Landon is 3 months old and he eats soooo much. he eats 6-8 ounces give or take every 2-3 hours during the day. then he sleeps from 11pm-6am, sometimes he wakes up at 3 for a small bottle. and goes right back to eating that much every couple hours allll day.... isn't this a lot? the ped. suggested that i started giving him some solid food. rice cereal and some fruits and veggies eventually. i'm pretty hesitant to do that... so far i've let him try some things, but havent really started giving him any "meals" how much formula should a baby his age be eating? I feel like he's eating such large amounts constantly...
Was the doctor concerned that he was eating too much formula? Did he suggest solids so you would have to feed him less or because he thought your baby had nutritional needs that wasnt being met by the formula? I breastfeed, so I know nothing about giving formula but that does sound like he is eating a lot. Isaac eats approxamately 3-4oz every 3 hours. I do know that formula fed and breastfed babies eat differently but I am not sure on any specifics of that. I wouldn't start my baby on any solids so soon (ours are both the same age if I remember correctly - 3mo). If he wants to immulate mommy and daddy at the table before he's at least six months he can have a breastmilk slushie or breastmilk popsicle. I've read that babies can devolop intestinal fissures ("kind of like tiny cuts along the intestine that cause them to lose nutrients and have digestive sensitivities) if you introduce foods their bodies aren't ready to handle. Starting solids too early has been linked to food allergies and also to obesity later in life. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't suggest starting solids until at least 6 months of age. I was started on solids at 4 months, my mother said I had such a huge appitite (I was formula fed after 6 weeks). I have a TON of digestive problems and have needed multiple surgeries. I also have quite a few food sensitivities. Not sure if that was the cause, of course, but my twin who didn't eat solids until 6 months has none of the problems I do. That's all just ancedote though. There is so much contradictory advice out there when it comes to child care, it can be so confusing. I would trust your instincts. (Edited to add) Here's some info after googling: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=22946 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2005/05/08/1362623.htm http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/infant/startingsolids.html
Sara Michelle is right on. Forumla actually damages a baby's GI tract, as they are not designed to have anything but breastmilk for at least the first 6 months. I would NOT start him on solids yet, 3 months is way too young. And especially NOT rice cereal. Babies don't produce amalyze (sp?)--the enzyme needed to break down carbs--until they're 9-12 months old. Not sure what your ped was thinking. I'm not sure about what to do about the over-eating thing...is his weight normal?
I've breast fed all 3 of mine, i started giving my son just one solid a day(breakfast) at just over 3 months, but still had more or less the same amount of breast milk. My eldest daughter only breast fed for 8 weeks(she wasn''t interested after that) so she went onto formula and used to have loads, she always seemed to be hungry, but started her with the one solid a day at 4 months and once she started that she wasn''t having as many bottles. Every child is different, i'm just saying, it didn't harm my children to have a solid so young. My health visitor told me that " the recomended age to start them on solids was 6 months" but she also said " it was a guide line so if you feel they're ready before then you can start them earlier" .
He is very advanced for his age, he can sit up very well, almost on his own, he can stand very well holding onto something, and he is also teething already. he weighs about 14 lbs at 3 months. he doesn't seem to be overweight... hes just a big baby. it just seems like he's always eating. I read everywhere that a baby generally should be eating 8 oz. of formula 4 times a day by 6 months. well, he's eating up tp 8oz 8 times a day. and he acts like he is absolutely starving everytime he eats, and if I take the bottle away for a second to move him or something he'll shreik and get so angry, then he's so excited when he gets it back that he almost chokes himself, so i take the bottle away for a second to let him breathe, and then he'll scream bloody murder again. so on and so on. It's like a cycle, it makes it such a hassle to feed him. he certainly has an attitude. but aside from food, he's the calmest, cuddliest baby. He's so mellow and easy going... but when he's hungry he is so greedy i guess you could say. I don't know... he's my first, so maybe I'm just over reacting. I guess it's just his personality? but I can see this turning into a bigger problem later on... but he's too young to realize what he's doing... don't you think? he eats so much so often that he couldn't possibly be starving all the time. I gather from everything i've read that starting solids won't really make the situation any better. but then what should I do?
