2 week old always seems hungry

amother

Bronze

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 1:06 pm

He gained a lb in 10 days since birth but I worried that he constantly seems hungry. I am nursing during the day and bottles at night.
About an hr after each feeding he is rooting and looking for food. The bottles r 3 ounces should we be giving more? I have nursed my others successfully and think the nursing is going well this time too.
Guess I'm just a nervous new mom. Maybe he just needs a paci

imasinger

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 1:10 pm

If you nursed the others successfully, you know it's a supply and demand system. Right now, he is demanding more, which will build your supply.

More formula will sabotage the cycle.

Nurse him as often as he wants. He is only 2 weeks old, and will only benefit.

Do you have a lactation consultant you can call to affirm this?

FranticFrummie

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 1:45 pm

I agree with imasinger. By giving bottles at night, you are creating a supply problem during the day. If you have a pump, you need to use it in between feedings to get more milk to come in, or you should switch to nursing at night too, which would be the best choice, IMHO.

thunderstorm

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 1:49 pm

my last child was so so hungry and then I discovered when I began pumping that I was producing less than an ounce in 25 minutes! No wonder my baby was hungry....no matter what I did I couldnt get more supply. At 4 months my pediatrician told me I should stop torturing myself and my baby and to quit nursing and just give formula. I felt so so guilty doing that since all my other kids nursed for a long time...but each child is different and I had no other choice.

sped

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 1:55 pm

amother wrote:

my dd needed to suck a lot, and once she started taking a pacifier, she used it instead of feedings.

mom4many

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 1:56 pm

I definitely read opinions that conflict my personal experience - but eating fatty foods such as meat, butter etc. definitely made my last baby more full!

At 6 months I tried to lose weight by eating well but healthy with less fat & carbs but my baby was constantly hungry!

Many disagree with this, but you can try it for 2 days & it should make an instant difference if this is the problem.

amother

Bronze

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 2:22 pm

imasinger wrote:

I agree with you by theory but I have help at night and need to skip a feeding or 2 to rest and get back to myself. Don't bash me for needing to recover. I don't supplement during the day. Maybe I should nurse more often during the day to build supply ?
Baby doesn't cry from hunger just always seems to be searching for food..
Is 3 oz a normal amount for baby to be taking at night. This is my first that I have help with.

amother

Bronze

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 2:23 pm

sped wrote:

my dd needed to suck a lot, and once she started taking a pacifier, she used it instead of feedings.

The Paci seems to calm my baby just wondering if I should really be nursing more often instead if the baby gained weight.

imasinger

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 2:42 pm

I'm not bashing you at all.

3 oz for the whole night, or per feeding? How many night feedings?

Remember that rooting and mouthing are reflexes that happen whenever the right stimulus is applied to an infant, regardless of hunger.

It might make sense to offer 2-4 oz of formula every 3-4 hours at night, and also see if the paci helps at night.

Then, during the day, nurse on demand, and maybe try to pump a little extra before going to bed.

What does your pediatrician say?

amother

Bronze

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 3:12 pm

[quote="imasinger"]I'm not bashing you at all.

3 oz for the whole night, or per feeding? How many night feedings?

Remember that rooting and mouthing are reflexes that happen whenever the right stimulus is applied to an infant, regardless of hunger.

It might make sense to offer 2-4 oz of formula every 3-4 hours at night, and also see if the paci helps at night.

Then, during the day, nurse on demand, and maybe try to pump a little extra before going to bed.

What does your pediatrician say?[/quote

I under stand you were not bashing. Just don't want it to go that way with the whole nursing thing

Dr says gaining nicely so keep doing what I'm doing

3 ounces per feeding but baby finishes it off so quickly maybe we should offer more ?

Yea maybe he is just rooting cuz it's a reflex? Don't know

Laiya

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 5:44 pm

I think it's normal. With 1 of my kids, my pediatrician said to try not to feed him more often than once every 2 hours because I would be in constant pain from the let-down. I don't think there's anything wrong with feeding that often though, just a matter of convenience.

You wrote 2 feedings a night, but how many hours apart are feedings? Another possibility that comes to mind is that he's not eating enough at night and compensating during the day, but I think he may be too young to have that awareness of day / night

5*Mom

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 6:18 pm

3 ounces per feeding sounds like a very nice amount for a 2 wk old baby. No worries there, I think.

During the day, when you nurse are you making sure that your baby is emptying at least one side fully per feeding? How long do you keep him on each side? Are you giving yourself a chance to have more than one letdown per feeding? If he is nursing long enough and emptying at least one side completely at each feeding then I would think the rooting is just a reflex. But at this age I usually nurse on demand since a) it helps build supply, and b) newborns have small stomachs and breastmilk is digested quickly so they really can be hungry often.

amother

Bronze

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 6:49 pm

The night feedings r 3 hours apart.
Yes I'm pretty sure he's emptying one side. Sometimes it's 20 minutes on each side. Sometimes 10 and sometimes only 1 side. Not too consistent yet

Dolly Welsh

Wed, Sep 09 2015, 11:52 pm

It's been a long time but wasn't it four ounces, not three, per feeding?

Yes, offer a pacifyer. If he's hungry, he will spit it out angrily and yell for some food. So feed.

If he's full but still needs to suck some more, he will like the paci. He will let you know what's up with him. You will understand him more and more.

If he's eating a lot, good. That's a growth spurt.

Don't worry about scheduling. We all eat when we feel like it. The fridge has no lock on it.

Be sure to drink enough milk and water and eat enough, yourself.

When he sleeps, down you go. You sleep when he sleeps.

Ask the ped any questions. They would much rather you ask, than have to fuss with something later. Ask, ask.

Good work.

Mazel Tov.

Laiya

Thu, Sep 10 2015, 9:37 am

mom4many wrote:

I think they say it's more about the carbs that your body needs for milk. You can still eat healthfully by having whole wheat, whole grains, healthy fats and cut back on refined sugar

Sanguine

Thu, Sep 10 2015, 9:56 am

Bizzydizzymommy wrote:

Same story here. Childs #3 and #4 especially nursed perfectly for a year. They could have written the book. But #5 was a disaster. Took me about 2 months to admit that I was fooling myself (I was already a pro) but she wasn't gaining weight and she was never happy. I can try to think of 100 reasons why nursing didn't go smoothly with her and what I "Should have" done differently, but switching to formula was really the right thing to do. You should be nursing for your baby's benefit (not yours) and if he's starving you're not thinking of the right person.

OP - I was responding to Bizzydizzymommy, I don't mean that you have to give up after 2 weeks