Why is my child so hungry?

Question

My 4 month old daughter had her check up on monday and she had only gained 11 oz in 2 months. Prior to this she was in the 90th percentile for her weight...we have had to start supplementing with formula and I cannot keep up with her demands at all!! Today she ate from the breast at 4am and 8am...she had a 6oz bottle of breastmilk/formula at 11 and 2...now again at 4:30 my husband is saying she is chugging another bottle?!! Is she really hungry or is he just unable to read her cues and overfeeding her? By my count she has already had 26 oz and she still needs to eat 2 more times tonight and only needs 6 more oz?!! What is going on?

Answer 1

my daughter ate a lot at this age. she was eating 6 oz every 2-3 hours, also they will eat more during a growth spurt.

Answer 2

MAYBE A GROWTH SPURT..GIVE IT A FEW DAYS SHE MAY LEVEL OFF

Answer 3

shes probably growing  

Answer 4

Growth spurt. Mine is going through it as well now (also 4 months old)

Keep feeding her as much as she wants and don't worry. All will be back to normal in a few day to a week.

Good luck!

Answer 5

She is hungry thats all, she could be having a growth spurt. If she wasnt hungry she wouldnt be eating. It looks like she was eating every 4 hours. other than the bottle she is eating right now, but my son has done this before too. One time he at 10 oz in one feeding, but that was only one time LOL

Answer 6

Why wouldn't you work with a lactation consultant instead?  Did your doctor run any blood tests on you?

There is either a reason your baby is suddenly not getting enough milk or a reason that you aren't making enough milk.  If you truely aren't making enough milk that can be a sign of a serious underlying health problem such as hypothyrodism, diabetes, or anemia.

Do you really think if you were a man and couldn't ejaculate the doctor would just pat you on the hand and tell you its not a big deal?

However a "normal" baby should only have 32oz per day.  A baby that needs to make up for poor growth can need 50% more calories per day.

Answer 7

Growth spurt probably.  I wouldn't worry about it.  If she gets too much she will spit it up.  Sometimes my son does this too and then two days later he won't hardly eat at all!  

Answer 8

she really isn't eating that much.  Most breastfed babies at that age eat every 2 or 3 hours during the day.

Answer 9

Growth spurt!  

She's 4 months old and on the verge of that great adventure of sitting up and crawling, those muscles are developing and her body is storing things up for that growth of muscles and bone and such.  I remember at 4 months my baby ate more than she did at 8.  :P  So much fun.

Another possibility is that she may be ready for more solid foods.  I know that my doctor okayed us at 4 months old, but more and more doctors are trying to make people wait until 6, so talk to your doctor about it.  With my daughter... she NEEDED it.

Answer 10

The fact that she IS gaining is a good sign.  I have two boys and I found myself freaking out about this same situation a few times.  Turns out they start to eat and eat just before going through a growth spurt.  Don't fret, you're little one will be fine.  If you're still concerned and your daughter starts looking pale or becomes dehydrated you definitely need to check with your doctor.