Eating is an issue at my house. I tend to graze all day, especially at night. My husband likes to save all of his calories for a huge evening meal. So as Sophia is growing and her appetite is increasing, a new layer of drama has been added on top of our normal food issues.
For the most part, my baby girl likes a full bottle in the morning, a solid meal around noon and about four more ounces for a snack later in the day. At night, though, she ranges from a regular bottle and off to bed (with another bottle in the middle of the night) to major cluster feeding that requires more food and more food every hour or so. While the cluster feeding is not a regular issue, it freaks me out when it happens.
Sophie went from the tenth percentile to the seventy-fifth percentile for weight in about six weeks. All I can think about are afternoon talk shows focusing on morbidly obese children and how I do not want my family to end up as guests.
I am assured from most who have chimed in, though, that babies will eat what they need to grow. This means that sometimes they eat more, and sometimes they eat less. The dissenting opinion is my mother who, having dealt with my weight issues as a child, would like me to ensure that Sophia doesn’t develop one more fat cell than she could possibly need.
I checked in with our pediatrician to find out how much my 3 month old should be eating and was told the same thing that I have read online – between 20 – 30 ounces a day is fine. I inquired about adding water to Sophia’s diet (something recommended by the urologist she is seeing) and was told to hold off for a while because at this age the water could decrease her appetite and prevent her from getting the right amount of nutrients needed to grow body and mind.
The final word from the nurse who assists our pediatrician was not to worry about over-feeding Sophia right now. She’s too young for a diet. The pediatrician then added that we could add Pedialyte to her daily intake once she has had at least 24 ounces of formula, though. This is to ensure that Sophia’s kidneys stay flushed since she is still in the testing process to determine what caused her urinary tract infection. And if she is still hungry after eating 32 ounces of formula, we can give her Pedialyte then as well.
Of course, I continue to wish we had been more successful at breast feeding. I think it would take some of the uncertainty out of the process. Although, it would make returning to work and resuming the caffeine intake necessary to do my job nearly impossible. Coffee and espresso make mommy happy, but they are not recommended for baby.
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