Feeding Strategy

F

FutureHKmom

Registered User
My four month old baby girl isn't really a good milk drinker....she drinks milk until she has had enough and never really cries for more. However, she hasn't been gaining weight very well - always just following the 10th percentile curve and maybe even dipping a bit below now. I"m wondering what strategy I should use to try to get her to drink more. I am currently breastfeeding her 5-6 times a day and giving her one meal of formula (usually 4oz). I give her formula because my husband is convinced it will help her gain weight better. When she is breastfeeding she doesn't feed that well sometimes because she is distracted. She sleeps through the night - sleeping from 10:30 or 11pm until I wake her up for a feed anytime between 7 and 8 and then usually sleeps again until 9ish.

I'm just wondering - at 4 months, how many times should I feed her? Or does it differ for each baby....I didn't have any weight gain issues with my son so am a little at a loss for what to do. Thanks.
 
it differs for every baby....but really, you need to relax!

she's happy.
she's sleeping through the night.
she's not crying from hunger.
she's more or less stayed at 10%.

i don't see why you are so worried! from everything you've stated, she's growing just fine. (i wouldn't even wake her in the morning to feed her... especially if she'd continue sleeping otherwise.)

you cannot force a child/baby to feed. you just have to go with the flow and RELAX. your anxiousness isn't going to help matters.
 
They're supposed to stay around the same percentile, that's healthy. The general aim if you're determined to monitor her weight so closely is to stay in the region of the same percentile but be aware that they don't put weight on evenly, sometimes it will be above the curve sometimes below especially as she has growth spurts and starts moving more.

10th percentile is a statistical term, it doesn't mean she's 90% underweight! She needs to gain weight as she grows (which she is doing) but she does not need to change percentile.

Her behaviour is a much better measure of whether she's getting enough food - she'll let you know if she isn't!
 
You're lucky! :) She doesn't cry for more and is already sleeping through the night. Take it easy and relax. As Carang and jvn have mentioned, her behaviour will tell you. :)
 
Agree with others. Please don't worry. If she wasn't eating enough she wouldn't be sleeping through. Remember that the weight charts were complied in the 1970's based on formula fed US babies (predominantly caucasian and African-American). Formula doesn't really make them gain more unless there are feeding issues such as poor latch but keep it in if it gives you a break (I bf and do 1 ff a day).
 
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