Am I feeding to much?? 3 ounces to a 3 week old??

Question

I am currently expressing from both breasts and feeding the milk to my 3week old son 3 ounces with a bottle. He seems to get hungry (voracious) every 2 hrs or so and his stools have changed from yellow cottage cheese consistency to a mustardish runny poo which he does with a big passing of wind at almost every feed. He is gaining weight really well. Is this normal?

Answer 1

I know how hard and demanding it is to exclusively pump. I hope you can remedy that issue and have him on the breast soon. If not, make sure that the double pump is ELECTRIC and hospital grade and that you frequently check all the parts. If anything is not working (like the little white plasitc flaps on the inside of the pumps) the suction will be compromised and you will get less milk. He may cry and seem hungry even if he just has gas so burp him after every two ounces or so and also try drinking a tea that is made from 1 part ground caraway seed, 1 part ground fennel seed, and one part anise. If you do not want to make your own, you can purchase something called "Mother's Tea" which is the same thing. Personally, I like the home made version. I combined about 2 tsp each of the fennel, anise, and caraway and kept it in an air-tight container until I needed it. I used about a 1/2 tsp or so of the tea mixture in a cup of boiling water and steeped it for maybe a minute. I drank that with every meal and water with every breast feeding or pumping session. That will not only help you make and keep a good breast milk supply, but it will calm the baby's stomach and reduce gas. Also, try to eat anything you can that is made of regular oatmeal. Even oatmeal cookies are exceptable. ;) Brewer's yeast is also good to take and both will also help with breast milk production. Later, especially if you are still exclusively pumping, you may want to try to get fenugreek. It is an excellent herb for increasing the milk supply and its only "side effect" is that it makes your sweat smell like maple syrup. (Funny, huh?) Oh, and remember that you are establishing the breast milk for the future so it is important to pump no less than every 3 hours at this point. Tiring, I know, but keep it up! Not doing so can risk a severe and permanent drop in your production since this is still the time of establishment for your body. As for the amount your son is getting, after you try to reduce the gas issue (oh, forgot to suggest gving your son Gripe Water, which is also natural and works well) try giving the little guy another 1/2 to a full ounce. Breast milk digests very fast and the infant may need more than an infant recieving formula. It is not comparable to formula feeding except that you still use a bottle. You CAN overfeed a breastmilk baby if he is bottle fed. I know. I did. However, he was just bigger and not really much fatter than my children who got milk from the tap. ;) The idea that your baby will tell you just how much he needs is also not true for every baby. I had one who was diagnosed FTT (failure to thrive) and he simply would not eat unless you made him. I had another who loved to eat like crazy from the breast and never let go. So, all that is said just to let you know that you can't check your brain at the door. Just note how he normally acts. If he seems hungry AFTER he has burped and you know his complaining is not due to gas, give him another 1/4 ounce and see if that tides him over. Oh, and the change of color and consistancy in the bm is standard for a breast fed baby. It sounds as if you truly do have nothing to be concerned about. Happy mothering!

Answer 2

3 weeks is not very old are you using mothers milk formula? Start at 2 oz. If he still seems hungry let him have more. Puppies will eat until they are full or fall asleep which ever comes first, and every 2 hours is better. Next week he;ll have his puppy teeth starting to grow in leave dry food down for him to chew on to cut his teeth and in the evenings give him puppy chow soaked in formula, to oatmeal consistency, and watch him dive in. This will help with him sleeping through the night. By the time he's 5 or 6 weeks you can stop the feeding he'll be eating on his own. Do you have any other dogs? He's going to need some canine socialization, and a surrogate to teach him how to be a dog. If you have a friend with a small dog that likes puppies have them come over to visit and let the older dog teach the pup. Good Luck I hope this helps

Answer 3

The fact that he's having alot of gas sounds like he may be having an issue with what you are eating but besides that itsounds like he may be actually hitting a growth spurt. If he is emptying the bottle rapidly it may be that you need to pump more often to match his needs.
A baby will tell you when they have had enough to eat. This early on there is not really any way to overfeed a baby. They'll turn away when they're full.

Answer 4

Your baby will eat as much as he needs, as often as he needs to. If your doctor hasn't told you to express though, you should try to feed him from your breast even if that means you don't know how much he's getting because if you continue to express and he's going through a growth spurt, you may not be able to produce enough milk, because expressing can't take the place of your son's natural stimulation. Also, babies need to release gas, and it doesn't matter which end it comes from, as long as he's getting it out :)

Answer 5

It is very common for breast fed babies to eat more often. If you are not getting enough milk there are herbal suppliments that are safe to use to increase your supply. If that still doesn't help you may need to suppliment with formula to make sure that he is getting what he needs.

Answer 6

Yes! and the poops are all very normal enjoy this time and relaxs it gose by so fast honestly you will know your self and your son will to.

Answer 7

your baby will eat how ever much it needs. just make sure that you dont over feed and the baby throws up everywhere but for now you are doing great congrats

Answer 8

my baby's like that, she's 8 weeks old and is a super eater. it is a good thing because if she happens to get sick and lose a pound or 2, it won't leave her underweight.

Answer 9

COMPLETELY normal. Babies that young know how much they need to eat.