Almost 4mo old and only eating 2oz??

Eulis - posted on 06/05/2013

Yes my daughter is 14 weeks and still taking 2 oz of breast milk a time. Sometimes she will take 3 oz or 4 oz but mostly 2oz.

Monique - posted on 08/11/2009

WOW... I'm glad I read this thread. I'm always scared that my 2 1/2 month is not eating enough. She rarely eats more then 2 1/2 ounces out of the bottle and breastfeeds on one breast at a time for only 10 minutes or less most of the time. Shes gaining weight and peeing and pooping regularly. It's hard not knowing how much she gets out of the breast... Thank you for your advice!

Joy - posted on 08/11/2009

Thank you everyone for your replies!! I am experiencing the same thing with my 3 month old. He will only eat for about 10 minutes during a feeding now (which I understand may be because he is a more efficient eater now), but when he does have a bottle he only eats 2-3 oz of it out of 4.

Chelsea - posted on 08/10/2009

Quoting Julie:

My Baby (now 6 months) was a bit like this but once I got him on to a more structured routine it all fell into place - look at Tracy Hogg the Baby Whisperer's book she advises a 4 hour routine during the day of eating, activity, sleeping (2hr naps), they will take in more when they are hungrier once their feeds are spaced out more. She may be in the habit of snacking every 2 hours, or (like my baby who I didn't use to think would nap during the day) your baby if not sleeping during the day may be getting too tired to drink more and is falling asleep in the boob. I found her book really helpful and once i got baby on a routine he slept through the night.

Julie,

Feeding a 6 month old every 4 hours is not always recommended.  Typically a 6 month old needs to eat every 3-4 hours.  4 hours is the longest an infant can go at this age.

Chelsea - posted on 08/10/2009

Maggie,

Are you pumping and feeding her a bottle or nursing her?

She may very well be going through a growth spurt with eating ever hour for a 4 hour stretch. When infants do that it is known as cluster feeding. Cluster feeding is usually done because the infant is now increasing how much milk they want and therefore is signaling your body to make more milk. Also, keep in mind that infant nurse for many reasons not just for nutrition. She may need more comfort and contact and she knows that she gets that from nursing.

Remember that how much you can pump is no indication of how much your infant is getting. I pump and get roughly 3oz. in total but when my daughter is weighed (at the doctor) before and after a feeding she typically takes in 15 oz.

Julie - posted on 08/10/2009

My Baby (now 6 months) was a bit like this but once I got him on to a more structured routine it all fell into place - look at Tracy Hogg the Baby Whisperer's book she advises a 4 hour routine during the day of eating, activity, sleeping (2hr naps), they will take in more when they are hungrier once their feeds are spaced out more. She may be in the habit of snacking every 2 hours, or (like my baby who I didn't use to think would nap during the day) your baby if not sleeping during the day may be getting too tired to drink more and is falling asleep in the boob. I found her book really helpful and once i got baby on a routine he slept through the night.

Michelle - posted on 08/07/2009

Oh .... I had this problem around 3 months...she was only eating 2-3 oz at each feeding ... then I bumped her up to 3.5 cuz I was concerned she wasn't getting enough and she would not always eat it all. She is now eating like 4 oz at each feeding but sometimes 3 oz at her midday feeding(she is 5 months). I have fed her cereal 2 times now and it does not change the amount of milk that she wants ... plus she can only handle like an oz of cereal ... not much more. She loves mommies milk alone not mixed with cereal crap! hahahah

DeeDee - posted on 08/05/2009

I have read in breastfeeding literature that measuring how much a baby eats by pumping is not an accurate way to guage it. Babies are don't extract milk from the breast the same way a pump does. My daughter is 7 1/2 months (5 1/2 months adjusted, because of prematurity) and she only takes about 2-3 ounces every 3-4 hours. During growth spurts, she will eat every 1-2 hours. My pediatrician says that it doesn't matter how much she eats or how often, as long as she is gaining weight on a regular basis. I agree with Heather, weighing her on a breastfeeding scale is a much more accurate measure of how much she is taking in. Also, my daughter still wakes up 2-3 times a night as well, and nurses every time. She only ever has nursed on one side at a time, and has never switched to the other breast during a feeding. So, sounds like all your issues are pretty normal (at least to me), if slightly inconvenient. Don't be discouraged if she doesn't want to eat less often when she starts cereal. It is not supposed to be a substitute for breastmilk. My daughter gets cereal twice a day and still nurses afterwards (albeit for a little less longer than usual).

Heather - posted on 08/05/2009

My third daughter was this way. When she was 6 months she was only taking 3 oz. when I pumped. I also would weigh her every week at support group before and after she ate and the scale would show her intake as 2-3 oz. She had slow weight gain but never lost and the peditrician was fine with her weight. I BF her until she was 11 months and she was still only taking 4 oz. I would keep with it and not give up:) She still is not a big eater and she will be 5 in 2 weeks and weighs only 35 lbs! Also if you have a Support Group you can attend because you can weigh her before she breastfeeds then after and get an estimate of what she is taking in when on the breast.