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Infant feeding

Do I need to feed more my 3m old?

17 replies

Kika1 · 17/05/2015 11:06

Hi all, I'm a first time mom and really confused and unsure how much food I should be giving my 3m old baby...she is just under 10lb, was born small, gaining weight, slowly but steadily, lots of wet nappies. She usually has 6feeds,
3am - bf
6.30 - bf
10am - formula 150ml
2pm - bf
5pm b f
8.15pm - formula 150ml
She used to go with no food till about 4.30 am, which changed last week (growth spurt maybe?) and started to wake up between 2.15am - 3am, when I feed her now, do I need to give her more food on the evening feed or during the day? i'm happy to feed her at 3am, don't want to stuff her face with more formula just so she sleeps longer..what do u think? Thank you.

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Booboostoo · 17/05/2015 11:40

She is not likely to sleep longer if you give her more ff. At this age they have tiny stomachs and need to eat little and often. Both of mine were ebf but fed 10-12 times in 24 hours at that age. It is a bit relentless but it does get better. They also fed a lot more at night than during the day, so unfortunately I think you need to feed her more at night.

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Kika1 · 17/05/2015 11:54

Hi, I dont mind feeding at night, it's my hubby driving me crazy saying that she needs more food and wants to increase the volume...having doubts whether I have enough milk (bf)..she is a happy baby in general, sometimes she cries for no obvious reason and my DH thinks it's coz of food, as obviously we don't know how much she takes when bf...first few weeks she was on boobs constantly as with every cry he thought it's coz she is hungry...well, we learned it's not but not the whole business whether she eats enough started again..she is a guzzler and never knows when to stop..then she brings it back, so don't want to give her too much formula for her tiny stomach, but obviously don't want her to be hungry..other solution would be give her one more feed of formula instead of bf..or should I stick to what I'm currently doing. Thank you for your time and advise.

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Cobo · 17/05/2015 12:28

It doesn't sound like you're breastfeeding very often for a baby that age. Instead of another ff, why not more breast feeds? You could try dream feeding her later in the evening?

Being on the boob constantly is very normal in the first few weeks, and while it might not be technically because a baby is hungry, it's necessary and natural - it's how your body knows to make milk. I'd be offering a breastfeed every time she's unsettled and not worrying about trying to work out if she's hungry or not.

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FastForward2 · 17/05/2015 12:50

There is no such thing as normal for any child for 3 month old, there is only average.

Your dh is obviously concerned but he should not be.

I undersatnd that the more you breast feed the more milk you will produce. By breast feeding you stimulate production of milk. If it is going well keep going with this, plenty of wet nappies means it is going well.

The baby will know exactly how much breast milk to take, and the consistency of the feed changes from foremilk to hind milk as if getting starter then dessert. Baby gets all the variety of foods and flavours you eat. This is lost with formula, and you have to work out how much to give.

Increasing formula could cause your milk supply to go down, but you may be happy with that if you are intending to reduce/stop breast feeding.

So I would increase the bf not the formula, but only if baby 'requests' it, and if it suits you.

One thing I found was there was no point in trying to get a routine as it will change as soon as you have worked it out. Like you I used to note feed times just so I could see a pattern if it was there. I did not use any formula - far too complicated imho - simpler to let baby take the lead. All personal choice obviously.

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tiktok · 17/05/2015 13:53

Kikai, it sounds like your dh (and you?) think of formula as being 'more' than breastmilk in terms of calories....it's not, its about the same. It's uncomfortable to be confused about amounts and frequency, if you like being able to measure and see amounts, but honestly, breastmilk and breastfeeding work best if you trust your baby to ask for and take what she wants and needs :)

Four breastfeeds - which is what you are doing - in 24 hours may not be suffiicient to maintain a good milk supply at this age, and unless you are ok about milk dwindling and formula replacing it wholly, you prob need to increase the frequency of breastfeeding. It sounds like the easiest way to do this would be to bf her when she wakes, and maybe fit in more breastfeeding instead of formula on one of those occasions when you give a bottle of formula. Dropping a breastfeed in favour of formula will mean you make less breastmilk and could mean the end of all your bf - 450 mls of formula would be a lot.

A call to any of the breastfeeding helplines would be a good idea. You can discuss different options. Hope it works out for you.

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Kika1 · 17/05/2015 14:50

I started with 16-18 feeds per day,bf, that reduced to 14, then 10, 8 , 6 at which point we were concerned that she is not having enough (now looking back I think she was as she was putting on weight) and interduced formula at night. It happened naturally, she started to wake up later and later at night, skipping feeds, we put her to sleep around 9, hold her after each feed for 15-20 min and has a bit of reflux and she would sleep till 4.30am, few times till 5.30 -5.50am, that's how the number of feeds reduced, it's not that I don't want to feed more often. We introduced formula as were worried that with so few feeds she should probably have more..i know each baby is different, was happy with her feeding just as she is growing bigger not sure if my milk is enough, if she is getting enough as my boobs don't feel as full, bursting, as they were at the beginning..that's my concern, although the she does seems happy after feeding..her routine does change, sometimes she is 3h between feeds, sometime 4.5 and sometimes 2h..we do adjust accordingly...

