What has changed for my 3 week old? Why is he crying so much?

[Pinkflipflop]

My ds is bottle fed and he is truly content when he is eating! He was small at birth (5lb 12) so I have been feeding him less than the guidelines. He is now eating 90mls approx at a time but looks for it about 8 times a day. Is this normal for him to be so hungry? I'm worried about him getting hungry so much. He is not wet or dirty, he just seems to settle when I feed him.

I think he is about 6lbs and a bit now, how do I know exactly how much he should eat?

[snowmummy]

Make up more milk and let him take as much as he wants. He knows bests about how much he needs. Also, around 2-3 weeks newborns do, in my experience, become a little more unsettled and its a classic time for colic to start. If you're really unsure, give your HV a call. Some of them are helpful. Hth

[Pobblewhohasnotoes]

8 times a day is fine. It's three hourly, perfectly normal. And great if he's got himself into this routine already. Don't forget babies have growth spurts so there will be times he will feed and feed and feed, you will find you're feeding more often and upping how much he takes. It's all normal.

[QTPie]

Hi

Your post is a bit confusing... Your title mentions crying, but then then your post doesn't mention it again... Are you worried that you are not feeding him enough or are you worried that he is crying loads (more than he has been?)?

As snowmummy said, at ago 2/3 weeks it is not uncommon for babies to become more unsettled: mine did, a lot! I think that his (mild) jaundice wore off and he wasn't falling asleep as easily and was getting over-tired (he was screaming/crying 5/6 hours each evening, was trying to feed but coming off the boob, wouldn't fall asleep, didn't have wind). Controversially we started a bath and bedtime routine each evening and it worked very well for us (just helped him take a big final feed after his bath - didnt like his bath the first couple of weeks though - and was a lot asker to settle in his crib... We persevered at settling him with anything that would work). This worked virtually straight away for us and within two/three days things were completely better. We soon found that feeds settled into a regular pattern too. He did have 8 feeds a day, although was breastfed and not bottle fed (and so no idea of the amount).

All babies are different... But at 2/3 weeks you are still only learning about yours and him about life and you. Part of it is telling whether they are hungry or just tired: then you can feed when hungry and cuddle/comfort/stroke/shush/etc when tired. All babies are different, but for us a mixture of parent leading whilst strongly listening to baby worked very well - we found a very happy equilibrium together.

QT