My 5-month old daughter is only eating 2-3 ounces per feeding during the day. She gets so distracted and loses interest quickly. Then, of course, she's eating about 5 ounces when she wakes during the night, which is usually only once. Sometimes I think we offer her the bottle too often during the day so she's just snacking but even when she's shoving her hands in her mouth and getting upset (clear hunger signs with her) she's only eating 2-3 ounces. She's was in the 50th percentile for weight at her 4-month check-up so clearly she's getting enough food but we're hoping she'll start sleeping through the night soon. She has twice so far and both times she had eaten a ton of food during the day. Any advice is much appreicated.
BTW - she is eating only breast milk
hi T., i think that it's maybe time to start feeding her solids. you can start them around 4-6 mos. if you bottle breast milk, put an 1/4 cup of rice cereal in the bottle. it will help fill her up a little more. and she'll start having more grains too. she'd probably LOVE some sweet potatoes or applesauce! good luck:)
Her hands in her mouth very well could be teething. Teething causes fluctuation in hunger and it is common. Don't push the sleeping through the night as that will change a lot over the course of the next year too. Breast milk doesn't stay on the system long so if you are wanting her to do all nighters I suggest supplement with formula at night and make sure she has a big meal before bed, cereal and formula.
Neither of my kids slept through the night until almost 10 mos of age and solids were in the picture.
Don't allow her to just snack, wait until she is truly hungry and feed her. Getting her on a feeding schedule will help you and her if she is just breast fed. Feeding whenever will cause her to use you as a pacifier to soothe herself and when she is teething, both of which will not allow all nighters of sleep. If you introduce cereal a bit now you may have better luck.
It's a good idea to hold off on solids (including rice cereal) 'til at least 6 months to decrease the chance of your daughter having allergies.
How often does she eat? My 5 month old DS eats about every 2-3 hours during the day (I'm not sure how much as we don't usually bottle-feed... on the occasions that he has taken a bottle he's had about 3 oz for a feed) and usually gets up once in the night and once early in the morning. And I'm ecstatic about that since my DS1 used to get up 5-6 times a night at LEAST.
Keep in mind that all those people you hear saying that their babies sleep through the night are only talking about a single stretch of 5-6 hours. Your DD is probably already doing that.
As long as she's growing well and has good energy and seems to get full & happy... I wouldn't worry about it. She really will sleep through the whole night eventually. ;)
A lot of times, their appetite will go down when it's hot. It's pretty normal. I'm sure she will start eating normal amounts when we start to hit cooler weather in the fall.
I wouldn't worry. Breastmilk is more filling and satsifying than formula, so she won't drink as many onces as she would formula. Breastmilk also digests faster, so she will want to eat more often. As for the night time feeding, send your husband in to comfort her back to sleep without food and see if that works. You'll know if she is really hungry or just wants comfort. Otherwise, my daughter was 10 months old when she finally quit waking at night to nurse. And before that she was up every 2-3 hours! So if your daughter is getting up once a night, she might be still hungry, especially if it is like 5 in the morning. So it sounds like she is doing really well and I wouldn't worry. :)
At my daughter's four month check up, her doctor said that babies 4-6 months tend to eat between 28-32 ounces of breastmilk daily. Just wanted to pass that info along in case it might help.
My daughter has been sleeping through the night for a couple of months now ... We make sure that about 7pm each night, she eats a lot. I'll sit with her for an hour or so and just let her snack or eat as much as she wants. Afterward, I'll put her down while she's still awake and if she gets fussy just offer more food. I don't talk much with her during this time as it's bedtime. She's usually asleep by 8:30 and wakes about 6:30.
Good luck!
you are right that you are probably offering her the bottle too much. i think for her to begin to thrive she should start to eat solids. start slow and then progress gradually starting a new food every 3-4 days. start with rice cereal first thing in the morning. this will also help her to start sleeping through the night. i started feeding my 4 (14--10--7--3) when they were about 4 weeks old. i slit the nipple a little witht the scissors and added rice cereal to their formula. they loved it and they always had really great checkups! remember this is not set in stone-- trial and error. but i bet she will love it!! good luck and god bless!!
If she's gaining weight, she's fine. And if she's only getting up once in the night --- that's great. My kids didn't sleep through the night until after they turned one. I sometimes they still get up during the night for various reasons. I supplemented with formula at night in hopes of the baby making in through the night.
