how much is a week old supposed to eat?

Question

I have a week old baby boy and I am feeding him breast milk from the bottle {the delivery was really hard, he was born with apgar score 0 and I didn't get to see him for a while, so since we didn't start nursing right away and he wasn't completely healthy, he just couldn't suck and wasn't getting enought, so I started pumping my milk - works for us much better}, but he eats sooo much now - he would eat over 3 oz every three hours. Isn't it too much for a newborn? I am just curious how big can be stomach of such a tiny person... {he was 7 lb and 19 inches when born}

It was scary... he was blue, no breathing, no hear rate.... his apgar was 0 when born, 5 after 5 minutes and 7 after 10 minutes. I just hope his brain didn't stay without the oxygen for two long. I was in labor for 49 hours, first day the doctors said I was having braxton hicks contractions {all day 5 minutes apart} because I wasn't dilating. Then my water broke, but they had to give me a lot of pitocin so I would start to dilate...than my water become infected, I got a high fewer and the baby was born infected, too. Worst moment of my life, they took him away imediately and nobody wanted to tell me what is happening.

Answer 1

While an apgar score of 0 is the least ideal score by 5 minutes his score was 5 and at 10 minutes 7,thats a very good recovery.i imagine he was in special care for a while.You have been through every emotion possible with this birth it must be owverwhelming. He will be assesed at your 6 week check up and if there is any worry at all you will be referrred to a peadiatrition.
You have done well to be expressing and feeding.
Good on ya :) it's hard work.Don't worry about the amounts,so much and jsut "deman" feed as you would if he were on your breast.You can't overfeed a newborn. If he were uncomfortably full he would fuss. Breast milk is digested very fast.Which is whay b/f babies always seem to be hungry or feeding in those first few weeks LOL
sounds like you are doing a great job.Good luck :)

Answer 2

That sounds about right. He'll let you know if he can't handle it by spitting up or crying a lot. Just ask his pediatrician.

I've never heard of an apgar score of 0, I work with a child whose first score was 1 though. A score of 0 means your child was not alive when born, not breathing, no heart rate, blue all over and limp. I'm glad they were able to revive him. How scary.

Answer 3

I am so sorry for your difficult delivery and very scary experience. How fantastic that your baby is doing so well now and that you've decided to feed him the absolute perfect food!

Both of my breastfed babies were nursing on demand at LEAST every two hours (from the start of one feeding to the start of the next -- sometimes that leaves hardly any time in between!) at one week old. Of course, they were both on the breast, so I couldn't SEE how much they were eating. But I do know that a newborn's stomach is supposed to be very small, so they can't hold much at a time. Plus, breastmilk is very easy to digest, so breastfed babies eat a lot more often than formula-fed babies. You won't be able to compare your breastfed baby's eating habits or growth patterns to those of formula-fed babies.

I highly recommend trying to get your baby back on the breast. Your baby is missing out on a lot of benefits by being on the bottle. For instance, did you know that if your baby comes in contact with a germ and then nurses on you, he will transmit that germ to you so that you can make an antibody for that germ and pass it back to him in your breastmilk? This is one of the many miracles of breastfeeding that keeps breastfed babies so healthy, and that element is lost with bottle-feeding. Also, breastfeeding works on a delicate supply-and-demand system, and a baby can much more efficiently extract milk than any manmade pump. Your supply will most likely be affected by exclusive pumping, and you may find that you are not able to pump enough to keep up with your baby.

If you would like to get him back on the breast but are not sure how or if he has trouble with it, contact your local La Leche League leader (http://www.lalecheleague.org/). They are available 24 hours a day, free of charge, and are very knowlegable and supportive. They should be able to help you out with any breastfeeding issues you may have (they've helped me through quite a few!)

Answer 4

That is completely within the normal range. You didn't mention if he is vomiting any back up; if he is vomiting, after burping him, alittle spit up is fine; If he spitting up a good bit try giving him between 2 and 3 oz. then take the bottle, burp him and maybe try a binky. Babies at that age have a basic need to suck. It soothes them. Most important is the weight issue, is he gaining weight normally and how many diapers he is using in a day. Remember it's not too late to re-introduce the breast! It just takes some patience and practice. Be sure to ask your son's pediatrician about your question.

Answer 5

I'm sorry the delivery was so scary! I'm glad everything turned out okay.

He may just be a hungry little boy! Usually if babies are over-eating they tend to spit up whatever was too much. So if he isn't spitting up or getting stomach aches from it, he's absolutely fine. It is good, however, to know when he's full, which if you haven't already learned, you will soon enough. Common signs are falling asleep, turning their head away, crying, and when they stop sucking.

Answer 6

dont worry momma, hes playing catch up. My son who was 9lbs1oz at birth ate that much almost from day one and grew like a weed. Let your little one dictate how much he eats....if youre observant youll know when hes done with signs such as his head turning away from the bottle or he lets it just run out of his mouth which in that case you may want to use a dummy/binky between feedings because he finds the sucking motion soothing. Remember lots of skin to skin contact even while bottle feeding, it will help with his growth and development. Colic can cause over eating though so watch for gassiness, crankiness, and general discontentment a formula switch will help that. Talk to your sons doc.

Answer 7

hi-my baby had a low score at birth too--but they said the test at 5 mins. is the one that matters--anyhoo
at one week old the baby's stomach is only the size of a small gumball.
my baby is 2 weeks now and eats between 2-4 oz a sitting--during her growth spurt she wanted to eat ALL the time-I ended up feeding her about 8 oz once and she threw up about 4 of it, lol
her stomach is still tiny.
you baby really only needs to nurse for 3-5 mins now-babies arent born with an appetite-so I would just pump into the bottle and stop him after he he's been drinking for about 2 mins--if he is still hungry, he will start sucking at his hands or your face or shirt (lol)
otherwise-some babies just need to suck right now, (it comforts them and helps with gas) If I didnt give mine a paci for a few minutes she'd try to eat all day long.
and dont worry about nipple confusion or not wanting to take a bottle after using a paci--my baby is just fine.

Answer 8

That is what my baby boy ate that age, and he's now over 10 pounds and is two feet < 24 inches>. He needs to eat as often as he does, to grow.
Little J.R. was 8pounds,2oz. and 21 1/2 long .He'll be 2 months old on the 11th and is still growing like a weed !

Answer 9

hi, i be responsive to precisely the way you experience. My superb chum is likewise scuffling with weight relief, shes doing the precise comparable as you. ingesting all of the the superb option issues, has a hectic life form - replace into additionally instructed to boost her energy as she wasnt ingesting sufficient - however the burden in no way got here off. proceed ingesting what you do already - as your nutrition plan seems superb - decrease the calorie intake lower back for some weeks and notice how that is going. additionally, once you bypass to the well being middle (i'm no expert so optimistically somebody else can help you right here) do greater aerobic. Weight's can now and lower back upload muscular tissues in accordance with what youre lifting - so even talk to somebody at your well being middle to bypass over a sparkling plan with you. now and lower back your physique gets used to what youre doing and the burden wont shift, so which you may combine it up slightly. additionally, in case you have an andriod iphone, get the app my well being chum - this video reveal instruments your energy, and you are going to be able to upload human beings and chat to what nutrition plan/workout will in shape you.

Answer 10

I'd say that what he is drinking is what he needs. Don't worry he can never have too much breast milk & you certainly cant withhold feeds on him. I don't think that this is too much milk at all. Newborns definately need to be fed on demand. Sounds like you had a really hard time at birth & nearly lost your baby so try & wind down & don't worry about your baby unless he looses weight. You've had enough on your plate.