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CultureSucksDownWords · 17/05/2015 15:55

Once breastfeeding is established, most women don't get the engorged feeling so much. That doesn't mean that you don't have enough milk. Breasts make milk as the baby feeds, so you never run out. Your breasts don't need to feel full to have milk.

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FastForward2 · 17/05/2015 16:12

The number of feeds might reduce because both you and baby are getting better at the whole process so it is more efficient. My 2nd was also feeding constantly at first but this reduced very quickly.

I was told it was extremely rare that mum does not make enough milk naturally, but by introducing formula you can end up not producing enough because thats how it works, your body responds to the baby demands. If demand falls then so does supply.

Can you persuade dh that it may actually be better to gradually reduce the formula? If baby is producing wet nappies and generally thriving you are doing a great job very successfully, no need to worry.

As baby gets bigger the milk responds and produces more as required, you dont even need to think about it. Wonderful system took thousands of years to perfect. ? When they get too big for milk that is the time to wean, i.e. introduce solids, but probably not at 3 months.

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FastForward2 · 17/05/2015 16:14

And you dont need to have bursting boobs?!

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Kika1 · 17/05/2015 17:00

Thank you all. I would b happy to replace formula, didn't want it at first place, was just so worried that she is no t getting enough as she was very tiny that's why I agreed...didn't know that the milk is produced as baby feeds...sometimes they (boobs)feel empty , she is fidgety, plus has lots of gas/wind probs and I'm constatntly questioned by DH and other people whether I have enough milk for her and if it's good, what I've been eating, drinking etc (quite exhausted from the whole thing)...I don't want to increase her formula, especially to 180ml as many of our friends suggested, that's why I wanted some others mums opinion...thanks

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CultureSucksDownWords · 17/05/2015 17:35

Direct your DH to the website Kellymom which had lots of evidence based information about breastfeeding. You could also remind him of all the benefits of breastmilk that your baby is getting.

What you eat makes no difference to the quality of your milk unless you were on a starvation diet for a long time!

The way to tell if she is getting "enough" milk is if she is producing plenty of wet nappies and regular poos as well. Then also if she is putting on weight, roughly following whichever centile line she is on, on the chart in your red book (assuming you're in the UK).

You actually don't want your boobs to feel full often, as this means your baby isn't taking your milk out. This sends a feedback signal to your boobs to reduce the amount of milk produced next time.

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Cobo · 17/05/2015 18:01

You really need to make your DP understand that what you eat and drink has no effect on the quality of your milk. As the PP said, Kellymom will have links to the evidence for this. Quantity of milk is a different matter, as things can effect supply, but you just don't need people pressuring you about something they're just wrong on.

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tiktok · 17/05/2015 19:19

I agree it sounds like some better info will help you and your dh.

If you are worried your baby is not breastfeeding enough then just breastfeed her more. It just doesn't make sense to give formula. By giving formula you reduce the amount of breastmilk production. So as I say there's some illogicality in giving formula !

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Booboostoo · 18/05/2015 06:46

I would also bf her on demand, best way to increase your supply.

Also keep in mind that some babies are naturally small but still grow well following their curve. Your baby doesn't need to aim for the 50th percentile, she just has to follow her curve and some babies will be at 25, or 2 percent.

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paxtecum · 18/05/2015 06:53

Drinking Fennel tea will almost certainly increase your milk supply.
It is in all large supermarkets and health shops.
Drink mugs of it throughout the day.

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Kika1 · 21/05/2015 11:49

Thank u all. She is from the beginning on 2perc., but bang on on the line/curve, growing nicely. I drink tons of fennel tea, helps with her bloating / gas problems as well..I've been to the bf clinic, searched Internet, talked to the midwifed, paediatric.docs etc, and you just het confused with diff.advice..been told by the consultant to stop eating fruit, drink juices, watch what I eat as it goes in the milk, so felt responsible for her stomach problems..last week was told by gp to stop dairy,so I'm basically eating just simple food, so she doesn't get gas from my milk. HV also said that I shoul watch what I eat, lady at the bf clinic not to worry, that it doesn't matter what I eat...so completely different opinions..very confusing for the first time mums..

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tiktok · 21/05/2015 12:45

It's horrible to be so confused :(

Very, very rarely, babies may be allergic/intolerant to dairy proteins in the breastmilk.

But cutting out dairy is hard to do, and unless you have a proper diagnosis, undergoing all the changes you need to ensure there is no dairy in your diet at all is prob not worth it. If you think it is helping your baby, then that's fine - maybe it is. Maybe you have a proper diagnosis, and maybe the GP is right.

However, it is not true that everything you eat goes into the milk, and whoever told you this needs to stop telling mothers rubbish!

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