I have a son who turned 3 months old last week. He was doing really well, eating 3/4 oz every 3/4 hours and slept 5 hrs staright at night. He was colicky, but reduced severly after using dr. Browns bottles.
Since this weekend it seems like we can't satify him. We give him 6 oz and he's happy for 1.5 to 2 hours and starts crying again. He is a very good baby, never really cries for any other purpose than a need.
About 3 weeks ago he already showed a bit of a bigger appetite, but when I called the pediatricians office, they told me I should not give him anything else. I tried to give him Enfamil Restful, but it's too harsh, he is on gentlease.
Yesterday, I gave him a bit of sweet potato and a small bottle of earth best rice cereal. He slept for 4 hours and woke every 2 after I gave him just his formula during the night. I can't breastfeed, since I had apendicitis 3 weeks after giving birth and sadly lost it all.
Any suggestions?
I really like the idea of re-lactating, as I was so dissapointed after surgery. I am going to take a serious look into it. I have been giving him larger feeding and a bottle of rice cereal before bed, but in a lighter version than recommended on the box. He seems to like it and causes no trouble. I will be more careful on the solids. He loves them though. I am from Holland and there pediatricians recommend different things than they do here and I don't think there is a cultural difference in tummies. :)
Keep giving him actual food, he's hungry! :)
I had both of my kids on cereal/stage 1s by 12 weeks. They're little chunkers that needed more than formula.
They're both healthy as can be and never had any issues. (Jeez, my mom had ME on rice cereal at 6 weeks!) Watch for allergies, if you have a family history of them. Otherwise, let them dig in!
The bit about needing to be 6mos for food now is ridiculous.
He is WAY too young for sweet potato or cereal. I would cut out any solids as his digestive system isn't mature enough for sweet potato or any other solid. I realize every one has a different opinion about cereal, but even the most lenient studies say that they shouldn't have rice cereal until at least four months and most say 6 months. I would at least cut the regular foods even if you don't cut the cereal.
If you can find a good lactation consultant, you may be able to get it going again. I had shingles 3 days after giving birth and it royally screwed things up for me. With the help of an LC, and some time and work, I was able to BF till he was 2.5 years old. There is a BF tool, kinda like an IV, that augments your breastmilk - a small container with a very thin tube - you wear the container with formula around your neck, and the very thin tube is laid right along your nipple so the baby can get nutrition from you AND it - supplements your production AND stimulates your production. It worked very well for me. Ask your hospital for a referral. I think they should have gotten you in touch with someone when you had the appendix issue. Based on the fact that you lost your milk due to illness, it's entirely possible that the services of a lactation consultant will be covered by insurance - mine was.
Good luck, and feel free to click on my name and write me if you like.
I would start the process of relactating. It's not as hard as it sounds, especially since it sounds like you are a SAHM. It'll be better on his tummy too!!
This would be a great time to start relactating because he's on a growth spurt - which means he will be hungry all the time and if you allow him to suckle the breast (and pump alternately) his cluster feeding will quickly bring back your milk supply. Eating oatmeal and taking Fenugreek with Blessed Thistle will make it even more quick to happen.
He is way too young to even consider solids... his gag and tongue reflexes will make him much more prone to aspirate (food going into lungs) and his GI tract is still open and immature. 5-7 months is the best time to introduce oatmeal and veggies.
If you want more information on relactating - please personal message me.
If he is hungry feed him. My oldest was hungry at 8 oz every few hours at 2 months. The doctor told me to feed him. Same with my daughter. I gave them rice cereal in a baby feeder. Mix it with a little bit of apples. He will love it.
Growth spurt. He's only 3mos old, feed him when he's hungry adn relax, he will grow out of it. He's way too young for solids so don't give them.
babies go through pretty big growth spurts that come in three's. 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months. He's at 3 months, so he's going through a big growth spurt, feed him more formula - no solids though, he's too young and could develop allergies or intolerances, especially if there is a family history of it (at least that's what my doctor told me), plus their little bellies don't have the right acids to digest solid foods until they are older, so yes, it does fill him up, but that's because it's just sitting there taking forever to break down and he's not really getting any nutritional benefits from it. So, stock up on more formula and feed on demand.
He's too young for baby food or cereal. His digestive system isn't developed enough yet to handle the foods, even if they're pureed. 6 months is the recommendation for starting "foods." He could develop life long problems from starting solids too early. The reason babies sleep longer when they're given cereal or food at a young age, is because they can't properly digest it, so it just sits in their tummies, giving them the feeling of being full. He really needs to just be on formula or breastmilk. Also, food or cereal should never be given by anything other than the spoon, unless it's medically necessary.
There are a number of reasons why he could be crying. There are a number of reasons why he's having sleep regression as well. Growth spurts are VERY common at this age. He might be ready to learn a new skill. Babies tend to sleep less when they're about to learn a new skill (sitting, rolling, crawling). It's early, but he could be having some teething pain. My bet is growth spurt, especially with the increased appetite.
It's also not uncommon for babies this age to not sleep through the night. Don't fall into the trap that if he doesn't sleep all night something is wrong.
I started my daughter on rice ceral about this time. I would start with small amounts spoon feeding him and if he does fine with it then you know what to do. My Dr. had me start my daughter on fruits and veggies at 4 months and I had already had her on the cereal and she said that was great. All Dr. are different but you are going to know what is best for your child. As long as his digestive system is handling the cereal then it should be fine but if he struggles with it then I would back off and try again in a couple weeks.
Why would you ignore the pediatrician??? 3 months is too young for solids. Just give more formula. Its fine that all our moms gave us rice cereal at 12 weeks but there is new research and things change. They also drive us around with out car seats... do not listen to those people. Your baby is having a growth spurt and needs more formula or breast milk.
Good luck
