Does My Baby Eat a Lot?

My nephew was also a very big baby weighing almost 10 lbs at birth, and he ate the same way. I would say if he is hungry and the doctor says it is ok then feed him. I know he is only 6 weeks but maybe even a little bit of Rice cereal would fill him up a little more. I fed all 3 of my babies earlier than they say to and they did fine.

If the doctor says feed him on demand then you should do what the doctor says. And don't worry Momma, you won't feed him too much.

I think your doing great. They say feed on demand and if he wants it give it to him. He is probably going through a growth spurt right now so he is great. Keep doing what you're doing.

He sounds as though he is doing fine. Both my girls where over 9 pounds at birth and they are normal little ones now. Keep feeding him on demand until he is about 4 months old. Then I'd put him on a schedule. We did that and our girls did great. Never lost weight, but weren't over weight either. As long as he isn't spitting up after he eats then he isn't over eating. If he is spitting up 1/4 to 1/2 after he eats then he is eating to much. He may not be hungry sometimes too, he may just have gas. Sometimes they think they are hungry when what they feel is gas. They think eating will make that feeling go away and that isn't the case, it just makes them more irritable. The little boy I took care of had reflux and if he had a smidgen too much then it all came back up, or most of it anyway. There were times when he thought he was hungry and would cry, but it was gas. He was very collicky (sp?) also, which the reflux didn't help. You just have to watch and monitor and you'll learn his signals. Good luck and God Bless.

I'm not sure ounce-wise what the norm is, since I breast-fed both my boys at that age. But I can tell you that the norm for both of them was to eat every 2.5 to 3 hours. It sounds like your little guy is right on track! I think worrying over them just comes with the territory. :-)

Nichole

My daughter was 10.65lbs when she was born and was cruising through 5 oz every 2 hours and by the time she was 4 mos old was cruising through 7 oz every 2 hours. Go to Sam's and buy the BIG cans. Children this age CAN'T overeat...they don't know how...they eat when they are hungry. Don't worry about it, be glad he is eating and just make sure it's available when he wants it...it's better than the alternative.

BTW- my daughter ate quite a bit until about 6 months ago (she'll be 4 in Nov) and only has just now slowed down...they will regulate themselves. As long as your son is thriving, he's doing fine.

molly, they say babies won't overeat at that age, well mine did! but it was VERY obvious because he spent most of his waking time either eating or spitting up. i had to learn how much he needed. as long as he's not eating constantly then promptly spitting it back up because his tummy is too full then i'd say he's fine. a bigger boy needs more after all. don't sweat it, in this case your dr. is right! congrats on your wonderful little bundle!

My son's were both big when they were born also. Neither of them lost weight the first week they were home from the hospital, they gained almost a pound!
By 6 weeks they ee eating equal parts formula & cereal (6 oz) every 3 hours even through the night. They are both healthy average wieght boys now. The oldest actually needs to gain about 15 pounds. Feed your baby what he needs, he'll be fine. Good for your doctor to advise you to feed on demand! Take care

my grandson also was 9.4 when born and he is 3 1/2 months now and weights 18 lbs, but around 26 in long. but as far as feeding we feed him when he is hungry and I feel as long as he seems to keep it down - he needs it.. he drinks 6 oz at each feeding and at the day care they seem to feed him every 2-3 hours. So I understand your concern, but I don't think I would really be upset until your told by your Dr that he is too large, my son was 9.9 and a very big baby but at 2 he ran it all off

I'll never forget when I went back to work at 8 weeks after my first daughter. I didn't know any better - had never had a baby before and had limited experience caring for them. I told the daycare provider at the center (so they see a ton of babies) that she ate 8 ounces every 3 hours and the lady made me repeat myself. Yes, my 7 pound baby girl had gained 4 pounds in a couple of weeks and she was taking 8 ounces of breast milk every 3 hours. She turned into a cute little chunk. She is 3 1/2 years old now and healthy as can be. We never had use for those little bottles with only 4 ounces - we ate from the breast and then filled the 8 ounce bottle. She also slept very deeply (12 hours at night). So, i say, if your baby is hungry, feed him :) If he spits it all back up, he may be too full, but otherwise, he'll tell you:)

I dont think its too much of course my baby was 5lbs so they made me feed her 2oz every 3 hours that was along time ago.

find out how many ounces he is supposed to have a day. I think it's like 24-30 or something like that. If he sleeps through the night without eating and may just be eating all his ounces during the day instead of half during the night like some other babies do. I would ask the doctor how many ounces is normal for that age and count up what he is actually drinking.

