Non-stop feeding in < 2 week old... Advice needed!

[duffly]

Hi there

MY DS will be 2 weeks old on 18/7. He was/is a big baby (9lbs-5ozs) and as of two days ago has almost regained his birth weight (50 grms to go). He is formula fed.

My concern is that he seems to feed non-stop. He's had one or two times where he's gone 3-4 hours between a feed due to being asleep but generally it is every two hours or less... Every two hours or less all night is slowly killing me. He has been taking anywhere from approx. 60mls to a one off of 120 mls (which did surprise me) but over the past 24 hours the feeds are predominately 70-90 mls. I am also positive he is hungry as he mouths and roots around and sucks on any available skin, his hands, clothing, etc. and goes from grizzling to screaming in about 2 seconds! And it is quite clear when he is finished as the bottle is spat out and his mouth firmly clamped shut so (hopefully) it's not that he just drinks for the sake of it.

I haven't spoke to the HV (first visit is this week) about this as I have found from previous experience that she has limited interest in children :/ And the midwife I spoke to when he was weighed last just shrugged and said "well, he is a big baby".

I just can't help but worry that there is something wrong as 11+ feeds over the space of 24 hours of that volume seems like way too much.

I don't really know what I'm asking specifically but does anyone have any experience of a similar situation? Or some reassurance that it is a stage that will pass (quickly hopefully as I'm about to die from exhaustion and have a 2 year old to look after) or just any reassurance that it is typical (doesn't seem likely but my experience is hugely limited :)).... I am so worried that there is something wrong or I'm doing something wrong... Any reassurance, advice, etc. is most welcome!

Thanks.

PS. Also posted in Feeding

It sounds like a lot but within the bounds of normal. It's hard to believe this in the early days but it will pass soon I promise.

I've had two big babies 9lb9oz and 10lb6oz and they do feed a lot.

In the meantime, could anyone else help do some of the feeds? my DH and I used to take shifts. So I'd sleep 9-1am them he'd sleep from then until 7ish. Could that work for you? It is hard with another to look after but I promise in a week or so the gaps will probably get bigger.

Don't think size necessarily comes into it. Babies tumies ar the size of their fist and need to be regularly filled. It is also an opportunity to feel held and warm thus fulfilling a basic need. Gradually feeds will space out.

Thank you for the reassurance. My husband and I just don't recall our 2 yr old being like this with regards to feeding in the early days and she very quickly slotted into a loose routine of feeding approx. every 3 hours during the day and 4 hourly at night. So this is a totally new experience!

He also struggles with wind and does sometimes seem like he is in pain (forgot to mention this in original post) - arches his back and hollers and writhes around - so I am a little afraid that sometimes he eats for physical comfort - I have a midwife appointment tomorrow so will have a chat about it. It just doesn't seem normal (not like I have much experience of what normal is!).

I don't know whether size necessarily has anything to do with the craziness but a couple of health care peeps have told me it does (midwife and a gp when I mentioned it in passing). I do admit to remaining a bit sceptical.

DH and I are trying to alternate feeds so we can each get a bit of sleep - Will keep trying to find a system that (sort of) works. Here's hoping this passes soon as it is so very, very hard.

ive had a 9lb ds who needed constant feeding and cuddles for the first 2-3 months. i got a baby carrier so i could get up occasionally. dd1 was small and fed less frequently so i assumed it was a size thing... untill dd2 came along! she was 6.11lb and just like ds1! shes now 6 months 15lb and asleep in my lap after another feed!

my advice is get comfy and get a kindle then enjoy! if i really need to get on i feed her on my bed (laying) so i dont dusturb her when she nods off. on the plus side she sleeps through the night and has for ages.

congratulations x

Remember that they seem to have spurts and then it eases off and then they are ravenous again.
I can barely remember those hideously tiring early days now, but I do recall thinking this child does NOT seem to stop feeding!

Better they feed well than not enough and good that you have your dh doing alternates.

Congratulations! The feed - wind -sleep- cry- feed- wind phase is so short isn't it in the scheme of things?

Thanks for the reassurance everyone. I've also had a word with a midwife who was totally unconcerned and told me that providing he's not throwing up and seems quite happy eating that much it's all fine. I shudder to think how worried I'd be if he wasn't eating... Yeesh!!

It's just been really freaky how hungry he is compared to my dd. And I thought she was exhausting in the early days! Ha! Hopefully it will all calm down soon.

Thanks again for your kind words. Definitely made me feel a bit better.

