https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 28 Oct 2026 03:13:16 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040484 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 16:23:44 +0000 immabeetoo 1040484@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: yep that was when we went to four hours. No clue on oz since he's EBF but he slept better once e was eating fewer times but more. It was a fight to keep hkm focused every three and he would just snack and fuss. He kept the one night feed until just recently at 9 months though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040440 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 16:01:52 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040440@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@twobee: Thanks! We night weaned early, so I think it's making all the night wake-ups extra painful! I think I'll test a 4-hour schedule tomorrow, because like you mentioned, I'm worried about a 2-hour eating habit. Hopefully, their easy distractibility will be a short phase. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040389 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 15:33:05 +0000 twobee 1040389@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>First of all, it sounds like they are eating pretty well in terms of total volume, so while I get the weight gain worry I think you are doing fine! :happy: </p> <p>But this happened to us too, though it was usually only the bedtime bottle. We night weaned so they are usually eager to eat when they wake up, and our nanny must have the magic touch because she can always get them to eat more during the day than we can on the weekends. But with the last bottle of the day, we went through almost a month (starting at about 5 months) where they would obviously be starving and we'd give them a bottle, and two ounces in they would get distracted, and if you kept trying they would be SO MAD that you wanted to feed them any more. </p> <p>I think for us it was that they were overtired - it improved a lot when we started implementing a stricter nap schedule. Before, we didn't put them down unless they were showing signs of tiredness, but we have instituted more of a schedule now and the problem has completely resolved. That said, maybe it was just a question of time passing.</p> <p>I second @Mrs. High Heels: suggestion that you might try a 4-hour schedule. I would take that route over every two hours because I'd be worried about making it a habit, and I think letting them get a little hungry is a good way to counteract their distractability at this age. I think you'll find that with fewer bottles they'll make up the volume - when we night weaned, they made up the volume in the daytime with no problems, even though before then we'd never seen them eat more than 5 oz at a time (and often it was 3 or 4). Now they regularly eat between 6 and 9 oz per feeding. They have not increased their overall volume on a daily basis - they seem to eat as much as they want and leave the rest. Sometimes the bottle is totally emptied, and sometimes we have 3 or 4 oz left over. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040340 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:52:38 +0000 allison 1040340@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: My LO eats SO much better if he's sleepy! I definitely think that means they're not eating as well during the day because of distractions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040339 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:52:34 +0000 twinmama 1040339@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: It might be age, might be teeth, might be personality :) my son had a really picky phase around the same time and we tried some different bottles and he seemed to eat better, but then he wanted the originals back after awhile...crazy child. But I did want to mention that we got a baby scale off amazon for about $50. Having twins and being concerned about weight gain, it's been one of the best things to have at home, so we can get a good weigh to the half ounce whenever we want! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040303 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:39:53 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040303@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@travellingbee: This definitely must be an age thing then. Sigh. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040283 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:31:10 +0000 travellingbee 1040283@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>L has been doing the same. He's only taking a couple of ounces at each feeding and eats all night. Very frustrating. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040273 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:26:18 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040273@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. High Heels: Yeah, at this point, I guess it's more that I just don't like WHEN he's choosing to eat all his oz. :)</p> <p>I forgot to say, if he falls asleep while I'm feeding him or if he's half asleep during the night feeds, he'll eat the whole bottle usually. Maybe that weighs in favor of the distraction theory. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040265 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:23:19 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 1040265@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: so it sounds like they're getting enough per day! it's just a lot of snacking throughout the day (and night).... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040259 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:22:27 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040259@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. High Heels: Maybe I'll try that this weekend. I considered it, but I was nervous that he'll still just eat 3 oz or less only with less feedings! Counting all the night feedings, this week he is eating between 25-30 oz. per day. He and E's totals aren't too far apart (E usually eats 31-33 oz.), and our ped wants them to be eating at least 30 oz. a day, so Finn is pretty close to that. It's just that we're having to do soo many feedings a day to get to that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040249 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:18:30 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 1040249@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: Do you think they're ready to stretch it out to every 4 hours between feedings. J hasn't been eating as well lately too, and I just googled this last night but a lot of babies start going on a 4-hour between feeding type routine around this age!</p> <p>What is the total amount of milk per day they're getting, as opposed to per feeding? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040230 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:13:57 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040230@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@allison: At least I'm in good company! I hope it's just a stage they will quickly outgrow. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040224 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:13:05 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040224@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: That makes me feel better. I just stress out so much about Finn's weight since he's already tiny and so much of our doctor's visits revolve around weight gain and how much they are eating. Maybe I just need to relax and let go a little more. He'll eat when he gets hungry enough, right?</p> <p>@Mrs Green Grass: Yeah, I think it could be all the transitions since the last 3 weeks have been a little chaotic. I know I can't compare to your experience, but it is just hard not to worry about weight gain with preemies! