Feed-a-thon

Alex is in a growth spurt, so it's been tough keeping up with his appetite. For some days at a stretch it was trying sometimes because I was dealing with a constantly hungry and therefore, grumpy baby. Yesterday in particular, his appetite was just off the scale. At 8 lbs and some ounces, he managed to drink somewhere between 28 and 32 ounces in about 30 hours. That's about 30-35% more than a baby his weight should be taking in. Though I was told to expect this by both his pediatrician and from reference articles and books, we're still going to call today and ask about it.

Today he's a totally different baby. Dan fed him 9 oz between midnight and four am this morning (two different feedings). I fed him AGAIN from between 5:30 and 7:30 when he spent about a total of 50 minutes at the breast (probably got about 5 oz) and had 2 oz of soy formula. He slept from 7:30 to 11:00. When I woke him up to eat he was quiet, calm, happy and giggling again. Maybe after his non-stop pig out of yesterday, he's got some left over for today. I just finished feeding him again, this time about 60 mins at the breast and he's just a little cranky right now because he wants to play. (I had to eat lunch.)

He's not pooping today. Again, I was told to expect this with a largely breastfed baby. Their digestive systems act maturely earlier because breastmilk is such an efficient food. (As young as one month old, a breastfed baby can have adult type bowel movements, as in a day or two without any at all.) I'll still be asking about it though.

Despite this, he seems quite fine. No crankiness like he feels bad - except when hungry. No sleepiness in excess of his regular sleeping. No fever. Plenty of wet diapers and alertness otherwise. I'll be taking him out to play now. That should tell me whether he feels satiated and whether he has his normal temperament and alertness level.

May 16, 2007