"hungrier baby " milk- your thoughts please

[naughtymummy]

DD is 17 weeks old and seems to be very hungrey. Has 6-7 feeds in 24hours aprox 5-6am, 8-9am (breast) 11am (bottle 7-8oz) 130-2pm bottle (same), 5-6pm (breast) and 1030pm bottle .She always finishes the bottle twice yesterday was looking for more after wards. With breast feeds i always give her both breasts and sometimes she has a third eg the first again.I am thinking she needs a bit more -spoke to HV last week who said no solids until 6 month DS was weaned at 41/2. I have also thought that hungrier baby milk wasnot so good as just harder to digest. Any suggestions, I feel like i am depriving her- she is much less settled in last 2 weeks, I wonder if 2nd stage milk is the answear. I realy don't know what to do for the bestany advice gratefully recieved thanks.

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[soph28]

We tend to give ours hungrier baby milk for evening/night feeds but it doesn't seem to make much difference.

Most people I know are still weaning from 17 weeks despite the new 6mo guideline. It hasn't done any other babies any harm. I mean 2 years ago it was 17 weeks, now it's 6 mths. If she seems hungry then try her with a small amount and see how she goes. If she gobbles it down I'd say she's ready for it!
My dd is coming up 7mo and still refusing solids but I've been trying her for a couple of months.

I think you should do what you think is best for your baby- after all, you know her better than anyone else.

[WeaselMum]

If she wants more milk after her bottle, why not just give her some more? If she is settled after that, no need for hungry baby milk or solids

[kiskidee]

your baby can be having a growth spurt, in addition, depending on how many bf you are giving in 24 hrs vs how many bottles and how early you started giving bottles, she is demanding more feeds because you may have a lower supply than you would have at this time if you were exclusively breast feeding.

'hungrier baby' formula is made up of a protein that is harder to digest than the 'regular' formula protein. common sense suggests, why would it be sensible to give a baby something that is harder to digest when their gut is still underdeveloped?

weaning would not be the answer either as weaning foods have less calories than bm or formula.

if you would like to continue to bf, the answer is partially to offer more bf as often as you can. even spend more time in bed with your baby simply feeding at every opportunity. or offer more formula.

i stronly suggest phoning a bf counsellor from one of the 4 voluntary organisations who are trained to counsel and advise on bf or ff or mixed feeding.

[mears]

Hungry baby milk tends to constipate babies. Could you increase her milk intake by breastfeeding her before or after her bottles? I agree that you should give more milk rather than start on solids.

[naughtymummy]

Thats my gut instinct, I think maybe she just needs more calories. I chose the formula that i believe is closest to bm kind of defeasts the object if i then give her a harder to digest version. TBH i'd rather give her real food- i know that that's a big no no but am under lots of pressure -everyone saying she is hungrey and i agree, but i know that her digestive tract is not ready for food yet. I wondered if 2nd stage milk might buy us some time....

[LucyJu]

Sorry, soph28 - are you trying to say naughtytmummy shoud ignore weaning advice from the WHO? There is evidence that early weaning can cause harm to underdeveloped bowels - harm which may not become apparent until later in life. It is also associated with an increased risk of allergies and food intolerances.

Naughtymummy, FWIW, I think lots of babies go through a bit of a growth spurt at around the 4 month mark. Just try to go with it, offer dd more milk at each feed and I think you'll find that things should settle back down in a week or two. I bf both my dds, so don't have any experience of formula. But, FWIW, I wouldn't dream of using hungrier baby milk since it is based on casein rather than whey (casein being harder to digest than whey; whey being closer to the type of protein found in breast milk). If it is harder to digest, then, to me, it stands to reason that it is likely to be more damaging on a baby's delicate gut. (I can't give you any scientific back up for this, this is just my personal opinion). I think all of these different sorts of milk (hungrier baby, follow-on are no more than marketing ploys designed to exploit mothers' anxieties about what is, in most cases, perfectly normal baby behaviour).

