Insatiable appetite

[lockdownpregnancy]

Hi ladies.
A little advice if possible please.
I have a 6 week old DS. He has 5oz every 3 hours and the doctor told me 3oz every 3 hours, which is categorically not going to happen, so she said 4oz max every 3 hours.
However, he was still hungry so we increased it to 5oz.
After 2 hours he is screaming for more milk! We have tried to pacify him with some cooled boiled water until his next feed but it's not working. He takes the water but still wants his milk.
We take him for walks or a drive to kill the time as he won't settle at home.
My concern is, is if we bump it to 6oz we are going to over feed him. He suffers with colic anyway so making his tummy even more uncomfortable is not what we want to do of course!
I must add that two of his night feeds he never takes the full 5oz he just has what he wants and then goes back to sleep.
He isn't crying for any other reason as he always starts an hour before his next feed. He's like clock work!!
What do we do!!! The doctor and HV just said stick to the 4oz but we've got not chance at 5oz let alone 4oz!
HELP!!!

[Augustbaby199]

I would follow your gut and do what is best for your ds. My ds was drink 6oz at that age and my HV said he would take what he wants and sick up if he was over fed.

You know better what your ds wants,

[Vik89]

Trust your instincts, if you think he's hungry then feed him, he might be wanting a bit extra cos he's going through a growth spurt or something. Does he have a dummy, if not maybe he wants a bottle for a comfort feed.

[lockdownpregnancy]

Hi ladies. He has a dummy but when he's hungry he is not interested and spits it out and just screams. It's definitely a 'I'm hungry' scream/cry too, as I can tell the difference (I'm sure you all know what I mean)
I'm going to up his feed to 6oz every 3 hours and he can have as much or as little of that feed as he wants and see how we get on.
Thank you for taking the time to respond

[mindutopia]

That sounds fine to me. I switched my first to formula at 6 weeks and she was having about 3oz every 3 hours and that was definitely on the lower end of what everyone else was doing and my HV advised. You really can’t over feed a baby.

[anascrecca]

What is the reason for the doctor advising the 3oz? Usually the guidelines are to feed whatever your baby wants, using paced feeding technique.

[Thatwentbadly]

Was the doctor a GP? GP shouldn’t be giving this kind of advice out. Make sure you pace feed and then feed on demand, that means he decides when he has had enough.

Look up the symptoms of silent reflux. This can cause babies to comfort feed.

[Babyblues12]

My baby went through a growth spurt at about 7 weeks and was taking 7oz through out the day and night. However he then wanted a lot less and is back on 5oz at 9 weeks. Your baby knows when they are hungry, trust your instincts.
Its worth noting though that my baby has reflux and sips more during the day as it seems to ease the symptoms for him.

[wintertravel1980]

DD moved to 6oz when she was about 4 weeks. She was just a hungry baby and ate much more than what was recommended for her age or weight.

Some children simply love their food. DD is now nearly 4 and she still eats everything and anything (healthy meals, unrestricted quantities). Her BMI is under 50% so I am not worried about her weight.

[lockdownpregnancy]

@anascrecca apparently it's 150ml of formula x his weight, divided by the number of feeds in 24 hours.
I spoke with my DhH's aunt last night who used to be a HV and she spoke with her friend who is still a HV and she advised to you his feed and change his tear from a 0 to a 1.
She said that whilst the calculations for feed are fine babies aren't machines and if they hungry we need to feed them. Simple as that really!
So as of last night DS is now on 6oz. If he doesn't finish the bottle, then that's fine but he's had them so far and now fell straight to sleep so here's hoping for a positive outcome going forward!
Thank you for your replies, I really appreciate it xx