How to know whether enough feeding is done for a baby?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have a 3.5 weeks old baby who I am formula feeding. I feed her 2.5 ounces about every 3 hours. She sucks the complete bottle down and is still sucking when I pull it out of her mouth. An hour after I feed her, she is very fussy. Her arms are going everywhere and her mouth is wide open while turning her head back and forth like she is looking for more to eat. She will only calm down with a pacifier, but that lasts only a few minutes until she spits it out. Am I feeding her enough? (She weighs about 9 pounds).

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I always prefer a demand feeding as all babies are smart enough to decide for how much they want and how frequently. For the weight and age of your baby, she need about 3 ounces of milk every 3 hours, total about 23.33 - 24.17 fl oz in 24 hours. Fussiness after feeding and turning head back and forth (not side to side) need to be observed carefully as it may be due to regurgitation of milk. Give proper burping after feeds and let her sleep with head end raised (make the bed at an inclination of approximately 30 degree up on head end side). If you can share a video of that, it can help to reach to a conclusion better and I will advise you accordingly.