How Much Is to Much?? - Grove City,OH

Hi, E.! I wouldn't give him much more than the doctor has told you, but maybe you could give him a few bits of a rice cereal or something -- just to give him something to chew on. I fed all of my kids early like that, and never had any problems. I wouldn't give him much -- maybe just a couple of tablespoons. Enjoy that little guy!

It sounds like he's still hungry. Try adding a little cereal to his formula... not a lot.. play with it... but you don't want to make it too thick. It will help to fill him up. You may need to make the holes on the nipple a little bigger. My niece is 4 months old and we've had to do this with her. Now we're all much happier.

Your doctor probably doesn't want you to feed him that much due to the surgery. I had a section of my bowel removed a year ago due to a blockage and I am still learning how to eat. I assumed since you know the specific volume your son is taking in that you are feeding him formula. Call the doctor and express your concerns. Maybe he can suggest another formula (request samples, they get them for free). They have some formulas for colic that are thicker and more filling. Or see if at you can increase the volume he is intaking. Good luck I will keep you in my prayers.

This is a hard one to answer. The only thing I can tell you is that at 6-8 weeks, baby's go through a growth spurt, and will seem like they can't get enough.

I don't know what kind of formula you're giving him, if it's the powdered or "ready to feed", but if it's the powdered, our daughters (and my neices and nephews) had BIG TIME gas issues with the powdered. The doctor's office told us if we *had* to use powdered (because it's so much cheaper than the ready-to-feed), then to mix up a batch in a pitcher the night before, using warm water. That'll help "get the gas out". You can also try using Mylicon (if it's okay with the doctor - just because of the surgery).

We ended up using the "ready to feed" all the time because we noticed that our daughters tummy's and BM's did much better with that than the powdered (which they usually ended up constipated with).

Just a few thoughts, for what it's worth....and good luck!

I would get a second opinion. Go to another ped. in another office, and bring your medical chart with you. Explain the situation, and ask that doctor if s/he agrees with the first doctor. If the answer is yes, then at least you can feel better knowing you are doing what is right for your child. If the answer is no, find out why not, and what the second doctor would do differently. I agree with you that you should go with your instincts, but since you don't have the medical knowledge, I think your instincts are telling you that you need to be sure the first doctor knows best.

This is hard to answer because your little one has had surgery. I think if a baby is hungry, feed him. My first son ate 10 oz every 2-3 hours for a time without vomiting. He grows like the speed of light. He just turned 5 and is the size of an average 7 year old. The doctors told me not to feed him that much, but he was HUNGRY!! Maybe you could try upping his feedings by 1-2 oz? I would maybe call you dr. and have a talk with them about it. Good Luck!

Relactate and nurse him on demand. There's no such thing as "too much" breastmilk and he'll never be hungry:)
DO NOT put cereal in his bottle. Solids need to wait until around 6 months of age, otherwise you're going to screw up his digestive system and cause all kinds of issues both now and down the road. Babies have an "open gut" and feeding solids before that resolves itself (around 6 months) can cause food allergies and digestive problems. It's not right to trick his body into thinking it's full when it's not.

Our pediatrician told us with both kids that they are amazing self-regulating creatures. Both of our kids were huge babies and have thinned out as toddlers. I never stuck to a schedule but did worry about how big they were. Our pediatrician said he'd still be worried if there were issues at age 2.

Personally, I'd seek another opinion. Babies don't know how to overeat. Some are just more efficient with their calories than others.

Good luck!

That doesn't seem like enough to me. I would call your doc, explain that it seems like your guy is hungry in between feedings. I would be hesitant to up the feedings with out talking to your doctor first, just because of the surgery.

Hi E.,

According to my doctor, yours is wrong. You feed your baby until full at each setting. You don't want to have them snack and eat every hour, but space them out every 3-4 hours like you've been doing and allow them to eat until they are done. Imagine what it feels like to be hungry all the time...and doing that to a baby? Can't believe that was your docs orders.

Hi E.,

I have a 5 year old son that have pyloric stenosis when ge was 4 weeks old. He was born full term at 4.15. and at 4 weeks old he weighed 6.5. After his surgery he was always hungry, it was like he had been starving his first 4 weeks, he really took off growing! But, after the surgery, he also had reflux, he was put on formula with rice cereal added in, plus I had to add extra cereal on top of it, and he was put on prevacid. We did increase his formula a little, after awhile he stopped eating as much, but he had reflux for his first 3 years. Good luck!

I would listen to your doctor. MAy be smaller and more feedings during the day would fill him up better. Discuss it with your doctor. You don't want to overwhelm his body. I am sure his body is still healing. Some of us don't understand what your son has been through. Be careful how you listen to advice.