[kiskidee]

2nd stage milk is higher in minerals and iron - iron also constipates babies. it is a con by the formula companies.

as for'pressure' to give solids. are 'they' coming over to puree and spoon mush into your baby then come look after if it upsest his tummy at night? mushed up carrots etc has less not more calories than bm or formula.

i'd rather look after the best interests of my baby and myself before someone who glibly says 'oh, wean!' and then leave you holding the baby.

[mears]

naughtymummy - remember that real food for a baby is milk. She is not being denied anything at all. I would up the breastfeeds for a bit.

[naughtymummy]

I don't think it's a supply issue .I only substituted the 11am bottle at the weekend. Soley bf for 4 weeks and have introduced one bottle each month. My reason for mixed feeding is i am returning to work next month. She is in a creche onsite, so can keep current regimine then.(think it will be lovely to bf before and after work.

[mears]

I am not suggesting it is a supply issue - the great thing about established breast feeding is that you can up it and down it again. If she is going through a growth spurt you can give her more breastmilk if you feel she is having a lot of formula.

When you are mixed feeding you don't need to stick to a strict breastfeeding schedule. You can breastfeed before and after work and on your days off you can do more feeds if you want to. It is more flexible than you think. Doesn't mean that you will then need to express at work if that is what you are hoping to avoid. I exclusively breastfed and some days didn't have time to express at work. Just got massive boobs for a few hours

[LowFatMilkshake]

My breasts dont work - long story! So formula was my only choice. And both my DC had hungry baby milk from about 2 weeks.

It has different protiens in it which does take longer to digest, making them feel fuller for longer.

I find it works with DS as we are now on a nice 2-6-10 routine and he often goes longer during the night. I do have to make sure he gets a couple ounces of water each day as without it he can become constipated, but we never have any problems in the that department as long as he has the water.

As you are breast feeding as well you may not have this problem. The 3 oz of breast milk I managed to express during his first 3 weeks did make him nice and loose - so see how you go. Instead of buying a can of formula try a couple of large cartons of the ready made stuff instead as you wont be left with loads of formula if it's not for you.

Also I find farleys is best as SMA was too rich for my DD and bound her up regardless! DS went straight on to farleys.

Hope this helps - sorry if I have x-posts!

[Fleecy]

We started to give dd 2nd milk some time ago now. It didn't make any difference to the length of time she slept. And it gave her terrible wind.

She's suffered with wind and constipation on and off since then. I think we've cracked it now - she has 4 ox of diluted prune juice each day - but I definitely wouldn't use second milk again - I'd recommend topping up from the breast to increase your supply. hth.

[Fleecy]

That should be 4oz!

She's a ig baby but 4ox would be too much, even for her...

[Fleecy]

BIG baby - not ig baby.

Dammit!

[naughtymummy]

Going to have to go now DS is needing help painting thanks for all your thoughts will buy regular formula again today and maybe split the 6pm feed eg some at 5 and some at 7, I have only just finished feeding her between 9and 5 as with DS i had bad engorgment problems when i went back to work (he was 10 months)so I would rather not re-introduce bf during the day will keep you all informed thanks again

[mears]

I see your reasoning. It is something to consider outwith those times though if you still feel she is hungry. It is still an option for you. Good luck

[Bethbe]

I fed DS hungrier baby over christmas (4 weeks old)as tesco had run out of no.1. I then put him back on no. 1.

Couldn't tell the difference tbh, but then it was for just one bottle a day (although a a 9oz one)

[deaconblue]

We give ds the hungrier baby stuff for his last feed before bed but to be honest it's more out of habit as I'm pretty sure it makes no difference.

[puffling]

For us it did make a difference. She could last longer between feeds on hungry baby formula and she was generally more contented.

[munz]

mine still ahs hungry milk now, went on it around 6 months, we tried to take him off of it and it back fired - was up more at night etc, now it's all he has - before it was just his bed bottle but it's easier for me to remember one milk instead of 2.

my advice would be to try it and see how things go - please bear in mind thou, a friends DD was ok with standard formula of x brand but not the hungry abby so they had to find a differnt brand (so be wear for that) J was fine with teh same brand thou