Eating Enough? - Dallas,TX

I agree, don't force her to eat if she doesn't want it. My son was, and still is, on the smaller side according to the growth chart. But, remember the growth chart is just an average and a lot of babies these days are much chubbier than they used to be. Right now my two year old son is only at 5% on the growth chart, but he is about the same height and weight I was at his age, and in my baby book I was at 50% in 1981. So, you can see how things have changed. As long as she doesn't look emaciated and your pediatrician isn't concerned, I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it.

I would say that if your pediatrician is not worried, then you should not be worried. I think at this age they should be getting between 24 and 32 oz (I may be a little off) within a 24 hour period. If her intake is at this level, then I think she should be ok. But you can always get a second opinion from another pedi.
I will tell you that my daughter (who is now almost 6 months old) has always had issues with eating. She will go through weeks were she hardly eats at all and then she will go for a few days were she will eat all day! It is pretty frustrating because I want to be sure she is ok. When I am concerned that she is not eating enough, my mom always asks if there is anything else going on with her....is she fussy? is she pooping ok? is she pulling her ears (ear infection)? etc. I always say NO! she is normal. to which she will say, "she is probably ok then!".

21/2 ounces every 3 hours does seem a little low for 3 mths as an average but if your doctor is fine with it I wouldnt worry about it. My daughter was doing about 4-5 oz. at 3 mths but she is a little bit chubby and still to this day loves to eat!:) All babies develop at their own pace.

Definitely, dont try to force more milk on her if she is not ready-she will increase her intake with time.

My daughter was consistently in the 25% for weight and the 75-95% for height and only took 2-3 oz until she was over 6 months old. She is a very healthy 3 y/o now and is never sick. I would not worry if the doctor is not concerned. I also found with both of my children, there was no coorleation between how much they ate during the day and how often they woke up at night. Good luck!