How Much to Feed My 1 1/2 Month Old

FEED ON DEMAND! It cannot be said often enough. Babies are fed on demand. If you weren't using a bottle you would not know how much she was eating. The is no gauge in the human breast.

Feed her on demand, not on a schedule.
If you feed her when she tells you she's hungry, then you don't have to worry about her not getting enough.

Babies will vary on their nutritional needs. First, I would not feed on a schedule as this trains them to eat even when not hungry setting them up for a lifetime of possible weight struggles. Second, feed your baby with the slowest flow nipple you can find. It takes about 20 minutes for the full signal to reach the brain, so by making the bottle more similar to breastfeeding will help. Third, are you feeding due to fussiness? Your baby may simply need to suck (have you tried a pacifier?), be held, or rocked to sleep. By waiting and seeing if they are truly hungry and demanding food, you can see if your little one is really needing more food. Many times just going through the process of changing their diaper, burping them, rocking and soothing them, either enough time has passed that you know they are hungry, or they have had their need met and you won't need to feed.

Saying that, expect feeding amounts to change drastically at any time. One day they may eat an ounce or two and push away, the next day, you may be feeding a couple bottles in a sitting. Depends on their caloric needs during a growth spurt, teething pain, comfort needs and so much more!

i'm so relieved to see all these responses in support of on-demand feeding. my first ped terrified me with insistence on a schedule, and i was always trying to stuff more down my poor infant's gullet. fortunately sane friends talked me out of continuing that insanity, both baby and i were coming a little unglued over it. listen to your baby. if you really feel she is eating more than her hunger demands, try a binky or direct her to her thumb. but it's unlikely that she's demanding more than she should have. remember that your baby is very young, and her system is not in any sort of routine.
khairete
S.

You can't overfeed a baby because they simply will refuse to drink more than they need. As long as you are not offering the bottle as a solution to every whimper, then you shouldn't worry. My son was a big eater too, but I nursed so I had no idea how much he was getting oz wise. At 6 mo when we switched to bottles, it was 64 oz in a 24 hr period (40 in milk, 8 oz juice, and 16 oz water) plus solid food. He was not a huge baby, but from 4 weeks old was always heavy. He was 20 lbs by 6 mo and 30 lbs by 1 yr. The doctor assured me that it was fine and he wasn't eating too much. He self adjusted, and by age 2 and age 3, he was still 30 pounds, but grew tall and lean. The doctor assured me that the worst advice I ever got was when family told me my baby ( at 2 mo) was too big and I was feeding him too much and should limit his milk or give water.
Relax and try to remember that a person is born with the perfect ability to gauge how much food and calories are required for their body.

Except for in extreme cases, I'm a big proponent of feeding on demand. Which means feeding them when they're hungry, until they stop eating. For my son that meant apx 20 oz (yes, twenty) apx every 2 hours. For other kids that means an oz every 1/2 hour, or 4-8oz every hour, or, or, or.

I worked with lactation consultants a lot when kiddo was an infant as part of a breastfeeding study. They always said that (except in rare cases) you only need to worry when a baby won't eat enough.... that eating too much or too frequently is practically impossible.

I'm not a formula mom so I can't talk about amounts for you but I will tell you 6 weeks is a growth spurt time. I would bet that her feedings will level out in a few days.

Well I remember with my first that when he was super young and I would pump I would get like 9oz sometimes and he would eat it! So I think as long as she isn't showing any signs of discomfort, feed her:) My second is now 5 mo and is a super chunk. He is already wearing 9-12mo clothes. He is breast fed and I am so lazy about pumping, so I have no clue what he is eating but I bet alot, considering he is such a big boy. Sounds like you baby girl was big the day she was born so it seems normal to me that she needs more to eat;)

She's a growing newborn--she's going to eat alot some days. Just remember that what she's eating now is a liquid and doesn't have to sit in the stomach to be digested like those on solids. Congratulations on your new little bundle :)

I am also a fan of the on demand system, and we "pacify" our daughter with the pacifier or rocking/bouncing her until she really demands to be fed to increase the time between feedings. A lot of times when we are trying to pacify her she just falls back asleep in our arms. Doing this method after 4 oz. my 3 week old can now go 6 hours at night without a feeding and sleeps!! Also, there could be a lactose problem and I would try a soy formula to ease your little girls tummy.

You can't over feed her. She is a big baby and needs enough food to sustain her growth. Talk to your ped. if you have questions about it. Both my babies were over ten lbs and I fed them on demand. They were never over weight, nor did the their tummies explode! Listen only to your ped. He knows what is the truth about her weight gain. She could be getting ready for a growth spurt, they eat more just before.

Babies eat when they are hungry. When they aren't they won't eat. I wouldn't worry about it. I would fill up a bottle and let her at it. There is no need to measure or keep track of how much she drinks. Unless of course she isn't eating and there is something wrong.

If ur not agaisnt pacifiers get her one that fits her mouth. My son did that and had to give him a pacifier or he would eat all day. With the pacifier he has slowed down a lil on feedings but some days he eats. He's 4 month old weighting 16 lbs but healthy and happy baby. But like all moms had said she just let eat as much as she wants after she gets over her growth spurt she will know when to stop eating. Good luck! And congrats with the new baby!

Feed her as much as she will drink. At this age she still needs more frequent feedings but more at each feeding than when she had a couple of weeks ago. If she seems hungry she probably needs more at each feeding or more often feedings.

just check with her doc to make sure about syndromes that have insatiable appetites like Prather WIllie (sp?) to assure yourself you are not over looking anything. Kids usually monitor their own eating. I had a 16 pounder at 2 months . He would only nurse for a few minutes but he must have been getting plenty . He looked like a sumu wrestler. He was skinny as a rail after babyhood. If they are healthy they are usually self monitoring if they are offered healthy choices.

They should not spit up at all. You are giving her too much if she spits up. It will contribute to acid reflux & ear infections if you are not careful look it up ask your pediatrician.

Thats around the time my baby increased her feedings. From about 1 1/2 months to 3 1/2 months she was my little piglet. =) Keep on feeding her and try to get her to burp more then once if you can (I used to burp halfway between the ounces I was giving her, at the end, and then about 30 minutes after).