1 Month Old Is Always Hungry

I'm breastfeeding, but I know until about 3 months, my baby ate really often. First it was every hour, then every 90 minutes, then every two hours. They say breastmilk is digested more easily than formula, but regardless, babies that young really need to eat a lot.

And you'll hear a lot of guidelines about how much and how often every baby should eat. They are just that--guidelines. In the end, you need to meet your baby's needs. For me, it was tough because nursing that often meant I couldn't ever go anywhere for a while!

Just be willing to try different things and know that there is no such thing as normal or abnormal, only what's right for your baby.

Hi there....
I have some resources for you. My daughter is 10 months old and I had a lot of difficulties with breastfeeding, pumping, frequency of feedings etc. The rule of thumb, as your pediatrician should tell you, is 2.5 ounces of milk multiplied by your babys weight is the amount of ounces he should drink. So, if he is 8 lbs, he should be drinking 20 ounces of formula per day. At his age, he should be eating every 2-3 hours.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-tell-how-much-formula-...

My daughter drank pumped breastmilk. She usually drank 2-2.5 ounces every 2-2.5 hours. It increased slowly with growth and age.

Putting rice cereal in their bottle is not advisable. Talk to your pediatrician. Also look at this website.
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&...
http://www.drgreene.com/21_861.html

Until 4-6 months babys don't have the digestive system to handle anything but milk/formula. Doctors and health professionals give us guidelines for a reason.

If you need more help, message me back. I had a lot of difficulties with my daughter and I got a great deal of good advice and it worked...I would be happy to pass it along.

I would increase to 6 oz (try it for a day or tow). Burp him in between every 2 oz so that he won't spit up or help prevent him from spitting up.
All 3 of my babies were eaters and they were eating 6 oz every 3-4 hours by the time they hit 2 months old. My second child seamed like he was starving so I did put cereal in his bottle and it helped. I did this until he was ready for solids but he started solids at 4 months old. All 3 of my children are average on the growth charts. I was worried with all the eating they would have been heavy but the pediatrician thinks they are good no problems.
I hope this helps & Good Luck.

I have a 3 yr 9 month old and a 7 week old both boys. The first one did just like the 2nd one is doing now. He eats 4 oz of formula Enfamil Lactofree Lipil since he can't tolerate any regular formula including Enfamil, Similac and Carnation Good Start not even Soy Formula. So in between feedings, if he seems like he's still hungry, I might give him one more ounce but I mainly give him a pacifier. I didn't know that the first time right away and he constantly projectile vomited. So after that then we knew. But this time around, we just pulled him up to burp again and then he was either relieved or needed the pacifier to suck.

Good Luck!

Hi R.,

Depending on your babies weight - 4 oz. every 2-3 hours during the day should be enough. There are a few other things you might try to calm him down. Have you seen "The Happoest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp? If not - get it! It was sssooooo helpful to me!

You could also use a warm rice sock on his tummy. Use any sock, fill it with any rice, warm it a few seconds in the microwave, and place it around is tummy. The warm sensation and the pressure can do wonders for a baby with tummy trouble.

The idea of a pacifier he likes could also save you a ton of worry, sometimes babies just need to suck to sooth themselves. If it just so happens that the only thing to suck on is a bottle, then they eat more than they really need and spit up, or worse yet, get belly aches.

Last, please don't put rice in your baby's bottle. Until about 6 months of age, they are not able to digest it, thus could make matters worse. Not to mention it is identified as a choking hazard by the AAP.

In any event, good luck,
J.

My daughter was not formula fed, but she was the same way...My doctor recommended that I increase to feeding her every 2 hours and not add cereal because she said studies show that the earlier solids are introduced to a baby, the more likely they are to have food allergies. My daughter was most happy with the frequent feedings and stayed on a 2 hour schedule until almost 3 months old.