to wean her, but I can tell she's not ready because her symptoms return if her dose is too low. Our daughter still prefers to eat frequent, smaller meals, but she is not in pain or discomfort. I'm not a huge fan of pharmaceuticals (even though I work in the industry - ha), but it is important to me to treat the reflux to decrease her discomfort (obviously) and because the acid can cause esophageal erosion. I hope you and your daughter find some relief soon!! And I read your other post and wanted to add a big, "Hang in there!" We still have our days and our kinks, but it has gotten SO.MUCH.EASIER! It sounds like you are doing a really good job and that you should give yourself a big pat on the back for all you do.

 

You may not like my advice..eek. I know this is a lot of feeding right now, but she is so young she is probably just finding her rhythm. I would follow her cues...you are not going to start any bad habits at 2 weeks old - they will be all instinct for a while. There are so many growth spurts early on. Some babies can only digest so much at a time and right now it sounds like she needs to eat and be near you frequently. I bet it will be very different in just a few days from now. I was so surprised early on how fast things changed weekly. I know and remember how hard it was. Is she pulling off or struggling to eat? Are you nursing? I really recommend following her cues and letting her lead the way until she is a little older and her little systems are more matured. Hang in there - the first few weeks are exhausting. :grouphug:

Lastly, I saw some other replies on this post regarding crying. If none of you have watched the DVD Happiest Baby on the Block get it! It talks about the 5 S's. Ways to soothe babies. It was amazing and many on these boards have used it. Do you swaddle? Do you use a swing? Do you babywear in a Moby Wrap or other sling? I will admit if my babies were wanting to eat I never denied them at those early ages. Growth spurts happen at like 3 wks, 6 wks, 3 mos, 6 mos. These are just the researched ones that I can remember that happen in most babies. You have to do what you are comfortable with but don't worry about potential bad habits or training at these early ages. They need your security to build the foundation of your relationship. You will not spoil them or teach them bad habits. Good luck mamas - this is why they say the first 3 or 4 months are the hardest and for many a total blur. I know they were for me.