Hey there, I do wonder if it is a boy thing, because it often seems to be boys who just seem to want to eat continuously, as does our DS (still!) at 2 years, although he was combination fed so a little more tricky to work out exactly how much he was getting. A rough guideline is 150ml - 200ml per kilogram of their weight over 24 hours. So take the ml x kg / number of feeds in 24 hours. Of course this will vary and particularly over growth spurts but did find it useful as a guideline.

Also, it may be that the rooting/sucking is just for comfort to some extent. I am convinced our DS comfort-sucked on me a lot of the time. We also tried letting him suck fingers, a dummy and little blankets with tags which all worked at certain times to some extent.

Very early days though, hang in there, routine will come..!!

My DD did the same and I posted too asking if it was normal :) It is bloody hard work isn't it? They need to cluster feed to get your milk up. At two weeks I introduced formula and a bottle so that DH could help out. Have been mix feeding since (75/25% breast/bottle). DD also suffered from wind and painful stomach. The feeding settled out to a feed every 2-3 hours by about 6 weeks and the stomach problems (and accompanying crying) after 3 months. I didn't like feeding on demand and found feeding to a loose schedule to be much better for DD (I swear that constant feeding means more foremilk and so more wind...also I could't figure out hunger and tired crying). Good luck...hope you have decent telly channels and/or a good book :)

Hard work doesn't quite describe how it feels right now gloucestergirl... I've been up all night so far and have just left my husband to it as the non-stop whinging, grunting, squeaking, etc. have got to me. I'm hoping the health visitor has some advice tomorrow (today!) because I have one very unhappy little baby up there. The 1-1.5 hours between the end of one feed and the start of the next are definitely NOT spent contentedly despite my/our best efforts and I don't know what to do. I'm just trying to keep telling myself that at 4:30 in the morning without any sleep I'm not going to be at my most balanced...

Lots of hugs for you duffly. Hope you get some sleep soon. Is your baby getting sleep? Is he going down for naps in the day? Mine didn't at first and I swear what I thought was hunger was just plain tiredness. Then me trying to feed her probably just upset her.... blah blah a vicious circle. May be rocking him with a dummy may help him nap and knock the edge of some of the grumpiness.

For me and DD it passed after a month. A bloody long month. The feeding became concentrated into batches with longer gaps. Now she feeds for 20-30 minutes every 3-4 hours and only wakes once in the night at 4 months.

After a month I ditched feeding on-demand. After she woke up in the morning I made her wait 2-3 hours between her first feed and the second. I put her in the carrier and walked around the house, used the dummy, anything to distract her. It sounds harsh, but the length of time of that first break between feeds set the pattern for the whole day. I also tried to get her to sleep by rocking/pram/carrier between each feed. Good for you for getting DH to take over for a bit - a bit of formula won't hurt and may fill him up for longer.

Hope little grumpy becomes a little happy thing soon :)

Sorry I forgot that you said DS was formula fed. Isn't there a hunger baby formula? Could that help?

Keep an eye on him - if he seems windy or uncomfy, he might be intolerant to cows milk and the formula is causing him discomfort. You could switch to a comfort milk or take a note of behaviour and speak to your GP about it. It is more common in boys I think. My DS was intolerant to cows milk and comfort fed a lot when younger (he was BF though and reacted via my milk). Cutting out dairy helped massively.

gloucestergirl - I'm trying to get him to nap during the day. He's not thrilled about it though and wakes up quite quickly but I'll persevere. Your point about the hunger vs. tiredness may be relevant... Just today he had almost 4 ozs and then an hour later started acting like he was starving - hollering, shoving his hands in his mouth, smacking his lips, chewing (gumming!) any part of me that he could... I gave him a dummy, cuddled him really closely and he fell asleep - currently in his bed. How long he will stay there is a good question but he is there and asleep currently. So it was really helpful to read your post.

Iggly - You too have a good point. He does seem very windy and seems to struggle with it quite hard. But... I don't really have much to compare him to except for my dd so it may be just that he is normal for him ifyswim... I will definitely keep an eye on him and have a look for some further information online to see if it could be a problem. Do you know if there is any downside to just trying a comfort milk to see if it helps? If I ever get to see a health visitor I will ask about it. Also, from your experience are there any physical signs that might indicate an intolerance to the formula (I'm thinking specifically, erm, appearance of poo)?

I live abroad due to my husband's draft with the military. While we do have nhs healthcare (or roughly equivalent) some resources are limited. We have access to one health visitor who has had to return to the UK for an unspecified period of time. The midwives are covering but do not have the expertise to advise on most baby issues. If things don't calm down and the hv doesn't reappear soon I will contact a gp to see if they can advise or can contact someone who can.

Again, thank you all for your help. It does help to hear from someone who's been in a similar situation and to get some ideas of other possible things going on. I really appreciate it in my sleep deprived and slightly unbalanced, worried state .