My LO's aren't eating like they were

Over the past two weeks my LO's have been eating between 5 to 5 1/2oz every 3 hours. Now the past couple of days they have one feeding and eat 4-5oz and then the next feeding will eat only 2-3oz and fall back asleep. Ugh this is so frustrating!!!!! It's like waking the dead!

My title should read "aren't."

 

Maybe try stretching out their feedings a bit more.

 

Are they fussy at all with feedings, or shortly thereafter? 5.5oz is a lot for most babies at that age!

 

is it ok to start going every 4 hours???

 

If they are eating 5oz at a time, and seem content with 4 hours, I would say yes. My oldest was on a 4 hour schedule from the beginning.

 

Not fussy at all, they just fall asleep on us. They have been consistently taking 5-5 1/2oz until a few days ago and seemed content with that. This week has been hard because if they aren't eating they are sleep almost all day. Right now it is hit or miss and I am pouring so much formula down the drain.

 

Mine are 6 weeks today and they range between 2 hrs to 6 hours in feeding. I'm doing demand feedings. I wake the other one and feed them at the same time. My little girl was eating 4 oz but seemed pretty bloated afterwards so we have cut her back to 3-3.5 oz. My little boy is still breastfeeding, but when he does get a bottle he gets 3oz, and might/might not finish that.

 

I think four hours is too long to go in between feedings for that age. They may only want 2-3 ounces. I know my girls were drinking 2 ounces at 1 month old and 3 ounces at 2 months old. They are going to sleep a lot at that age, so eating doesn't really become a priority to them until they are awake for longer in between. Try everything you can to keep them awake. We would get them frustrated, undress them, make annoying noises. That would wake them up and get them to finish their bottles. I wouldn't worry, this all sounds quite normal and familiar to me.

 

they are gaining about 2oz a day with how they are eating right now, it just gets frustrating.

 

That's awesome! I would go to a 4 hour schedule, maybe 3.5 to start? And see if they do a little better. The bigger eaters can sometimes go a little longer. GL!

 

I agree with Becky. If they can eat that much at one time & seem happy and content with it, aren't spitting it all back up, then a longer time between bottles is fine. Try stretching it to 3.5 hours, see how they do, then go on to 4 hours if you need to. The total amount of formula in a day would still be plenty if they had 5-5 1/2 ounces every 4 hours and they are having no problems gaining weight.

 

when mine were eating 5.5 oz they were eating every 4 hours, consistantly during the day/night. They had refulx so in effort to see if it would help they moved to 4 oz every 3 hours. They still eat every 3 hours now, to this day.

 

If you want to try and keep them awake a little more, massage their jaw while you are bottle feeding. If you put the bottle in between your thumb and forefinger then massage with your middle finger it helps keep them eating a bit longer. I would try a 4hr schedule first though.