Taking Full Bottles

I know it's hard, and you want more sleep, but it's not a good idea to try to get them to drink more. Babies will eat when they are hungry and won't when they aren't. This is good if they can keep it up when they get older - as I know I don't stop when I'm full.

She's still very young and as long as she gets enough formula during the day, you might have to ride this out for a little bit. My daughter didn't sleep more than 4 hours for 4 months.

Good luck with it all!

K.,
I think you're believing too much of what you read in "those books". Every baby is different. My son, for one, *never* has taken a bottle bigger than about 4 oz, and he only started doing that when he was about 5 months old. But I knew other babies that would power down twice what he ate in a sitting. There's a good illustration of infants' stomach capacity at http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html.

Another anecdote - my son ate every 2-2.5 hours like clockwork during the day, but he was also sleeping 7-8 hours at a stretch when he was 4 months old, and up to 10-12 hours when he was 6 months.

I know it's exhausting right now, but I promise it will get better. Don't worry about her "snacking" habit - she'll figure it out on her own.

At 10 weeks, I think you should be patient with your little one. My daughter was the same way. I think it may be that their stomachs at first can't hold more than a small amount of milk, but that will change in time.

Also, do you give her a pacifier? She may be upset and wanting the bottle as something to suck on. A pacifier may alleviate this need.

My little girl is now 7 months old. She was very much the same with the snaking and the cat naps. It gets easier each day. They will only eat when they are hungry. Dont force it. She will just throw it up. Now my sweetie sleeps all nite. Eats food. Its amazing. Enjoy the ride! Remember it gets easier every week. S. M