Four Month Old Eating Every 2 Hours?

This is common especially in reflux babies. Milk is a natural antacid, so when a reflux baby starts to have some pain, she wants to eat because it's soothing. It is especially common at night, because laying down aggravates the reflux, so she wants to eat more often at night to keep soothing the reflux pain.

Ironically, the solution isn't to put more in the bottle. Too much fomula in the tummy leads to even more reflux, which causes more pain, which makes her want to eat again to sooth the pain. I would actually suggest that you don't feed her more than 4 oz at a time, and accept that wanting to eat frequently is going to be common until she grows out of the reflux.

Sorry that is not what you want to hear. I hope you have someone to help with nighttime feedings, because getting a reflux baby through the night is exhausting.

Yes, even at a year mine were at night. Every 2 hours.
I would not do solids as it does not help with that but can harm.
Sounds normal to me.

Please forgive my laughter. Both of my kids would have marathon nursing sessions at about that age (4-6 months is a HUGE time for growth spurts). They would literally nurse for 3 hours straight. I would try and remove them from me, and they'd get PISSED.

They are now 10 (looks about 12) and 6 1/2 (looks about 7) and healthy, happy kids.

Do you have a pediatric gastroenterologist? If you do, talk to him/her. If not, talk to your ped. I think that Mynewnickname is actually giving you good advice.

The last thing I would be doing is giving 8 ounces every two hours. That's too much milk.

Don't give more solids without the doctor's advice to do so. Food is not as nourishing for babies as breast milk or formula. Starches get digested faster, so cereal can actually increase hunger. Other new foods can cause digestive distress.

I hope, for your sake, that she is able to extend sleep periods before much longer, but not all babies do. My daughter needed feeding every 2 - 21/2 hours until she was around a year and a half. If I tried to get her to take an extra ounce or so, she'd simply spit up the extra within 10 minutes. Her tummy seemed to know its maximum capacity.

Since she's not getting enough nutrition, she's starving and that's why she's eating every 2 hours. Rice has very little if any nutrition and zero nutrients your baby needs. Formula has 100% nutrition for baby's age birth to 12 months.

When the time does come to add table foods she can start them at around 10-11 months and she will start getting some of her nutrition from that. Baby food is not nutrition. It is flavored goo to teach them to chew and swallow. Always offer formula first.

She's too young for rice and even if she was 6 months old she should be fed it with a spoon and it be a runny consistency. Formula and breast milk are 100% nutrition and anything you do to take away from that does not allow her to have the nutrition she needs.

The rice is going into her tummy and sitting there rotting. It causes gas and bloating. As soon as she burps or farts there's nothing in her stomach but the remnants of the decomposing rice. Her tummy can't process it or digest it at this age.

She's eating too much in one sitting and that's most likely why she has reflux. Overfeeding a baby is the #1 cause of reflux. If you feed her a smaller amounts of nothing but formula or breast milk more frequently then she might stop having reflux.

If the doc did a swallow test and she does have reflux what med did they put her on? How often do you give the med? If you're giving it to her just a few minutes before every bottle then she may not be getting enough time to relax her tummy.

There are many factors in reflux. What you're doing is making the reflux worse plus it sounds like you're over feeding her when she does take a bottle.

I hope you'll talk to the doc about this. If my doc told me to give one of ours rice in the bottle I'd have found a new doc. They should know better.

I wouldn't give her solids yet, but I would feed her more (especially during the day, if she'll let you).

She could be headed for a growth spurt. That will make a baby extra hungry.

I usually didn't worry about it too much. I was of the mindset, if baby is hungry, baby gets fed. If she's still hungry after 8 ounces, try another ounce or two.

wow....a wide variety of answers. & I laughed at most of them.

Here's the deal: my sons were born 9 years apart. They had different pediatricians. They were both put on rice cereal before 1 month. & yes, I know that's Old School.

But, you know what? Most of my daycare families over the past 12 years ended up doing the same....& had happy, healthy babies to boot. Getting some food in them settled most stomach/reflux issues. & each of these families did so at the request of their dr....both pediatrician & family practitioner.

