Questions for parents with infants..?

Question

My neighbor recently gave birth to a little beautiful baby girl. 22inches and 6lbs 9oz. (first couple of days she lost 1lbs) The infant is 8wks now and so far she has gained 15lbs. She looks like a little beach ball. She is being feed every 3hrs/4oz. My question is "how much and how often are you suppose to feed an infant who's 8wks" I'm just curious-personally I don't know jack about babies expect what I read in those parenting books. But 15lbs in matter of 7wks just sounded a lot. That's like 2lbs every week.
Thanks in Advance.

Answer 1

The first month you are told to feed then on demand because their stomachs are so little, mine is 2oz every 2 hrs (3 weeks. )By 2 months they are suppose to eat 4oz ever 3 hrs. I've heard a pound a week, but I would definitely check with a doctor if there is a concern. (they double their weight at 6 months).

Answer 2

It does sound like a lot for a baby to weigh at that age, but every baby is different. I fed my baby about 2-3 oz every 2-3 hours, for the first month or two, then 4-6 oz every 4 hours, more if she slept longer during naps or at night. She was always a bit heavier according to the percentile charts (but she started life at 10lbs 2 oz). She's now a year and a half and weights about 26 pounds which seems pretty normal. If she's getting well-baby checks, her doctor should be noticing if the mom is feeding too much. I know a baby who's very big, and it's sad because she can't be very mobile, hasn't even learned to walk at almost 2 years and can barely crawl. there are other medical issues, but if the weight is extreme, it can affect the rest of her development.

Also 22inches is kind of long for a 6 lb baby, so maybe she's just catching up to her height!

Answer 3

Babies are suppose to be fed between 2 to 4 hours at that age. It also depends on the baby. What I mean is how much that baby eats. I now have a 3 month old and she eats 4-5 ounces between four to six hours. She is only 11 LBS. As long as the Pediatrician is fine with how much she is gaining I guess that would be ok. But that is alot of weight gain only in 7 weeks.

Answer 4

I fed my child whenever she was hungry, i had 2 pediatricians tells me to make her wait 4 hours and that on her and us was misserable, then when i had my 2nd daughter i switched pediatricians and she is such a sweetheart and told us to feed her whenever she gets hungry. We did that and had no problems whatsoever.
That's great the baby is gaining well, doesn't mean she'll be obese or have health problems, means she's just eating very well and gaining good. By the time she gets to about 4 months and then 10 months, she'll slow down in weight gain and at 2 years also she'll slow down, my daughter has been 32 pounds for the last few months and she's 2 years old. My 10 month old weighs about 19-20 pounds and yet she was premature, all babies grow differently, just so long as they are being fed well.

Answer 5

At 8 weeks you feed the baby as much as it wants, whenever it wants. They are growing so fast when they are newborns that you will put the baby down at night and in the morning they are noticeably bigger. The mom should be taking the baby in for regular checkups with a pediatrician and the doctor will definitely tell her if the girl is gaining too much weight. Just remember "baby fat" generally lasts until the kids are able to run around by themselves. As long as she doesn't look just like a beach ball and doesn't have any other bad symptoms (struggles to breathe, always seems sluggish), I wouldn't say anything to the mother about the weight.

Answer 6

The answer is: "As much as they want". When it comes to formula or breast milk, they cannot be overfed.

Now, when a baby gets bigger, and is given fries and oreos, there is a problem. Formula is nutritionally balanced, and will not cause obesity.

I agree that is a good amount of weight. My daughter is 11 months, weighed 8 pounds at birth, lost 2 pounds the first week, and has only gained 12 POUNDS in 11 months!

However, all babies have different rates of growth. Your neighbor's baby was very long. Mine was only 19 inches at birth.
If the baby is bigger size, she will probably gain more.

When a baby is born, you can't give them any more than 2 oz every 4 hours, but at 8 weeks, give'em all they want.

Answer 7

Sounds like she is feeding the baby just right. Once the baby wants to eat more often (less then 3 hours) she may even consider giving him 6 ounce bottles.

Also, I seem to recall that babies are supposed double their birthweight in 3 months. Every child develops differently, and if the pediatrician isn't concerned I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Answer 8

2lbs a week can be perfectly normal

Also eating every 3 hours is normal. Most breastfed babies eat ever 1-3 hours and formula fed babies ever 2-3.

Another rule is 2.5-3 oz of formula per lbs of body weight per day.


Even though the weight gain does sound excessive I am assuming they are taking her to doctors. It could be normal for her.

Answer 9

all babies are different. according to my pediatrician, you can't overfeed a baby. he said he doesn't worry about kids "overeating" until they are about 2-3 yrs and eating a ton of junk food.

that being said....she will probably hit a growth spurt of length soon and will even out.

remember that we grow triple our birth weight in the first year. that's the average. so, i wouldn't worry unless everytime the baby fusses mom or dad is shoving a bottle in her mouth. sometimes babies aren't hungry, but gasy or tired....that's when you have to pay attention to different cries or try different things.

my kid won't accept a bottle if it's not what he wants. if he's crying and not hungry, and i try to feed him, then i get a big "screw you mom" in the form of "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
so, that's when i try something else:)

i wouldn't worry about the baby. i'm sure she's fine and mom and dad are doing great.

take care:)

P.S. as for teh every 3-4 hr feedings..that's about right! my kid would eat more often sometimes, but he also is a really good sleeper, so sometimes he'd slam 8 oz. in about 2 hrs before bed, but he would sleep 8 hrs. with no feeding.
every kid is different:)

Answer 10

That is a lot of weight for a baby to gain in so little time. I know that my daughter was very chubby and gained more weight than other babies her age when I was nursing her. I'm sure your neighbors pediatrician is aware of the weight gain and would provide special testing for the child if necessary.