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040211 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:10:46 +0000 allison 1040211@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: my LO is 6.5 months and he's been doing this for about a month, too! I'm bfing, and I have to wait until he is really hungry before he'll eat very much at all. Like, he goes over 5 hours pretty frequently during the day. He's not eating solids yet, either. And he wakes up every 3 hours at night to eat. I know he's getting up so much at night (didn't used to) because he's making up for the lack of milk during the day, and it's so frustrating! But I canNOT get him to eat more during the day. I've tried. I'm just hoping he'll grow out of it soon... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040194 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:08:08 +0000 Adira 1040194@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: 1 lb in 4 weeks is totally normal! That's what Xander gained from 4 to 5 months. I think around 4 months is when the weight gain slows down a little bit, and then it slows some more at 6 months, so it sounds like he's gaining just fine! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040166 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:03:20 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 1040166@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: I bet it's just the newness then! That's awesome that they care so much. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040162 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:02:03 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040162@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@edelweiss: They napped terrible at daycare until just the last few weeks. They would sleep like 50 minutes to and hour and a half in 10 hours of daycare! It was so frustrating. Just lately they seem to be settling in to napping better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040156 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:00:45 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040156@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs Green Grass: We're on formula now and it has come from different cans, so it shouldn't be the taste. We just started this daycare, but at the last one he ate better than he is now and they really, really did not work hard at it. The current place definitely cares more, so hopefully he will settle in eventually. </p> <p>I think with the extra night feedings his overall intake is okay, but I selfishly would love to not have to wake up every three hours. :) He started this right after his last appointment, so I'm not sure how his weight gain is. I tried to weigh him the sketchy way using our scales at home and it showed a gain of about a pound in a little less than 4 weeks, which seems slow, but maybe he's just hit the age where his weight gain isn't so rapid?? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040122 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:54:11 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 1040122@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The times I've had this happen, it was the milk. Sometimes a bag of frozen milk is just "off" - even when another bag from the same date is fine. I usually switch out the whole bottle when this happens.</p> <p>Has he ever eaten well at daycare? I would ask them to have him eat in a quiet place and to be really patient with him.</p> <p>But the most important thing is overall intake and gaining weight. Does he make up for the small amounts in the evening? How is his overall intake? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040110 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:52:12 +0000 edelweiss 1040110@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i like @Adira: 's suggestion to have daycare offer the bottle more frequently unless F is napping (btw very jealous that F naps at daycare--my LO naps for 45 minutes the entire day at daycare somebody shoot me). my first thought reading your post was that he may be getting distracted and want to play/look around rather than eat. </p> <p>it can be so stressful though, worrying whether they're getting enough! i guess he is making up for it at night, but it would be nice not to have those extra night wakings :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040098 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:50:22 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040098@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: I might try that next week if it doesn't improve over the weekend. They are sometimes consistent. :) They are starting to consolidate their naps, but it's still a little unpredictable how long they will stay asleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040078 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:46:34 +0000 Adira 1040078@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: Are they consistent nappers or still all over the place, like Xander? Maybe you can suggest that the daycare offer a bottle every 2 hours, unless they're sleeping? And then just offer it after they wake up? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040068 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:44:43 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040068@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: Maybe you're right because he still seems happy and will smile and laugh and ham it up if you just let him play. I would eventually like to get my almost 6 month olds out of size 0-3, though! :) Silly little boy. My only issue with a 2 hour feeding schedule is it doesn't allow time for much napping. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040060 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:42:35 +0000 Adira 1040060@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Well, I don't have a ton of advice, but I've heard that this is the age that they get really distracted really easily and they don't really want to "waste time" eating, if that makes sense! My guess is there's just too much going on at daycare and at home that he doesn't really want to spend the time eating, which is why he's waking up more at night to make up for it! But I'm not really sure how you can force him to eat more... maybe offer it more often during the day? Can you get the daycare to try every 2 hours instead of every 3? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/big-drop-in-amount-eaten-per-feeding-at-5-6-months-thoughts#post-1040037 Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:38:01 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1040037@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Alright, I need some help because this is making me crazy and worrying me, and I CANNOT figure it out. </p> <p>The boys are about 5.5 months right now, and for the last 3-4 weeks, F has had a huge drop in the amount he's eaten per bottle and E hasn't been eating very good this week. I think E's is just the transition to new daycare, but F is another story as it has been going on several weeks now. He doesn't cry like he did when his reflux was acting up, but he just seems distracted and not interested after eating the first couple ounces. He still acts happy and &amp; fine. </p> <p>They eat every 3 hours, and for several weeks he had been eating 5-6.5 oz. per feeding. Every now and then, he would have a small feeding and eat only 4.5 oz. The last 3.5 weeks, we are struggling to even get to 3 oz, and at daycare he is frequently eating 1.5-3 oz. per feeding. He'll eat the first ounce or two fine and then just turns away, spits out the milk, or fusses if you try to keep giving him more. Sometimes, I can change his position, distract him with a toy, etc. and get another ounce or two in him. Occasionally at home, he'll still eat a 6.5 oz. bottle, but rarely. He's waking up far more frequently at night, too (I assume because he's not eating enough during the day), so all together he usually gets enough, but only because of the night feedings. We haven't started solids at all. They have had a lot of transition because we finished at one daycare, our moms each kept them for a week, and then they started their new daycare this week. No teeth yet, though they do have drooly, chewing, fussy days off and on. That's everything I can think of that could possibly be affecting his eating. </p> <p>I'm so stressed about it because he's already only in the 1st percentile, and we're trying to keep him gaining well, get him off the preemie formula, etc.</p> <p>Any thoughts or suggestions??? Should I call the ped. and ask about it? Help! </p>