my son is 5 weeks old, and well he is a good eatter i guess you can say, first he started at like 3 ounces since he came home..well he acted like he was still hungry so i kicked it up to four at about 2 weeks old, doc said it was too much and to cut it to 3 ounces with 2 teaspoons of rice cereal, that didnt make sense to me but i did it, well recently his formula was changed to similac sensative cuz of gassines, so he was/is eattin just four ounces of formula but after he goes nuts like he starving still, after that calms about an hour and a half later he screamin for more so i called doc and he said give him 5 ounces now, and if its too much i will kno because i will wear it...

Well, they don't recommend you giving cereal to a baby so young. That is probably why he is having stomach issues. Plus, giving them cereal in a bottle can lead to obesity and other health issues.

Also, it isn't necessarily how much you give your son at one feeding, but how often you are feeding him. You didn't mention this. Is he eating every 2-3 hours? Is he skipping a feeding at night?

I agree, this age is too young to introduce cereal. Babies have an open gut and shouldn't be taking in any sort of solids. It can cause gas, upset stomach and even colic.

acutally he does much better with the rice cereal, not in staying full longer but with pooping and all, the doctor told me to do it in the first place...he eats during the day 3-4 ounces every hour and a half to tow hours, if awake, and at night he does great i must say, he will eat and go to bed around 11 and wake to eat around 430 or 5

i have a similar thing with my 2 and a half week old, when i give him a bottle he will only take 2 oz, he physically wont take anymore, if you try and give him more he either spits it out or brings it straight back up, yet an hour and a half later he is screaming for more. i do give him another bottle when he wants it and he will take another 2 oz. i suggestd to my midwife that i may change his milk for the next step up intended for hungrier babies but she said that i shouldnt ,i cant remember what she said about it,, i have a really bad memory :rolleyes: but she was strongly against it. he does go 4-5 hours at night without waking for a feed so i dont really mind. if your boy will take more, i think you should give it to him as it may help him to last longer between feeds

At five weeks my son was over twelve pounds and eating 6-8 ounces of 50:50 breastmilk formula every 2-3 hours. At 2 mounts my son was 17 pounds and there wasn't a fat roll on him. He was born over a month early and 10 pounds. He has always and will always be a big boy. Now at 4 he is 50 pounds and 3'8" with a head size that is still off the charts. each child is different. Feed the child until it is satisfied and not spitting up too much. There is no chart or right answer each child is different.

So in my opinion, too much is when the child ejects the overload forcefully.

Sincerely,
MG

I must say that a baby that young is deffinatly gassy due to the cereal. last poster is right. Feed untill they spit it out or up and you'll know. Burp and retry if trhey dont want it they will let you know.

Baby's so young will eat every hour on the hour or every two hours or 1 1/2 depending on the baby. They might not want it right then but in half hour they might. It is supply and demand. Is shoudl go out of their systems fast and their stools should be loose not stiff.

I have a dd who is almost 3 who looks like she is 4 and in 4T clothes and in the 97th % tile. My other dd is only in the 25th and she's 9months. My boys were 25th and 50th so yep every child is different but for sure at such a young age they only need milk and dont forget that they go through growth spurts at about 3,6,9,11,14 weeks. It depends but about those ages they do and then continue at all different stages you'll know when they scream for more food.

Keep following your doctor's advice regarding the type of formula/food you are feeding your child. Your doctor has more intimate knowledge of the situation then anyone here does.

I would ask your doctor about re-evaluating the quantity of food your child is getting, especially since he is still acting hungry after he finishes a bottle.

It could be that the doc is concerned about acid reflux or some other condition and doesn't want to make it worse by having more and more food in the system. Ask him about more frequent feedings.

Also, ask about Mylicon drops (actually, buy the generic... much cheaper!) for gassiness. We put 0.3ml in each of our daughter's bottles (just drop it in after we make it up). You can give it up to 12 times per day, but we do it about 4-5. If she doesn't get it each day you can really tell a difference in the amount of spit up and tooting.

Finally, to gemmalou -- you shouldn't expect your 2.5 week old to eat much more than that. His stomach is still VERY tiny. Give it a chance to grow. :)