Please help-so confused about conflicting advice about formula feeding

[Inapickle123]

I'm in a right state and I hope someone can help me.

DS is 5 weeks old and has been feeding roughly 3 1/2 hours during the day and every 3 hours during the night.

From the outset, he was a rubbish feeder and the MW told us to give him 7 bottles a day and to expect him to hit 90ml each feed by the end of week 2.

His birth weight was 6lb 10 and was weighed a week ago by HV who said he was 8lb 1 and seemed happy. His feeds have increased in the past few weeks and he is now taking between 90-140ml per feed (still 7 bottles a day)

The problem is he's been having terrible tummy pains, vomiting, writhing and awful, awful trapped wind. so I went to the GP today who prescribed infant gaviscon but was horrified when I told her how often/quantity he was eating. He's probably nearing 81/2 pounds by now so apparently should only be taking 22oz a day and we were giving him between 25-28 depending on how much he took per feed.

Apparently, we need to drop two feeds (assuming he takes 120ml at every sitting, which he doesn't-ranges from 90-140 depending on hunger)

We've just started by dropping one bottle And looking at stretching times between feeds from 3 1/2 to 4 hours. He did really well this afternoon but his 5pm bottle was horrific-he guzzled the 120 and cried and cried until I caved and gave him 20ml more.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to overfeeding him but he's a grazer and I know that if I feed on demand I will be feeding 10 ml every 20-30min.

Is the GP wrong? Can I just continue feeding him what he wants, as the MW told me.

I'm so, so confused and I feel like such a crap mum because I've been overfeeding and I'm the cause of his sore tummy and vomiting.

I'm dreading ronight-he'll never manage 4 hours between feeds.

Help. Please. I'm so anxious about what to do and hate the conflicting advice I keep getting from people. As a first time mum, I need consistent guidance.

[dodi1978]

Ok, I'm not an expert, but I think your GP is wrong. I've heard that you can't overfeed a baby (my now 6th month old DS, at that age, would just clam his mouth shut when he was done). Plus, what you've giving him is not that much more as your GP thinks is right.

So keep on doing what you're doing, in particular if he asks for it!

[sara1752]

Sounds ok to me I would just continue what ur doing and not try and drop a feed
If hes hungry after u tried he clearly needs it, babies do not all need exactly the same amount of milk and he hasnt gained weight excessively
Dont worry ur baby will tell u when they have had enough so wont overfeed, and even if he does will spit the extra back up

[MillyBlods]

You cant overfeed a breastfed baby but sometimes bottle fed babies do tend to want more and can tend to be more overweight babies. However if your baby is crying for milk then he is obviously hungry so I would ignore the "advice" and do what you think is right for your baby. You are going to have to go by your own instincts with this little person for many years to come and you usually do know what is best. Lots of babies up to three months and more do tend to get colic and it is very common so maybe make sure you are winding him and getting burps after every feed and that baby is not getting to much air in the bottle so making sure that hes not sucking on a teat with no milk in it. Other than that could he have an allergy to cows milk?

[NickyEds]

My mix fed baby is now 9 weeks and I was told he will not over feed. When he's done he simply refuses the bottle. I think that if your baby is screaming for food you should feed him- Don't worry about your baby becoming "overweight" because he's bottle fed- I have no real idea about how much ds is actually getting as I don't know the quantity of breast milk he takes. Your babies weight gain sound really good and if he is having lots of wet and dry nappies he will be ok fed on demand.
My DS gets wind (even after a breast feed). Have you tried infacol? Try not to beat yourself up-loads of babies are sicky and their stomach and bowls are so new doing poos can be quite uncomfortable for them. You're doing a great job- it's really hard worrying about all of this without getting such conflicting advice- but I'd go with the MW.

[Shellywelly1973]

I'm not an expert but I've just had dc6 & been appointed mum for nearly 25 years.

I've ff 3 dc from birth.

I think your GP probably hasn't much hands on experience of 5 week old ff baby's. I would be very surprised if a baby of 5 weeks could manage on 4 hourly feeds.

As your baby is so hungry he will probably guzzle his feeds so also filling up on air & making the evenings worse.

I would listen to the Midwife. They deal with new born children every day of the week. I think your instincts are right, have confidence in yourself!

Good luck.

[Shellywelly1973]

appointed??? Lol. That was just meant to read a mum!

[HumphreyCobbler]

The overfeeding thing could be a red herring.
He is in pain, full of wind, possible reflux. There are a few things that could be causing this.
Has he been checked for tongue tie? The gaviscon may help the reflux. I would ask a midwife or a HV.

[BotBotticelli]

i ff my ds from 12 days old. The HV told me to feed on demand, just the same as you would with a BF baby. My DS always had much more than the 'recommended' amount on the baoxes of formula.At 6 weeks old he was having six 6oz bottles per day! That is a lot of milk.

Follow your baby's cues. I don't think it's possible to overfeed a new born.

[SandyChick]

I think that your Gp has given you terrible advice. Who says your baby should be having 22oz per day? Just feed him as you have been. Let your baby be your guide.

What did you HV say about the advice hour GP had given?

I'm surprised that your gp has prescribed gaviscon so soon. Is your baby formula fed? If so maybe try one of the ones for sensitive tummy's. I'm not sure what they are called now but we used c&g comfort. This really helped. Plus for windy problems have you tried tummy massage?

I would feed as you had been. Fair enough you maybe want to aim for 4 hours in between feeds but sometimes this can cause more wind.