4 Month Old Eats 54 Oz a Day and Soaks Through Diapers Each Night

Honey, you need to give that baby some cereal. DOctors change there minds every week it seems when to start cereal and baby food so you do what you need to do. I started my kids on cereal when they were 2 months old and they did fine. Good luck and enjoy that baby. K.

Hey,
give her some baby food. (fruit) then give her a bottle. My little girl was the same way.

A.,
http://workathomeunited.com/bell04

I also think it seems that she is having a growth spurt. My kids would do this for probably about a week or so at a time. My daughter has always soaked her diapers. She is now two, it's extremely rare now that she wets through, but she has always loaded her diapers with pee. Here's a weird one for ya, my daughter's morning pee has always smelled really bad. I know morning pee is like concentrated, but man it smells. Also, a lot of children can begin teething around 4 months, so this could be why she isn't sleeping well and cranky. However, don't expect a tooth to just pop out. I swear my son has been teething since he was 4 months, buts didn't get his first tooth until 7 months. He is now 10.5 months and only has two teeth. I hope this helps good luck.

no more then 32 ounces of formula per day, maybe use pacifier, she just might want to suck on something.

She's going through a growth spurt. Give her 3-5 days and her eating, sleeping and diaper output will go back to normal.

Are you using sheet savers - that is a huge help because you don't have to change the whole crib then.

Also, try changing her more frequently. She may be urinating more often, resulting in a fuller diaper.

She's probably cranky because she is hungry more often and tired because she isn't sleeping. Although teething at this age isn't unusual, and the additional eating could be comfort feeding.

Either way, I found that these things pass in about a week.

Take a deep breath and know that this, too, shall pass.

C. & McKenna (13 mos.)

Hi A.,
WOW! Sounds like you got a hungry one on your hands...Have you tried to give your daughter cereal? If she's eating that much, that often, she may need a little more. I'd try rice cereal mixed w/her formula. Good luck.

Sounds like she might be ready for some rice. My doctor said it is OK to start it between 4 and 6 months. Also, we have always used Huggies Overnight diapers at night and they work really well.

Sounds like a LOT of formula. I just re-checked her age to see if you should feed her more solids, but she is too young to do ANY solids. Maybe its just a growth spurt, if so, it won't last too long.
Even though the diapers you are using still fit comfortably, move up a size, the extra absorbency would always do the trick for us when this happened. The sizes aren't usually THAT far off.

I edited my post to add the following link after seeing that you decided to start solids as your solution.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

A.,
Your kid is eating a ton of formula! My first question would be, have you tried solids yet? Our daughter also did that fussy phase about 3 1/2 months, and we began solids because nothing else was satisfying to her. She had also been consuming massive bottles (8oz.). Our first food was mashed banana, and it worked great, she ate 2 tbsp. her first feeding! Since beginning solid food, my daughter eats 4 meals a day, starting w/ 5-6 oz. of formula, or as much as she'll have, then I offer solid food. She lets me know when she's done by "kicking" out her legs (you know what I mean!) or turning her head. All the literature I've read says this is normal. She eats until satisfied, then stops. And she's slept throught the night except on rare occasions, since 4 months old.
I recommend two great sites w/ info on first foods, wholesomebabyfood.com and homemade_baby_food_recipes.com. They both provide feeding guidelines and menus, as well as informative articles from the American Academy of Pediatrics on feeding.
Also, I had the same diaper issue. Even though they fit, the #2's just didn't cut it in the absorbency department. Better to move up a size and save yourself the headache of laundry - they aren't that much different in size!
Good luck, hope all this is helpful!
-C. W.

I'm thinking she's having a growth spurt. Which doesn't help with the wet diaper issue, but does mean it will not go on forever. Good luck!

have you tried some cereal yet? Maybe that may help her hearty appetite.

there are diapers that are out there to wear through the night. i have seen them at target. she is drinking alot. 64 ounces is a half gallon. she is 10 ounces short of that. talk to the doctor and see if she can start any type of cereal. may be she needs some food but this is up to the doctor. i started my son on plan rice cereal when he was four months old and he did pretty well.

She is most likely going through a growth spurt. My advice is that start giving her some oatmeal if you haven't already. That will help satisfy her longer and she won't be soaking her diapers at night. Sometimes the rice is just not heavy enough to keep them going for a longer period of time. If you have any sheet savers put them on where her diaper would be when she sleeps. That way if it leaks you only have to change the sheet savers and not all the bedding in the middle of the night. It will pass don't worry.

You might want to consider stating her on stage 1 food. I did that both my children, one is three and the other is 6.5 months and does fine. Both my children ate what seemed to be a lot so I started them on food. Talk it over with your doctor but my pediatrition had told me to start with the food, like cereal then fruits and veggies etc. Hope this helps.

My son used to soak through his diapers at night too. Now, I use the next size up and a diaper doubler. Diaper doublers are like pads you put in the diaper. They are great! They sell at Babies R Us 2.99 for a pack of 30. Hope that helps!

The only thing I can really say about the size of bottles is that they do make 9oz bottles and I have definitely heard of friends' babies that drank that much. I almost exclusively nursed and the few bottles I pumped were usually more like 5 oz. But mine tended not to drink so much when I wasn't there.

