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Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Infant feeding

hungry hungry baby please help

15 replies

yellowpoppy · 18/12/2006 08:32

my LO is 3 months old. He feeds at approx. 6.30, 8.30, 10, 12, 2, 4.30, 6.30, 9.30, 1.30, 3.30, and so on. He is big, at 15.8lb.
He takes a full feed at these times (both boobs, from hard and full of milk to empty) and comes off the breast satisfied but is soon screaming with hunger again. Trying to get him to go longer just results in a very unhappy baby.
He isn't just comfort feeding as when offered the breast soon after a feed isn't interested.
He is spending most of his awake time feeding which is sad really, and doesn't sleep well at nap times which leaves him really overtired.
Yesterday in desperation I gave him some baby rice after his morning feed - he then lasted 4 hours before the next feed during which time he was happy, smiling and playing. He had a really good lunchtime sleep, and so was happy and smiling all afternoon as well. Still wanted 2hrly feeding in the afternoon and at night tho!
But now I am racked with guilt thinking I am going to damage his gut if I give him it again. But it really seemed to help...
What have/would you do?

OP posts:

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Quootiepie · 18/12/2006 08:35

Keep breastfeeding on demand. Tiring as it is, it will ease off soon. Try expressing if you can and give the bottle and baby to someone else for a rest... or do what I do, lie down in bed and feed Definatly no baby rice for another 3 months xXx

Quootiepie · 18/12/2006 08:36

I thought DS would never do longer, but he did. xXx

yellowpoppy · 18/12/2006 08:40

I don't think it is going to get better - it is getting worse - he just gets hungrier - he used to last about 3hrs between feeds and be happy in between. Now he has about 30mins of that contented drunk look before he is rooting about for more.
I can't BF on demand for ever either as I am going back to work in a months time
I know that they say no food until 6mo - BUT antireflux formula is thickened with rice starch - so surely not that much difference to giving that or 'topping up' after a BF with a bit of thickened EBM?

OP posts:

belgo · 18/12/2006 08:40

I fed dd1 15 times in one day once. I complained to a friend of mine who advised: don't count!
It is probably just a growth spurt, and he will settle down in a few days.

jabberwocky · 18/12/2006 08:41

I've always been told they go through growth spurts at 3/6 weeks and again at 3/6 months. So I feel pretty sure that's all he is doing.

Please stop with the baby rice. He may be a big baby, ds1 was too, but his little digestive system is still too immature.

yellowpoppy · 18/12/2006 08:42

Yes, I thought it might be a growth spurt, but this has been going on for weeks and it just gets worse not better.

OP posts:

Quootiepie · 18/12/2006 08:43

DS went from 3 hours, to 1-2... he got worse before getting better. better to give formula than rice at this young age xxx

CantSleepWithSanta · 18/12/2006 08:48

Does he show any other signs of milk intolerance or reflux? A lot of what you describe sounds like my dd was, and it turned out to be because she is milk intolerant. The milk is an antacid, so when the tummy starts to hurt (because of the milk!) they want more milk to fix it! I gave up eating any dairy at all, and within a few days I had a different baby! Might be worth a try. It is thought to be a lot more common than is diagnosed, as GPs often miss it.

jabberwocky · 18/12/2006 08:48

Could he also be comfort nursing? Will he take a pacifier/dummy? A lot of babies start doing a pre-teething kind of thing at this age that can go on for quite a while before the teeth actually start to come in. If he hasn't started to do a lot of drooling, expect that at any time now.

I agree with QP, btw. Better formula than rice - or any other solid.

jabberwocky · 18/12/2006 08:49

Ohhh, hadn't thought of that one. I had to give up milk with ds1

yellowpoppy · 18/12/2006 09:02

I am already dairy free as DD was milk intolerant and I didn't want to risk it this time. He shows none of the signs of reflux that she had. This is one of the reasons I'm reluctant to 'top up' with formula.
Not comfort feeding - when offered boob soon after a feed he isn't interested even if crying, and after the rice yesterday he was so chilled out and happy, to the point of my family commenting on it (they didn't know he'd been topped up)
What is the difference between thickening feeds with rice starch and giving a bit of EBM thickened with baby rice as a top up? Is it really going to be that harmful?

OP posts:

taylormama · 18/12/2006 09:24

yellow poppy - 12 weeks is too young to be giving food - you can get Carobel which is a thickener and doesn't contain rice starch - think it is carob gum. My DS and most babies have a huge growth spurt at 12 weeks ... my DS would happily BF as freqently as you describe as he had reflux and loved the comfort of it ...

DizzyBinterWonderland · 18/12/2006 09:28

i'm not 100% sure, but i would assume the difference is that rice starch added for reflux babies is about thickening the milk so it stays down. better to do that than have a baby not keeping any milk down at all. the rice has far less calories than milk. so it's the milk your baby needs to satisfy his hunger, not the rice. the rice just fills his stomach.

your milk is designed to give your baby all the nutrients he needs, rice will fill his stomach so he won't have room for milk, therefore missing out on the calories and the nutrients.

mears · 18/12/2006 09:37

yellowpoppy - the only thing that I would advise is do not clock watch and note time of feeds. Breastfed babies sometimes want fed every hour - that is totally normal. It is not just about food - it is attachment to the breast. Perhaps he enjoys sucking. Does he take a dummy? That might be useful for when you go back to work. He will be a month older as well - feeding patterns change. As has been said already, breastmilk provides all the nutrients he needs. Rice actually reduces the calories he can get. It is unlikely the amount you gave him yesterday made any difference - perhaps you felt better which transmitted to him? If you get uptight, so will he.

tiktok · 18/12/2006 09:44

yellowpoppy, the pattern you describe is normal - your baby may need to be held a lot and cuddled, and the feeding goes along with that. Counting breastfeeds is pointless - fewer breastfeeds doesn't mean things are better in some way.

In time he will be able to get comfort and cuddles in other ways, and he will tolerate longer gaps between feeds.

Hurrying this process just makes him - and you - unhappy.

You need help and support through this period, though, and I really hope you get it.

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