First of all, congratulations on a healthy baby boy. With extrememly rare exception, kids eat when they are hungry.
When my son was first born, he nursed every two hours. So, if it took 20 minutes to eat, change, there was an hour, 40 minutes in between nursings. That didn't last forever and neither will your son's eating pattern. He's not old enough to have a pattern.

Go with your dr's advice, and don't worry. It's all about the long haul.

My son's 17 now, 6ft 8in, 207 lbs, honor student and the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet!

I remember asking my doctor once how much my daughter should be eating because I didn't think she was eating enough. I was told the general rule of thumb is about an ounce for every 2 pounds. But generally, don't worry. All kids go through stages where they eat more and then less. It's okay. He'll be fine. If your doctor isn't worried, then you about it, then just relax and enjoy your precious gift.

Totally normal. He sounds like he eats just right and its not a lot. Youll feel like all youre doing is feeding him but they do eat a lot. No worries, youre doing great and it sounds like he is too!!

I was in your situation at one time. My oldest son was 9lb 1 oz. when he was born and I thought that he also ate alot. One bit of advice that the dr gave us was to put a few teaspoons of cereal in his bottles, which helped a lot. You have to remember that he is a bigger baby and will require more to eat. My son ate like that at first and then seemed to become more regular with his eating habits the older he got. He is now 6 years old and has never had a problem with his weight.

Good Morning Molly, Nice to see you posting again ;)
You do have a big little man, Congrats. He is doing exactly what baby's do Molly. Eat, sleep and eat some more.

Your worried/concerned because he's a new tiny person and probably is doing things differently then your little girl did. As he gets older he will sleep longer and not need to eat as often. Sorry but some mom's would poopoo this. But I gave our two son's rice cereal at 6 wks, also. They took maybe 3-4 spoons but was enough to help satisfy them. They have it in jars now and so much easier to feed, then mixing the dry with formula or milk.

Relax Molly and enjoy your new precious buddle of cuddles and kisses.

Always
K. Nana of 5
God Bless
PS Gonna have to get that Beautful hubby of yours House trained....lol

My children were eating 8 ounces AT BIRTH. My girls ate on demand and at least every 3-4 hours including overnight. That is a minimum of 48 ounces per day and sometimes even more. They are not large girls, none of them overweight. My youngest may be over the charts by 12 pounds. But she is active, healthy and looks great. We are watching her eating habits now, she's 8 years old.

You have NOTHING to worry about.

Molly,

I just remember all three of my children went through a strange eating pattern about that time (also formula), and then had a growth spirt, so maybe that is what your little guy is doing.

Hi Molly, I feel for you. It feels like all you do is feed the baby and probably not much else. My third one was like that, he was 9lbs. 13 oz at birth and was breastfed till 6 months with two bottom teeth erupted (ouch!)It will get better and just feed him when he is hungry. I did figure out you can over feed a breast fed baby cause I did, he spit up alot and kept gaining weight like normal and the dr. just said he was kind of piggy, it got better when he was on formula and baby food. It was funny too because he never looked fat, just long and large and healthy. Hang in there and eat and drink and sleep enough to keep ya going!
M. B.

You should check out some of Ellen Satters books. She's considered the expert in child feeding. She says that babies naturally know when they need to eat. It's us grown ups who start putting restrictions or expectations on them and we mess up their ability to read their own biological cues. She says it's the parents responsibility to decide what food is offered and when and it's the child responsibility to decide if and how much.
of course, that's barring any physical problems but I'd say at this time it's too soon to tell unless you have other symptoms to go by.

Hi: When my youngest son was born some 40 yrs ago, he was always hungry too. Dr suggested we put a little rice cereal in his bottle. Just enough to make it a little thicker. I also started feeding him a little rice cereal at his last bottle before putting him to bed. He slept thru the nite first time tried it! Good luck, oh, by the way he grew up to be 6'6 and 200lbs with NO food allergies!