Growth Spurt or Not Getting Enough to Eat?

Time to start some baby cereal. Start out once a day with rice or oatmeal mixed with formula or water. He's probably just growing so much that he needs a little more food.

Hi K.,

I would start putting some of the baby cereal in his formula to thicken it up a little. That will likely do the trick. But if that doesn't do it (or last) I would start working on the stage one baby foods. The jars say 4 months but I started my son around 12-14 weeks on it, and he did just fine. Sometimes that is just what they need. I have 3 kiddos (from 7 months to 7 years) and they all starting eating cereal and jar food at different times.

Best of luck to you!
D.

Soy + children under the age of 3 = NOT GOOD. Soy has negative long term effects when given before the age of 3. Do a little research and you will find lots of info on this.

The AAP said you could start solids at 4 months just a couple of years ago, so you may see in older literature that you could start that soon. BUT, they have since determined that a baby's digestive system is NOT ready for solids before 6 months. I think a growth spurt sounds quite possible, & would suggest feeding on demand to determine what his new needs are.

Good luck,
K.,
Mama to Milo, 2.75

I'll tell you what I did.......my son was a large baby. He didn't seem satisfied. I put a little cereal in his formula.....just a little like 2 teaspoons. I know the Doctors say not to do that for all kinds of reasons, but it worked for my son....he was only 4 weeks old......he slept all night was very content. He is a grown up boy now and it didn't hurt him. Good luck.

Take heart my little grandson, whom is now 6 months, did the same thing. I know it is difficult but he will finally get on a schedule. Cooper my grandson is still eating every 3 hours and he is perfect in his weight and happy.

Add baby cereal to his formula. Maybe a tablespoon...

Our granddaughter was having such trouble digesting her formula when she was small. My cousin mentioned to me that her grandchildren were on Carnation Good Start and did very well. Our granddaughter would not sleep more than an hour and a half at a time. My daughter started her on it and the baby slept for 5 hours that night. (She was 6 1/2 weeks old.) My daughter woke her up to make sure she was okay. It is now called Nestle's Good Start. Compare it to your current formula and see that the Good Start probably has less sugar. The doctor will not refer it. Maybe they don't get samples or something. That was almost 10 years ago. We have a very precious "big" girl. She is slim and has a nice build for a 10 year old. Hope this helps.
A loving grandmother called Honey

I recommend you go to the website www.westonaprice.org and read what they have to say about soy. Soy is always GMO and is not good for your child.

Kind regards, L. B.

Have you considered adding cereal and / or vegetables? I normally start mine on table veges at about 3 months. I just puree them in a food processor until smooth. I have had good luck with this. I do NOT introduce fruit until much later b/c it is sweet and I do not want my kids getting used to sweets. My kids eat everything from spinach to turnip greens. They eat their green stuff first, then the rest of it because that is what they are used to. Just a thought.

I think it is just a growth spurt. If it keeps up for a long time (more that 2 weeks), then I would worry. But, he is probably hungry and let him eat so that he gets the calories he needs to grow during this time.

K.,

I have a 6 month old baby boy and he also had the same problem seeming to not get satisfied with his formula. Although I didnt confirm with my Pediatrician first I started adding a little cereal to his bottle. I had no probems after that. I also did the same with my first son who is now 8 years old.

K. maybe every 4hrs is a long time for feedings,if he eats maybe every 2-3 hrs would probably cut down on how much he eats.A growth spurt sounds about right,because hes getting older and growing.Ask your pediatrician if you could add some rice cereal to his milk.I said rice because my kids pediatrician said that it is easier for babies to digest.B. F.

It ran in my family ( ANd I mean generations back ) that we also were very hungry. My advice is my mom's as was her mom's..........Put a (one) Tablespoon of Rice infant cereal in his 8 oz. bottle once or maybe twice a day , even though no Dr. would suggest it. It works and everybody was so much more calm for it. Don't do this as a habbit, but just those few string of days every now and then when you sense something more than just formula will do. M.

Is your baby sleeping a lot as well as eating a lot? If so, he's most likely growing. My daughter would eat voraciously, sleep a lot, and then all of sudden grow! Humans can only grow (or repair) during sleep.

As your baby gets older, you might notice that after the heavy eat/sleep cycle, he may temporarily be a little clumsy--drop head, fall, etc.--which indicates that his nervous system is growing into his new body.

It was not unusual for my daughter to want to nurse every 2-3 hours when she was in a growth spurt. It would plateau after a few days. Keep in mind it can happen quite frequently in the first year, as often as every 2-3 weeks, they grow so quickly.

are you using powdered formula or liquid? I know with 3 of my kids the powder would not fill them up so I had to change to liquid..I know most people will say there isnt a diffents but I found that there was. also i noticed that the good start formula was really good...

try giving rice cereal mixed with formula i used a feeder at first helps alot. good luck D. freeburn

