Amount to Feed

J.,
I breastfed both of my children so I don't know if this will help...I never knew how many oz they took. I always let them nurse until they were refusing to take more.
I believe Mommy knows best, if he is growing, and content with what you have been doing continue. There are no manuals that tell us how much a baby should be eating, unfortunately they come out without a service instruction manual..LOL
GOOD LUCK!
S.

I know exactly how you feel, My daughter ate more than the books said she should from the time she popped out, and I fought with her ped. every time I went(Her ped kept swearing she must be spitting up, "she couldnt possibly handle that much.") She is now two and a half and has spit up about 3 times in her life, she is also at a completely normal weight and healty. If your baby is hungry, feed him.

I also have a friend that has a son who is 1 1/2 months who is eating 5 1/2 oz per sitting, if you feed him less he cries because he is still hungry. You are his mommy and you know best, if your baby is telling you he needs more, then he needs more.

She concluded that he should be eating that much because somehow they decided all babies need to eat the exact same amount depending on age, and they stick to it. In my experience with my own child and other's, YES SHE IS WRONG, go with your heart mama, your doing good.

If he's hungry, feed him. I was always told to feed on demand at that age, even with bottle feeding. With my son, deman feedng was more like 4 oz every 2 to 3 hours. Also sometimes they are going through growth spurts, and they drink much more during that time.

I agree with some of the other people who have posted a response to your question. Sometimes we modern moms put too much faith into what the doctor says. I'm not saying that you should not listen to your baby's doctor, but I am saying that you as a mother know your child the best. Have faith in your own judgement sometimes and you will see that everything will work out. Is there a really big difference between 4 and 5 oz per feeding, I don't think so. My son was a big baby as well and at 2 months sometimes he would drink 2oz per feeding, sometimes he would drink 5oz, and he fed every two hours, not 3 as your baby does. I just let him feed until he felt full (that said, I never forced him to finish his bottle, if he was done, he was done! I wanted to encourage him to listen to his body's hunger and satisfaction signals). Try giving him 4 1/2 oz if you are concerned. It may help to keep him satisfied a bit longer while still reducing his overall intake of formula. Good Luck!

My son was the exact same size as yours when he was born. Is he sleeping long stretches at night, or are you feeding every 3 hours around the clock? Makes a difference re how much he may need/want at each feeding.
Obviously, if he sleeps a lot at night, he can eat more, or more often, during the day, to get to his 32 ounce limit. And although the "experts" say he shouldn't be getting more than 32 oz of formula a day at this point, your son might need a few more ounces than the average since he's a big boy. You just don't want him eating way more than that because of the risk of obesity, etc.

Does your doc want him to have smaller meals to help with the reflux? Its true that if he overeats, he'll spit up more and aggravate it. But a hungry baby should be fed, so if you're sure he's hungry, feed him. And don't forget about the 6 week growth spurt. My baby, who was breastfed at the time, literally was eating around the clock then, sometimes every 1 1/2 hours!

Good luck.
ps Keeping our baby very upright after every feeding and putting his bassinet on an incline really helped with his spitting up and we avoided actual reflux.

He is a big boy...your his mother, if you feel in your heart he is hungry..feed him. I truly believe babies wont eat if they are full. Besides what is an extra oz an hour..especially if it hold him over for for a little bit longer. Good luck!

Hi J.,

14 lbs is big for 2 months old, is he tall? If he is, that is probably OK, but your pediatrician is concerned about your baby becoming and saying overweight. Here's why- Formula fed babies usually learn to self regulate and you can usually feed them what they want, when they want, as they usually will only "hunger cry" when they are no longer satisfied. Since formula takes longer to digest and requires less intake, they usually eat less often and less oz than a breast fed baby. Babies stomachs are only as big as their fist, so if 5oz is bigger than your son's fist (at 2 months old I'm almost positive it is) then you're streching his stomach and making him require more to feel full. She is trying to get your son's stomach to shrink back to the size it should be so he requires a reasonable amount of food to feel full. You need to give his body time to adjust.

To quiet your son's hunger cries and your nerves, Try this:
Feed him 4 oz at a feeding, when he starts looking for food- don't wait until he cries. The next feeding, try to distract him for 5 minutes, 10 if you can, then feed him. Keep bumping up the period of time that you have between feedings, in even increments. He is used to taking in more, so you have to wean him off of it. You wouldn't want someone to cut you off of an entire meal cold turkey, would you? Same goes for the baby :)

Also, taking in too much food can cause reflux, or aggravate it. Think about it like this- have you ever eaten a huge meal then gotten heartburn afterward? The muscles that keep the stomach closed do not work as well when they are stretched out and pushed on. Hope this helps!