Cluster feeding v. just off schedule

[Anonymous]

My baby is 8 weeks and eats pumped breast milk. For the past few weeks she eats every 4-4.5 hours, this has directed by her but we have been reinforcing to establish a schedule. The past day or so she keeps taking shorter naps than usual and when she wakes up crying for food at the 2.5 to 3 hour mark. I dont want to overfeed her but its possible this is a cluster feed and I should go with it. Its quite stressful and hard to distract her until the 4 hours since the previous feeding. The other possibility is I need to give her more at each meal but she seems sated by her usual 4 ounces.

Example: Baby ate at 12:30 pm, then we played a bit, she took a short nap from about 1:45 -2:30 and woke fussing for food. I ultimately gave her 1 oz bc she was so upset and obviously hungry. She then drifted off to sleep in my arms, woke again at 3:30 fussing for food. He next meal time is 4:30.

Thanks for advice.

[Anonymous]

feed her when she’s hungry!! 4 hours is a long time between feeds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:feed her when she’s hungry!! 4 hours is a long time between feeds.

but if i feed her the same amount at 3 hour windows shell be eating too much food overall (30+ ounces). Now she eats between 24-27 ounces.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:feed her when she’s hungry!! 4 hours is a long time between feeds.

but if i feed her the same amount at 3 hour windows shell be eating too much food overall (30+ ounces). Now she eats between 24-27 ounces.

that’s not too much food. babies don’t really overeat. you know she’s hungry!

[Anonymous]

I have a 2 month old who is currently eating like crazy. They have so many growth spirts the first 6 months, I never bothered with a schedule. Giving such small amounts in hopes of holding them over to the next scheduled feed is probably counter productive. A bottle of breast milk can sit for about 2 hours, and you can pop it back in the fridge so long as it’s finished before the end of the day, so if they don’t finish it right away, you can save it for the next feed. So I’d give them a full bottle if they wake up hungry and see how much they take.

With my older DC, she would eat 4.5 oz every 3 hours between wake up and bed time, and then go 12+ hours overnight without eating, so it still settled out to ~24oz a day.

[Anonymous]

Please please follow her hunger cues! She is WAY too young for a schedule. She won't overeat.

[Anonymous]

Feed your baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please please follow her hunger cues! She is WAY too young for a schedule. She won't overeat.

+1. Please, OP. Stop with the “overeating” nonsense. Your baby is probably going through a growth spurt it maybe your milk isn’t rich enough (fat content) She is crying for more milk because she needs it.

Please don’t put your eating disorders on your baby. She is crying because she’s hungry and suffering.

[Anonymous]

Feeding every three hours is a normal schedule. Two and a half is hard on you, imo, so I would try to push her to 3 when possible. But, do give a full feed whenever she wants. Let her lead.

I disagree that it's not possible for babies to overfeed---mine did and started around 8 weeks. It doesn't sound the same at all, though. Mine was combo-fed and was fully satisfied when a slightly smaller bottle when offered (didn't wake and fuss or even seem to notice). So it was clear that he just wanted to suck for comfort, and was just in the habit of finishing his bottle.

It sounds like yours, on the other hand, is giving you fairly clear signals that she wants more food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:feed her when she’s hungry!! 4 hours is a long time between feeds.

but if i feed her the same amount at 3 hour windows shell be eating too much food overall (30+ ounces). Now she eats between 24-27 ounces.

Are you putting your 8 week old on a diet or something? Feed your baby when she’s hungry. She doesn’t necessarily have to finish all the bottles every time. Feed your hungry baby! Are you the same poster who wants their 8 week old to self-soothe?

[Anonymous]

OP here, replying to PP and the poster above who assume the issue is my own eating disorder - incorrect.

We have been following the recommendation of the baby's pediatrician. Just last week we went over her growth, the total volume of food the baby eats which the Dr. said was appropriate. In discussing how much and when to give more milk she specifically suggested trying to give 1/2 to 1 ounce at a time and see if that satisfied the baby (which is why i tried 1 oz when she first woke from her nap). The doctor did say that overfeeding IS a possible outcome for babies who eat pumped breast milk.

Everything I have read says that its not too early to try to establish a schedule (esp. as she begins to sleep longer at night). For those who said 4 hour increments were long those were established by the baby and what we have been doing for weeks. We have been trying to reinforce specific times in hopes of establishing a schedule. But I get that needs change at this age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, replying to PP and the poster above who assume the issue is my own eating disorder - incorrect.

We have been following the recommendation of the baby's pediatrician. Just last week we went over her growth, the total volume of food the baby eats which the Dr. said was appropriate. In discussing how much and when to give more milk she specifically suggested trying to give 1/2 to 1 ounce at a time and see if that satisfied the baby (which is why i tried 1 oz when she first woke from her nap). The doctor did say that overfeeding IS a possible outcome for babies who eat pumped breast milk.

Everything I have read says that its not too early to try to establish a schedule (esp. as she begins to sleep longer at night). For those who said 4 hour increments were long those were established by the baby and what we have been doing for weeks. We have been trying to reinforce specific times in hopes of establishing a schedule. But I get that needs change at this age.

Find a new pediatrician. The pump is far less effective in getting the hind milk and you’re most likely stopping short. Our pediatrician was great with keeping up on current guidelines for exclusively pumped-milk fed babies while it doesn’t sound like yours is. I would also never recommend quarter feedings if you want your newborn on a schedule! Makes zero sense.

[Anonymous]

WTF is overfeeding a newborn?! If the get more than they can handle, they just throw it up!

This “overfeeding” nonsense is ludicrous.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you want your baby to sleep longer stretch’s at night, she must eat more during the day.

Feed your baby full feeds more frequently (when she’s hungry) and stop the overfeeding worry.

[Anonymous]

Are you seeing enough fat in your pumped milk, OP? Are you shaking or mixing the bottle before giving it to her? If yes-Stop. The rich fatty milk should be the last she takes.