Try "Nourishing Traditions" Raw Cow Milk Baby Formula. The book was written by Sally Fallon. The babies that I see on that formula are little plumps. If you read the research on the soy formula you will find that those children are many with the ADD, ADHD, etc. My nephew is one of those numbers and I stopped counting the number of medications the doctors prescribed for him. Also, go to Weston A. Price Foundation and read their research on soy. Not only will you throw that formula away you will begin reading every label in the store. Soy, non-fermented, really messes with the thyroid contributing to hypo-thyroidism (this eats the brain from inside the ventricle, out, mimicking Alzheimer's). I know b/c my mother in law died from supposed Alzheimer's and she had hypothyroidism and my husband fights hypothyroidism. There are 11 top reasons to avoid soy. I believe that it has never been tested nor approved for human consumption. It my understanding that it is promoted on the US market b/c it is a byproduct of a cover crop for corn farmers. Soy is a legume that is nitrogen fixing. It is used as a cover crop for corn fields in the off season b/c corn is a HUGE nitrogen feeder. This saves the farmers on chemical, synthetic nitrogen during the growing season. However, there was a bonus to this program, a soy bean, so in order to increase the profitability of the farm, they needed outlets to sell this byproduct. So they began making all the products that you now see: soy milk, soy frozen, soy lethicin (not sure on this spelling), etc. I have a degree in Scientific Nutrition so I am not getting this out of magazine article. We own a sustainable living farm in Cameron, TX and this is my daily walk of life to produce nutrient dense food for over 100 families a week. We are a soy free farm. Go read the research on soy on the Weston A. Price Foundation web site and learn for yourself.

Hi! I have four little girls and before that I worked in daycare since I graduated from highschool (that's a LONG time) and have a certification in child development. It is normal for him to be eating that much at this age, and yes he could be going through a growth spurt.

Pediatricians do not recommends giving your baby solids at this age. I don't feed my kiddos solids until 6 months.

As for what people are saying about soy- yes soy formula is not supposed to be good. I was on soy formula because I couldn't tolerate the regular formula, but there are a lot of options out there now so you might look into it. There's Carnation Good Start that is supposed to be good for children who can't tolerate the other formula.

As for it giving a child ADHD- ADHD is on the autism spectrum and those children tend to have food sensitivities which is why they get put on soy milk (allergic to cow milk.) They would have been ADHD even if not on soy milk. I know ADHD children that were breastfed and then had raw goat milk- it's not the soy formula. The problem with that is soy is an allergen too, and it can cause cancer because it produces too much estrogen in the body!

S., mom to four girls ages 1-5, most or all on the autism spectrum

do what jennifer z and alysha g said. please get your son off soy asap! soy is so bad for people but especially little boys. can cause major problems with reproductive organs. check out mercola's website (www.mercola.com) or sally fallon's weston a price foundation website. we use them both extensively. there is a book called "the whole soy story" if interested in learning more about why soy isn't good. there are forms of soy that are beneficial but most people are eating (b/c most consumers are selling) genetically modified soy products.
good luck! if/when you switch to another type of formula see how he does. you can always use goat's milk as well as it digests very similar to breastmilk in a babies tummy. preferably raw goat's milk. check out realmilk.com for raw milk dairy farms in your area.

Don't worry when my son was that age he ate alot, he still eats alot. When he was 3 months I started giving him a little cereal in the bottle for about a week to see how he would adjust. My doctor's have never worried about how much my son ate they would just tell me let him drink all the milk he can because he needs the nutrients. My son was drinking Enfamil Soy and adding the cereal helped alot. I hope this eases your mind.

Babies hit a grow spurt around 3 months. I have 5 month old twins and they did the same thing, it lasted about 2 weeks. Please don't start him on cereal until you talk to your pediatrician. If he's already on soy because of allergies I would think that he's going to be sensitive to baby cereal too so the longer you wait; the better. Congrats and Good luck.

Hi there, I know that a lot of moms (against the peds advise mind you) give their babies just a small bit (maybe a teaspoon) of cereal in the bottles. I did this with my daughter and most of my friends had the same problem so also did this. We all checked with the doctor first and all, but in the end it always seemed like we were feeding ever other second. The doctor is likely to say no dont do that but in the end the choice has to be yours. They arent the babies parent and dont have to live with you. Hope this helps.
S.

Check out Dr. Mercola's Infant Formula Fortification Protocol. (www.mercola.com) He warns against soy formulas, but has suggestions to make formula closer to breast milk. I think there's also an anticipated growth spurt at about this time for your child. They need plenty of fat, and this recipe shows you how.

Hi K.,

The poor little guy! Sounds like he needs cereal. I had to start giving my oldest son cereal when was 3 months old. He couldn't get satisfied with just my milk. I am not talking about putting it into a bottle. That is dangerous. Please get the Gerber cereal that is recommended to be used first. I think it is rice cereal. Then, use a half of a teaspoon of ceral mixed with a lot of formula so it is runny. Then spoon-feed it to him. He will make funny faces and probably try to spit it out, but he'll get some substance in his tummy. If you try this at night right before his bath time, he will probably be satisfied enough to sleep a good long time. I hope this helps!
C.

I don't know about advice but I can tell you that that seems like a LOT! I have a 13 week old and though she's breastfed, I have given her a bottle here and there when I needed to and she never comes close to that amount. The most ever was 4 oz. and she was stuffed.

I'm sure everything is fine. The ladies on here collectively have great knowledge. Read and sort through their words and take that to your pediatrician.

Good luck!

sounds like yet another growth spurt. increase formula . talk with health cre giver about starting on cerial. i started my 2 bottle fed babies on cerial when the formula did not satify. but that was a long time ago. my breast fed babies 4 usually started at 4-6 months. when they tryed to put food in their mouth was my guide. my youngest is 20 and ideas change . talk to heath care provider and good luck. D.