Well, doctors do know their stuff. Does he take a pacifier? If not maybe he is just wanting to suck, not eat. How is he on his growth chart? If he is following the curve right and not jumping up to fast, then im sure your feeding him just right. He may be going through a growth spurt and needs aliitle more food for a little while.

Hi E. -

How frustrating it must be to have to worry about your baby being hungry and wondering whether or not the advice of your doctor is correct. In certain cases - mother knows but in cases where a medical issue prevails she is in tune to the child but not necessarily to that of the medical needs of the child. You have every right to question your doctor and let him know that you have serious concerns. It's important that you are careful with feeding due to the fact that overfeeding can create more problems in the future with diabetes, overeating etc. By all means - ignore people that tell you to give your 2 month old cereal in the bottle. A lot of people tried to give me that advice - because that is the old way of doing things. It is true that he is at the age of a growth spurt and maybe your doctor needs to rethink the strategy. It's just imperative that you communicate with your doctor and do your research online in case you find information to help you communicate more effectively with your pediatrician. From the research I just did - it said that "After a successful pyloromyotomy, your infant will not need to follow any special feeding schedules." but that your doctor must make sure that everything is healing correctly.

As for feeding schedules - it's hard for me to know how much to give because I breastfed my first son. I did have to pump and give him breastmilk in a bottle for the first 10 weeks and my pediatrician gave me the same advice regarding 24 oz in 24 hours at that age. But when he eventually learned to nurse how would anyone know how much milk he was actually ingesting? I fed on demand and tried not to schedule his feedings and now at 27 months he eats when hungry and is at a perfect weight. I guarantee that when I pumped I got a lot more milk out than my pediatrician recommended for feedings so if my son drained one side then it would make sense that he got more as well.

Just keep in good communication with your pediatrician! I hope this helps.

I would listen to the doctor. Also, call and ask a nurse about it. She can talk to the doctor and find out if there is anything else you can do like cereal in the formula, etc.

Don't worry too much - all babies are different.

My DS #2 was 9lbs 4oz at birth, breastfed, and gained a pound a week (yes - ONE LB PER WEEK) for the first 10 weeks of his life. Yes, he was 13lbs at his four week check up, 17lbs at his eight week check up, and so on. He slowed down a little after his third month and topped off at 33 lbs by his 1st birthday.

DS #3, nursed just as much as his big brother, got the same mommy's milk, was 8lbs 7oz at birth, and at 21 months he is only 27 lbs (a weight his big brother reached before he was 8 months old).

SO - I don't think your baby is growing like crazy...seems like the typical weight gain to me. And I don't know anything about his condition. I just wanted to give my "two cents" - I think growth charts, etc can be misleading and sometimes docs get a little too hung up on them. ;)

Good Luck!

*** Edited to add: I totally agree with the re-lactating that was suggested! That would be so much better for him, especially if he has digestive issues. And definitely don't give him any rice cereal or other solids yet, it can only cause more problems down the road. ***

My youngest was born the biggest out of all my little ones... he was 8# 21" (the other 3 were 7# 4 oz and ranged from 19 1/2" - 21"). My doc laughted when he noticed I had 3 kids almost the exact same size that is till my big boy. Anyways when my sister had her 10# little girl just 2 weeks after my last was born... he weigh just as much as her to everyones suprise. And by 2 1/2 months he had almost double his birth weight and I was told to start giving him cereal a few times a day. (Which usually doesn't happen till 6 mo.) I'm not sure how much he was eating... I'm guessing pretty good - you see he was getting "sweet milk" (breastmilk). But there were days I was called the "mothership" becuase he was always "docked". Then others it bothered me because he didn't seem to nurse for more the 5 min here and there... that's when I called my sister (who has nurse 4 out of 5 kids and teaches classes on nursing & living with a nursing mom) to find out if I was doing something wrong. I was told no... babies do that.

Anyways... I did nurse all of my kids some, with each it lasted longer. But with my 5 year old, she nursed tille she was about 2 months old... shortly after I went back to work she stopped. She use to drink 6 oz bottles about every 3-4 hours - we were told she was getting to much, but at the same time she wasn't gaining weight fast enough. With my 4 yr old, he only like 5 oz bottles every 3-4 hours and would sometime go almost 6 hours before wanting anything... he did have gas issues & we tried an over the counter baby gas relief - which helped A LOT! It changed his sleeping habits & helped him be a happier baby... no more pain from gas ment smiles and laughs not farting and crying. It didn't matter how much we burped him it just didn't help... even feeding him less didn't. But you also have the pyloric stanosis to concider... I'm not sure if you can use the gas drops with that. I don't think a little extra formula will hurt, but I would ask about gas drops. And maybe explain to the doc that he just seem hungry all the time & you need advice on how to make him feel better.

Congratz on the little one!