My older son weighed 8lb 2oz at birth. He was taking 8oz bottles, sanctioned by the dr, by 3 weeks. Put on cereal 1 week later. Fruits & vegies were all tried at 3 months, with meats added in the 4th month. He did finger foods during the 6th month...simple things like Cheerios. ALL on the advice of our pediatrician....who had a waiting list for new families! He was not a quack, but well-respected & extremely wise.

My younger son weighed 7lb 12oz at birth. He never went past 6oz bottles. He had a different dr & was also put on cereal at 1 month. He followed his brother on the rest.

Both of my sons were without digestive issues. They are now 17 & 26... & still without issue. I say: check with your dr & feed your baby solids. My only concern here would be if you're using Nutramagin....watch closely for food allergies. :)

& I also agree that 2 hours is too soon....please teach her to self-soothe, whether it's with a pacifier, the swing, etc....to get her to the 3 hour mark.

It is very normal, although very tiring, for a baby to eat that often. Babies with reflux tend to mistake any tummy pain as hunger. Laying down causes the reflux to worsen which is why she eats often throughout the night. 8 ounces at a time can make the reflux a lot worse. I would try giving her half of that. Make sure you burp her well halfway through and when she finishes. Keep her upright for at least 30 mins after you feed her. Is she taking medication for it? She might need a different one. I wouldn't introduce solids so young. That can cause all kinds of tummy problems including constipation.

Wow your 4 month old baby takes in 8 ounces per feeding?

How much did she weigh at birth?
The rule of thumb is they roughly double their birth weight by 5 months and triple their birth weight by 1 yr.
Then their weight gain slows down a bit as they get more mobile (crawling/walking).
Doubling their birth weight is hungry work!
She's growing fast and sounds fine to me!
Our son was 9lbs 1.5oz at birth and weighted 18lbs at 5 months.
At 1 yr he didn't quite triple it - he was 25lbs but we were not worried about it at all.

I can't believe somebody could possibly say she isn't getting enough nutrition. 15 lbs at 3 mos. That seems really big. Maybe when she is crying she isn't really hungry... other things cause babies to cry. If she is being overfed, her reflux may act up and cause her to be uncomfortable and her crying or waking in the night may be mistaken for hunger? My kids were all sleeping through the night by 3 mos. (10 hours straight at least). After a few weeks of age, babies don't need to wake every 2 hours to eat... it may be habit at this point, or she is uncomfortable. Try finding other ways to comfort her and spread out the time between feedings. She should be able to go 3 to 4 hours throughout the day, and at least 4 hours between feedings at night, especially if she is taking 8 oz. Good Luck!

I wanted to add something I didn't see mentioned in the other responses. At 4 months of age, babies go through a growth spurt. They're hungry, fussy and all the routine you thought you had her on goes out the window. It lasts a few days to a few weeks then they go back to being themselves.

She seems too young for rice cereal. Call your pediatrician & ask about that.

I would stick to breastmilk or formula at this age.
After you feed her be sure to burp her until she burps & keep her up for a
little bit before putting her back down. I did this by laying my child on my
chest & reclined back in a recliner.

It could be that she is teething & not hungry. Try rubbing Infant Orajel on her gums. When you call the doc ask about Hylands teething tablets.

Does she have a pacifier? That may help, too at this age. Just to soothe & suck on.

Our ped said when you hit the point they are eating 28oz of formula a day it's time for food. Why are you feeling every 2 hours? Is she actually hungry? Could she be teething? Our just need a pacifier?

I don't think anyone has said this but nursing or sucking can soothe reflux. It keeps the acid down in the stomach and also soothes the throat. This may be why she is wanting to eat every 2 hours. 8oz for a 4mo in one sitting is a huge, huge amount and this would make her reflux worse because her tummy would be so, so full. I have also heard that Nutramagin is super hard on a babies tummy. You might want to look into alternatives. When she is laying down she should be at an angle to keep the acid in the tummy. You could put something under the crib mattress to angle it or try a bouncy seat or car seat. You might need to play around with what works best for her. She should also be held upright for at least 30min after each feeding. I too would ditch the rice cereal. If all else fails you might look into medication for the reflux. I've had two preemies and both with reflux but I did not medicate. I figured out what worked best for each of them. Solids should not be started until at least 6mo due to maturation of the gut. They are also for fun before the age of 12mo and should not be considered apart of daily nutrition. Starting solids will most likely not make a baby go longer between feedings.