Should her ounces last longer?

Question

My daughter is almost 2 months old. She is on six ounces of formula. It only lasts her about 3 hours. Is that normal, or should it last her longer?

Answer 1

That is perfectly normal and actually about right. Most babies drink every 2-3 hours, as long as she is gaining weight and doesn't seem uncomfortable or anything, let her drink whenever she wishes.

I read some other replies, never never give your baby cereal in the bottle, also, all doctors will tell you to not feed them anything other than milk until they are 6 months, you could cause an allergic reaction. My sister is a doctor. Babies do not need anything other than milk, especially at only 2 months old. Just give her milk when she wants it, there is no specific time period for a baby to want to drink, but don't make the mistake of feeding her cereal or anything else when she is this young.

Answer 2

Eating every 3 hours is totally normal, but I would say that 6 oz of fomrula every 3 hours round the clock is very likely too much. Are you still using the slowest flow newborn nipple? There is no reason to switch to a faster flow nipple unless you really want to overfeed your child.

How has her weightgain been? If she's gaining very rapidly and jumping up in the percentiles, it's very likely she is getting too much.

However, do not give cereal, especally in a bottle, this early! If she needs to take a little water now and then or just use a paci for comfort sucking, then that's fine. But cereal will only cause more problems.

Answer 3

That is totally up to her! If she wants more in 3 hours, then she's hungry! If she wasn't hungry, she wouldn't eat. They also go through weird growth spurts at times, and their eating habits may change drastically for a few days or so. My 3mo. old son eats 6-8 ounces at a time, and sometimes he'll go 4-5 hours between, but sometimes he acts like he's starving after 2 hours. I think he's part pig!! But that's all ok. Just feed her when she's hungry. A plump baby is a healthy baby! Oh, I forgot to add that I put rice cereal in my baby's bottle (per dr.'s advice) to thicken it up and fill him better, and he still eats that much! You might ask your doc about cereal. Thicker formula will last her longer!

Answer 4

Eh, that's kind of a lot of formula in a short period of time. (I assume you mean she's taking 6 ounces every three hours?) If so, that would be 48 oz. per day (assuming she eats every 3 hours round the clock). Babies should have 2.5 to 2.7 ounces of formula per every pound. If your baby weighs 10 pounds, she should have somewhere between 25 to 27 ounces of formula per day. All babies are different...some want more, some want less.

Are you sure she's hungry when she cries? When she starts crying/fussing and you give her a bottle it calms her down immediately, doesn't it? That's because the sucking motion is the only method infants that young have to calm themselves down. It's also why so many parents give their children pacifiers, or why so many babies suck their thumbs.

Have you ruled out colic? She could also be gassy. Ask her pediatrician for his/her opinion and advice.

Answer 5

That actually sounds like alot to me. Our daughter is 7 1/2 months old and takes just about 32 ounces a day.

Really, though, you don't want to judge how much your child eats by other children. You would be better off talking to her pediatrician to find out how much your daughter should be taking a day.

Answer 6

no that is not normal a 2month old baby shouldnt drink 6onces a baby should drink 3 to 4 ounces at least my baby had the same problem when she was about 1 to 2 month i took her to her doctor he said to give her a cereal called thick it it worked great for my daughter she would drink milk every 4 hours

Answer 7

do you mean is she eating too fast? It should last as long as it lasts... If she is hungry she will eat... its all normal... by 2 months my friend was already feeding her son cereal. Babies won't eat unless they are hungry and obviously your daughter is...lol I wouldn't worry about it at all...


the lady under me said never give your baby cereal in the bottle but I dont understand why... I did it with my son (who is 10) and with my daughter who is 18 months... plus I know a number of people who have and have perfectly healthy kids...

Answer 8

Completely normal, she'll eat if she's hungry trust me my son would have never lasted 3 hours without formula.

Answer 9

It has been about eight years since I've had a baby, but that seems about normal to me. If that doesn't last for her, you may want to introduce rice ceral to her formula - gradually.

At six weeks old, I was boiling my own vegetables, blending and feeding them to my son. He was a greedy boy. Good luck!

Answer 10

(Mum of 2). I would say that if she's asking for more then give it to her. As long as it's staying down (if not I would speak to your health visitor), she's a growing girlie and everyone of the little darlings need something different. That's would be normal for my two though. Don't fret doll' Mummyhood is a bit tricky sometimes...still is - but it's worth it.