They can start doing a lot more around 4 months. I'm pretty sure there is a growth spurt around that time. That might explain her larger need for milk. Also, teeth can start moving and make their little mouths sore. You may or may not see any teeth for several months, but there is action under the gums before you see those new shiny teeth pop through. My first actually had a tooth pop out at 4 months 1 day! The other thing that can be going on is they can begin gaining mobility. Rolling over happens around that time if it hasn't yet. Mine always had disrupted sleep when they were learning a new skill. It was like they didn't have time to sleep.

I guess if she's drinking more, it makes sense that she's wetting more. Usually the diapers come in ranges of sizes that overlap. While she might really fit well in a size 2, if you check the packaging, she might also be in the size range for a 3. You don't want a diaper that is too huge, but if you can make it not have gaps, using the next size up just for bedtime can help with leaks. That's where we are with my 12 month old. Huggies makes an overnight diaper too which work great. They are hard to find in a size 3 (they don't make under that). I can usually get 4's or 5's at Target for my older one though. Giant Eagle used to carry them, but not lately.

As for the fussiness - her sleep is being disrupted and she could be uncomfortable if it's her teeth.

If you just don't feel right and none of those things seem to fit, it never hurts to call the ped and ask. They will either tell you over the phone (ask to talk with a nurse) that everything is ok and let you know at what point they would be concerned and want to see your daughter or they will just tell you to bring her in.

i wouldn't add cereal until you've tried other methods...it doesn't always work for hunger satiation and kids don't need solids until at least 6 months...try the sucking/soothing methods to see if this is the issue(she may be cranky from an ear infection or maybe too full of a belly)...try to adjust the flow...that is a lot of formula for a baby...but i don't think you can say one number is the only amount you can give a child, some just need more. My son ate 13 times a day (breast fed...don't know the amount) for the first 6 months and then about 8-9 times until at least 6 months of age...and now he's a healthy preschooler whose been on only 3 antibiotics his whole life, so you just don't know! and add the diapers or go a size up...to keep your sanity...good luck with

A.,

It sounds like she is going through a growth spurt which usually lasts a few days or so. Many parents I know use two diapers for night time. They buy a pack of the next size up from what the baby is wearing and put two diapers on for night time.

I would talk to your ped and see what he/she recommends as far as the feeding concerns. 50+ ounces of formula seems to be a really high number. Is it possible that she's a high sucking need baby? Bottlefed babies are unable to regulate the flow of formula coming out of the bottle and tend to just keep swallowing as long as something is in their mouth. Have you tried offering a pacifier? How frequently to you burp her during a feeding? Have you tried distracting her to see if she's really hungry?

I would be very hesitant to introduce solids, especially cereal at this point in time. Developmental signs of being ready for solids include:
1. Able to sit up unsupported
2. Developing pincer grasp (Not Palmar Grasp)
3. At least 6 months of age
4. Lost the tongue thrust reflex
5. Showing an active interest in solids, is trying to steal food from you and put it in her mouth, not simply watching you eat.

At 1 year old, the majority (75%) of a baby's nutrition should still be coming from breastmilk/formula. During the first year, the introduction of solids is for experience/play with taste and texture.

There's a very common sleep regression at 4 months. It is thought to be related to developmental milestones. There's another one around 9 months. It's frustrating, but it's just a stage. Starting solids is not proven to help with sleep.

Best wishes,

S.

Perhaps you could try some rubber pants over the diapers at bedtime. Huggies Overnight Diapers are also very good

It sounds like cereal time. It will be more filling for her and given before bed might get her to sleep a little longer. Just a tip for the crib, I have to use one because my daughter throws up sometimes after her first morning feeding, but those bed pads the hospital used while you were in labor to soak up everything work great tucked into the sides of the mattess and either over or under a sheet with a spare sheet under the pad so it's only a quick remove in the middle of the night. or even try a different type of diaper for nights if she's not soaking through during the day. Best of luck.

Judging from your follow up, it sounds like you found something that works for you. I just wanted to mention that when my kids started leaking during the night I would move them up to the next size diaper for nighttime and keep them in their current size for daytime. That worked well for us.

Is she eating any baby cereal? Sounds like she is really ready to start baby food! I would definitely discuss it with your doc first, but both my kids started cereal (even if it was a little in the bottle) about 4 1/2 months. My son especially, he was skinny skinny skinny, but ate like a pig! At one point I thought he would never sleep through the night he was hungry all the time! So the solidity of the cereal helped to hold him over a bit longer! Think aobut how much you would drink if you were on an only liquid diet, it doesn't fill you up for long! So I would definitely consider cereal, but call your pediatrician to make sure. Good luck J.

Talk to you pediatrician about maybe starting her on rice cereal. If she is getting hungry so close together that she quit sleeping through the night it might be time.

Maybe this is normal for her BUT this sounds like an awful lot of formula for her to be taking in during a 24 hour period. It is probably just her body preparing for a growth spurt. However with her being cranky, not sleeping and eating so much, I think I would call the doctor to discuss it with him/her just to be sure there isn't something else going on.

I know that with some babies, when they have an ear infection or are teething (which can also cause ear pressure), they want to suck more because it helps relieve the pressure in their ears. It could be that she is eating more because of an ear infection (which would also explain the crankiness and the lack of sleeping) BUT all could still just be a normal reaction to a normal growth spurt.

I would talk to the doctor just to be sure.

Good luck. I hope this helps and you are both able to sleep soon.

We went through this with our son. We started to feed him rice cereal in the mornings and some in his bottle at night. We found he stayed full longer. We also put his night time diaper on backwards. I know it sounds strange, but a friend told us about it. The diaper was full, but it did not leak through. Good Luck.