Does the amount a baby eats change dramatically at 3 weeks or so??

[aliceinwonderland]

Erik used to eat fast and fall asleep on one side, happy. Now he seems to be insatiable...I fed him last night, and *I* fell asleep because I was sooo exhausted, and his father gave him a bottle of milk I had pumped earlier in the day, almost 3 ounces...Isn't that a whole lot of food for a 3 week old?? I started pumping in 2 oz increments, because that's what they said he would eat, but no, tonight he took over 3 oz in his bottle.

It doesn't really matter, I seem to make plenty of milk, but I would just like to have an idea of how much my baby eats!!

ALSO, we nursed in public today!!! AT the LL Bean store in Maine :) :)

[Momof3Labs]

You are probably witnessing the 3 week growth spurt! There are more - 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and sometimes beyond.

It lasts a few days, normally, and then he'll settle back down to his old (less exhausting) patterns. It is key to let him nurse through this - don't give in and give bottles - because his nursing is building your supply to feed your soon to be bigger baby!

Congrats on NIP - it really isn't so bad, is it?

[Rachels]

Growth spurt! Keep nursing as much as possible-- very little supplementing, even with bottles of breastmilk. It's the only way for your body to get the message that he's needing more milk right now and to start producing for his current needs. Once your body has caught up to him, he'll start acting satiated again.

Thumbs up for NIP! That's wonderful.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/knit.gif

"We have a secret in our culture...it's not that birth is painful, it's that women are strong!!" - Laura Stavoe Harm

[jd11365]

Yep...sounds like the 'ol 3 week growth spurt to me.

And congrats on NIP...not so bad after all... :)

I'm so jealous you actually were inside the LL Bean store! To me it's just a catalog... :(


Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5-1-03

[aliceinwonderland]

Thanks! It must be the growth spurt, becuase his sleeping patterns have also changed (he sleeps more!!)

ALSO, I do not give a bottle (of EBM) just because, I try to give just a small one ONCE everyday so he can keep his interest in the bottle for when I go to work/school!! He's very good with it so far :)

[slknight]

Yep, sounds like a growth spurt. And congratulations on nursing in public at Bean's. I have done it several times. I just plunk myself down on one of those comfy couches upstairs by the snack bar, and go for it. :) :)

[octmom]

Good idea about the daily small bottle. We started giving DS one bottle of expressed breast milk each evening when he was around two and a half weeks old. He's almost 7 months old now, I work FT, and he is still exclusively breastfed (including expressed breast milk). The lactation consultant associated with our pediatrician's office advised us to do this and it really worked for us. (Of course, she also said I should accept the fact that I would more than likely need to supplement when I went back to work after three months, because I have a pretty high-pressure job. Four months after I returned to work, we still haven't supplemented. But, I am thinking about introducing formula soon, now that I have surpassed my six-month BFing goal. I'd love for DS have to have some breastmilk for another couple of months, but I am willing to add formula soon too.)

One of my best friends has a daughter just a few weeks older than my son. She waited until about 6 weeks to introduce a bottle (as many of the books, etc. say), and she STRUGGLED. It took months of frustration and trying every bottle on the market to find one her DD would take. And, interestingly enough, she is no longer nursing at all now.

Also, I don't know if this holds true for your family too, but my DH loved being able to hold his tiny son and feed him a bottle. He was VERY nervous for a while, but once he got more comfortable, he really enjoyed the experience. And my mom really enjoyed feeding her grandson when she visited.

Back to your original post-- yep, sounds like a growth spurt. Just keep on feeding him! Congratulations!!!

Jerilyn
DS: Sean, 10/29/03

[aliceinwonderland]

Thanks! Yea, Erik was "diagnosed" with a VERY efficent, STRONG suck (which made for cracked and bleeding nipples at the hospital, but that's another story), so the nurse said to start giving him the bottle anytime we wanted to at the 2 week appointemnt. He takes about 3 ounces once a day in a bottle, his dad loves feeding him :)