WOW... he really is advanced, my youngest is 3 months and all she can do is roll onto her back and stand for a couple of mins if i hold her hand, and even then she's a bit wobbly. Anyway, back to you... you can't ALWAYS go by the book, you can only do what you think is right. I don't think just trying him with a solid for breakfast wouldn do any harm, it might make a difference and it might not. You said besides feeding, he's mellow and easy going, so i don't think it could be cholic. Maybe it might be a comfort thing, do you give him a dummy? maybe once he has bought up his wind, he just wants something to suck on. I know, that's what my daughter is like, if she wants to go back to sleep. OK, having said all that, i just remembered you said he was teething already, so maybe that is the problem right there. Have you given him any calpol? just checked my bottle and you can give them 2.5ml at that age, even though i gave mine less than that, just incase, and i take it you have put bonjela on his gums. That probably sounded a bit patronizing, but wasn't meant to be. Bare in mind, i'm not a doc, just a mum hope things get better soon
I hate to disagree, but feeding him a bit of solids for breakfast can cause all kinds of allergic reactions. If his tummy is not ready for other food, it can do serious and maybe even lifelong harm. Maybe he can digest the food, but is it worth the risk? Some signs that he's ready for solids are: He can sit alone. He can hold his head up well. He follows your food from the plate to your mouth. He tries to take your spoon away from you. He steals food off your plate. Even if he does all of these things, he may be just socialable and want to sit at the table with you guys during meals. Give him a small spoon and let him play with it. I wouldn't try solids until at LEAST four months and better six. Kathi
joey was PERPETUALLY VORACIOUS for well over a year. she's not even two, and she's nearly as big as kai, who's five. it's a challenge. but i started giving her very watered down rice with my breast milk and never had a problem. i still had to feed her constantly, but she wasn't as miserable. but boy, did my boobs get tired.
Moire was the same way at 3 months. And she's formula-fed. She would eat 6-8 oz every 2-3 hours, and sleep well (she slept well until we introduced solids). She was an advanced baby, curious, happy, and into everything. And against our peed's advice, we DID NOT give her solids. And you know what happened? She gained weight and height while she was eating so much. She was eating so much because she couldn't really DO anything else. But once she learned to crawl, stand, and walk, she hardly eats a full meal now. And she's slimming down. If you're hesitant to do something, go with YOUR intuition. It's more intune with your baby than any person, medically trained or otherwise, is going to be if they've only spent 15 minutes observing them. If I were you, just keep feeding him what he wants and loving on him, encouraging him to explore and learn. And watch, in a few months when he truly develops his gross motor skills, you'll be posting that he hardly ever eats....And you'll understand WHY he ate so much as a tiny baby!
oh, yeah, joey's never been one of those really roly poly babies, which are so precious i can't even stand it. but she was decidedly thicker than kai, who always worried us to pieces, she was (and still is) so skinny. but even so, she's so busy, she's never still. kai was always quieter and more fragile. i have to say, having a voracious, strong, slightly chubby baby (which is going away) is way easier to deal with, and i have to say, more satisfying to me to watch. no fear, just joy.
At 3 months my little monster was just shy of 16 pounds. Now, at 10 months, he weights just over 26 pounds. He is breastfed and is really tall and slim... he has never been a chunky baby. At 3 months he could also sit up on his own and love to stand while holding your fingers. I tried to introduce a little rice cereal to his diet at 4 months. He could do all the things that they are supposed to be able to do before you introduce food, and thought that because he was the size of a 7 month old that things would be okay and it would help him sleep at night. He wanted NOTHING to do with the cereal. He would spit it out at me. He hated the whole experiance. So, we tried twice and then gave up for 3 more months. At six months we tried again and he LOVED the cereal. Basically, he wasn't ready at 3 months and he let me know! I wouldn't stress about it, in all honesty. As long as he is growing, then its all good. Manny is in the 97th percentile for height and is in the 75th for weight. Unless there was a massive drop off in that ratio then he is eatting well. Know Joey's ratios, and keep an eye on them.
This is right on. The pancreas doesn't start to secrete amylaze until 12 months of age. Giving your baby anything with carbs before then is usless and empty. As for other soilds, babies are not ready for soild foods until 6-7 months old. Dakota's mom posted an awesome list of things to go off of. That being said, Lea Lea did the same thing, and she was also formula fed after one month. She ate tons (probably somewhere around what your little guy is eating). If only you could see the posts I would write in on here freaking about how much she was eating and not knowing if it was normal. But now, she's just a normal, healthy sized toddler. Big girl for her age, but that's both in weight and height, which she has always been in the 95th percentile for, anywho. I personally wouldn't worry. But yeah, definately do not start on the soild foods!!!
