Is my 4 week old getting enought to eat?

Question

My son used to poop 3 to 5 times a day but the past 3 days he has only pooped like once a day, Is he going through a growth spurt or is something wrong? He also throws up a LOT, the Dr. told me to alternate breast milk with gentle ease formula and it seems to help some. he always looks like his tummy hurts and he toots alot is this normal? this is my first baby and Ive already drove the Dr. crazy so I decided to ask some mothers on here.

Answer 1

Ohh, what is your ped saying about formula?

OK, this is exactly my experience with my first baby. She threw up constantly - it was projectile. I'm talking three feet across the room. Her poots sounded like there was an elephant farting somewhere. She was always squirming around and her tummy would get extremely distended after she ate.

First of all, if a baby is exclusively breastfed, the number of poops can be very variable. Sometime my girl poops eight times a day, sometimes twice. You can tell if they're getting enough to eat by the number of wet diapers. I believe that at 4 weeks it should be about 6 a day.

I know everyone says this and it's not that comforting, but this really is a phase. I think - just as a mom - that a lot of babies' digestive tracts are really immature and just need some time to sort out. My girl just turned four months and she hardly ever pukes anymore, and it's much smaller volumes. Her poots have calmed way down - just a few here and there, and her tummy never gets distended anymore. I obviously don't know all the details, but if I were you I would just stick to breastmilk, as supplementing can make the baby wean early. Maybe examine your diet - there are lots of things like dairy, wheat, spicy food, etc., that can cause some gastric upset for baby. There's also reflux, which you can find lots of information about.

Seriously, it sounds like this is exactly what my baby went through. Please feel free to email me if you want to talk about it!
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Good luck!

Answer 2

You can't really measure how much your baby is eating if you are breastfeeding unless you are pumping. A formula fed baby should be eating 18-30 ounces a day at that age. A breastfed baby should be eating about 8-12 times a day. But, I wouldn't worry if he isn't exactly in these guidelines as long as it's somewhere close to that. My daughter got to where she was only dirtying one diaper a day before she was even a month. All babies are different. If he seems constipated, like it hurts him to poop and it's really hard, then you could give him a few ounces of water every day. Also, if his tummy feels hard, the gas might be hurting him. You can get some of those Mylicon gas drops and they help alot. You can get them at Walmart or any store like that or at the pharmacy. Just give him up to the first line. I think it is .3 ML. Be sure to burp him really good. Best of luck. And it does get a easier. :)