Advice on How Much to Feed 11 Week Old Infant

I agree with the PPs -- I would let the baby eat until she is full, and let her guide you. I would also speak to a lactation consultant, and not just your pedi, when it comes to the BFing issues. There are other things you can do to increase your supply, if that is what you would like to do.

Also, I did rice cereal in the bottle for my kids (both had/have bad reflux), but I switched to Enfamil AR formula which is made for acid reflux babies and has added rice protein to make it thicker. I found it was much easier than putting rice cereal in the bottle (not as messy), and didn't make my kids as constipated. It also has the same amount of calories/fat as regular formula, so you aren't adding any other nutrition to the bottle. My kids did respond very well to both the AR formula and the rice cereal, and it dramatically changed their demeanor and general health. I don't regret for a minute using the AR formula (or the rice cereal) and my children aren't obese from it.

That said, if you prefer to BF, I would talk to your lactation consultant before I switched formula or added rice cereal, as that may be an issue. I would also ask about Zantac or another medication, as that has helped my daughter a lot.

Good luck!

I agree with getting a second opinion and the outdated rice in the bottle advice. I exclusively breastfed and when I pumped and gave it in a bottle, it was never more than 4 ounces at a time. It was just the way my body and my daughters feeding worked. Some kids are different and 8 ounces may be an awful lot for your 11 week old to take at once. I have found that pediatricians do not know as much about breasetfeeding as lactation consultants, simply because they do not see it/deal with it as often. I'd err on the side of the lactation consultant and look into a new pediatrician. I hope it goes well!

Hi. We have/had similar experiences, as I'm also a first time mom (to a 4 month old girl) who could only produce 1-2 ounces of breastmilk and she also has reflux. I found it hard to increase my production to anything more than 3 ounces total (from both breasts) so I supplemented but with the stress of having a baby with severe reflux, it just made breastfeeding hard so I stopped. So, don't feel bad about it. I did for a while, but came to grips with reality that it's ok and that I did my best (I even took Fenugreek, an herb to help with milk productin...it helped only a little). Anyways, I think 8 ounces is too much for a 2 month old. My 4 month old can only drink 6 ounces max, and she is 90th % in weight and 97% in height. By the way,her pediatric GI had me putting a whopping 3 Tsp of rice per every ounce of formula (was like mud). It made her gain a LOT of weight in a short time. And she would go sometimes 7 hours without wanting the bottle. I was concerned because I don't her to replace formula with rice cereal so when i complained, the dr. said I could go down to 2 Tsp per every ounce. She went back to her every 4-5 hour feeding schedule after that. So, I say, continue with SOME rice cereal, but not too much. Continue to always keep her upright and like someone else said, she'll let you know when she's full. She'll stop sucking and will push the nipple out or will roll the nipple around in her mouth and eventually turn away.

S.,

It is hard when you are a new mom. I have three kids. The first one ate all the time but didn't gain weight easily. The doctors were shocked at how much she ate while gaining only 1 to 2 ounces in a month. She is now 13 and completely healthy and a great weight etc. With my second, they told me she was getting chubby, so I should cut out 1 to 2 feedings a day. Well, I didn't listen to them and thank goodness because she is 10 and only weighs 50 lbs. (she is completely normal, just small for her age). My third at everything in sight, didn't really crawl or move until he was 10 months old. He was off the charts (above) for both height and weight.) He was fairly fat!! I was worried, but still let him eat when he was hungry and stop when he was full. He has "normalized" in his weight and height. No weight problems. My whole point is, your baby will eat when she is hungry and stop when she is full. Of course you need to make sure that she is eating enough, but I believe that many times the doctors err on the side of caution due to the amount of obese kids in our society and tell parents to cut out feedings. We parents have to be smart and while we listen to the doctors also listen to our instincts. Good luck to you and listen to your instincts!!

Have you thought about a 2nd opinion? The majority of literature today refutes putting cereal in a bottle. My son has acid reflux as well, but we never added anything to his bottle. My neice had reflux, and the dr. kept telling my sister to add cereal to the bottle until it became sludge. It still did not help her reflux - only made her overweight.

To address the amount issue, I also had supply issues with breastfeeding. However, the more you supplement with formula the less likely it is that you will keep your supply. I tried not to supplement - just let him eat whenever he wanted to from me. Eventually my supply increased to keep him happy. I'd suggest you listen to your gut -- moms know best!

Good luck!