My daughter is going to be 3 months old on the 8th of this month, and I have been told by many people including my mother and sisters that I should not feed my daughter before the 3 hour mark but it's just not working?! Exactly at the 2 1/2 hour mark she just starts screaming like she is starving to death so I give in and feed her.. it's just too sad to watch when I know she's hungry. I don't know what to do? Please help, thank you! Oh yes, and I'm feeding her formula...4 ounces
K.,
What you may want to try is increasing the amount you are feeding her so that she goes longer between bottles. Try a 5 oz bottle.
I have 4 kiddos and am a huge fan of TRYING to schedule babies, but if they are hungry, they are hungry!
D.
Hi K.,
If you are sure all her other needs are met and she is still upset...feed her. She is probably going through her 3 month growth spurt. You have instincts....trust them despite what others tell you. It is your baby and God gave you a connection with her that NO one else has.
If the baby is hungry, feed her.
Politley tell your mother and sisters that you appreciate their input, but this is your child and you will do what you please. :)
My daughter is 3 months old (almost 4 months) and makes the 3 hour stretch. However, she is eating 6 ounces. Have you tried giving her more than 4 ounces? If you have and she only wants the 4 ounces, then don't worry about it and just feed her every 2 1/2 hours. Try in a few weeks to give her a little more than 4 ounces at a feeding and see if that makes her go longer in between feedings.
I didn't formula feed, but I can tell you this.... if she's hungry she's hungry and she's not going to listen to your mother, your sister, your mil, etc. If she says she's hungry then you should follow your (and hers) instinct and feed her. Only your baby knows when she's hungry and to apply some artificial schedule on her -- especially if she's in the middle of a growth spurt which is likely -- can be cruel.
This won't spoil her or anything like that despite what other people might tell you. Goodness sakes! It's impossible to spoil an infant so small so please don't worry about that sort of thing. You're not giving in, you're listening to what your daughter is telling you and this is natural and normal. Your daughter communicates to you and provides cues so that you, the mother, can help her.
Good luck and congratulations on your beautiful daughter!
Hi,
First of all Congrats! When both of my girls were babies, I fed them (i bottle fed) whenever they were hungry. Everyone including the hospital staff told me to do the every 4 hour thing, but sometimes I just knew they were very hungry. That being said, it was never every hour or anything like that. I really think that until they are a little more able to be put on some kind of regular schedule, for mine it was around 4 months with naps and feedings, I just bottle fed whenever I thought they were hungry. By 4 months or so I was giving baby cereal and they were taking 2 naps a day, so it was much more regular. Plus, it does help with sleeping through the night, but that doens't really come until around 4 months either. We let both of ours cry it out. Anyway, I know I blabbed... I say do what you think is right for your kids. They're all different!!!
It might just be you need to move her up to 5 oz., maybe she's not getting enough at once? My boys take 4 oz. each and were sleeping the 3 hours...but now they're starting to wake up after 2 1/2, too. Does she still act hungry after 4 oz.? If so, talk to your ped. and ask what they recommend.
Hi - you've received lots of good advice here, but I wanted to tell you that I have a 6 month old and until he was about 5 months old I could practically set the clock by him wanting to eat at 2 1/2 hours. So, I wasn't at all surprised that your daughter is wanting to eat in the same timeframe too. I'm breastfeeding right now, but my initial reaction as well as many others was that 4 oz is probably not quite enough.
You're doing great and just remember she'll start stretching out her feedings pretty soon, she's probably still a little too young to go 3 hours. Already at 6 months my little guy is going 3+, sometimes 4 hours between feedings (we've started solids though). K.
Feed your baby when she is hungry!!! My daughter ate every 2 to 3 hours until she was about 6 months old. She would want to eat at night at 12am, 2 am, 4 am 6 am and so on...through out the day. My doctor told me not to feed her at night like that but she was hungry I was not going to let her starve.
Your the mama you know what is best for YOUR baby. Every child is different what might of worked for their baby isnt going to work for every baby. We dont breed cookie cutter children. At that age she is prob going to eat every 2 hours...that is NORMAL.
Feed your baby when she is hungry and ignore what your mom and sister are saying.
K., as all are saying; feed that baby when she's hungry. That said, it's good to start TRYING to stretch meals to every 3 hours, recognizing that sometimes they will be hungry earlier or later - just as you do not always eat at exactly the same time. First, see if she can take a little more bottle each time. Be sure she is well burped so there is plenty of room. You can try to stretch just 5 minutes more than when she starts showing signs of wanting to be fed; but by no means do I mean wait if she is clearly upset and needing food. She may be in a growth spurt and in a few weeks this shall all be over. I have twin 1 yr old boys; often they eat every three hours, but occasionally need food after two hours. Every baby is different.
I suggest you get the book The Baby Whisperer. It really helped me. If you want to space out her feeding, it will get easier as she gets older and it will be much easier on you if you are not have to feed every 2 hours. If you can hold off and get her to wait, she will most likly eat more and in return be fuller for longer.
Listen to your Mommy instincts - you know YOUR baby better that ANYONE else! Every child is different - there is no magical feeding schedule! Listen to your baby...not your family! I have always demand fed my children and they have done quite well this way. A babies only way of communicating their needs are through their cries. The hard part is figuring out what they mean. It sounds like you are TOTALLY understanding your baby! That is half the battle. Just trust yourself and do what YOU know is best for your little angel! My MIL is the same way - but remember - A LOT has changed since our mom's raised children! You sound like a fabulous caring Mom!
I agree with Angie S.
My baby is 3 months old too. She is eating 6oz during the day and 4 oz for her first bottle in the morning. Sometimes she does not make it to the 3 hr mark. My pedi. said to feed her when she wants to eat...wether it is an hour later or 2 whatever. Most babies at that age will not eat more than they can handle and if they do it will come up. I would try giving her 5 oz to start and see how well she handles it and go from there. They say 3-4 month old babies can eat anywhere from 24-36oz of formula in 24hrs.
Congratulations for watching your baby and not the clock. First of all there is a formula for feeding that kind of helps determine how much, secondly babies hit growth spurts at about 3 months that require more food. This sounds complicated but it isn't. Feed 2.5 oz per lb your baby weighs every 24 hours. so if your 3 month old weighs 15 pounds she needs at least 37.5 oz of formula every day. Now divide that by the number of feedings per day to decide how much per bottle. So if you feed her 6 times per day that would be 6.25 oz per feeding.
I hope this helps,
K.
It drives me crazy to see mothers make their babies wait until the clock says they can eat. A baby isn't like a fish...they won't eat until they burst. :) Listen to your baby's cues, not others' advice, however well-meaning.
