3 month old always hungry

[babywriggler]

Ok, so my 3 month old DD has always been difficult to feed, she suffered with wind and a gurgling tummy and always cried and pulled away from the bottle on feeding. It would take us about an hour to get 4oz into her. We recently changed her milk to Cow and Gate Comfort as she had suffered with an upset tummy for about 10 days and this has really helped. It has made her a lot more settled and less gripey during feeding. We also changed from Avent bottles to Tesco own thin bottles as she takes these much easier.

The problem I now have is that she is constantly hungry. She takes 6oz at every feed and is now only going 2 1/2 to 3 hours between feeds.

She has started waking up again at night, sometimes just 2 hours after going to bed. I know she is only 3 months and it's normal to wake in the night, but she has been consistently going through for about 5 weeks now, so this is not normal for her. She is definitely hungry as her eyes usually stay closed and she tries to settle back to sleep with her dummy, but can't. When I feed her, she takes 6oz and goes back to sleep, but then wakes 3 - 4 hours later.

I can't put her on hungrier baby milk as she doesn't do well on the other formulas. I know they recommend 6 months to start weaning, but does anyone think that giving her some baby rice or some yoghurt before bed may help her to stay settled?

Sorry for the long post, but after yet another night of only 4 hours sleep, I'm just hoping for some help.

She is too young - much too young - for anything other than milk. If she is hungry, what she needs is more milk. As much as you might be used to her sleeping through, baby sleep cycles are not permanent, and are subject to change. There is a also a growth spurt at 3 months, so this is probably what it is.

Apols to be blunt but I think you've got somewhat unrealistic expectations of a v young baby here. 3 hours in a stretch at 3 months is bloody good going she clearly needs the milk NOT food rice/yoghurt whatever.

As sirboob says she's porb having a growth spurt.

i hate to break it to you but at this age whilst encouraging good sleep habits it's about meeting their needs for comfort and nutrition not about you getting a full nights sleep. Sorry.

Milk has a high concentration of calories. If your baby is hungry she needs milk - it will fill her up and provide the calories she needs far more efficiently than baby rice or yoghurt.

Forget solids for another 3 months when your DDs system can handle them (and her tummy is big enough to cope with less concentrated forms of calories like vegetables, fruit and rice).

Waking in the night is normal, even if your D previously slept through for a period. It's just a phase and will pass.

She needs more milk not other "foods". Some babies will take 8-9oz and go longer between others less and more frequently. Sorry but that is just the way it happens sometimes. Do you have a husband/partner who could do the late evening feed and let you go to bed early ?

I'm wondering if the new bottles you've bought have faster teats and therefore she's downing the bottles because she has no choice but to swallow - this has the long term effect of stretching her stomach too quickly which will then cause her to want more milk more often.

Do you take regular breaks whilst feeding? Try not to lie her down too much, too.

Either way, there are big growth spurts at 3 and 4 months, so this is fairly normal behaviour.

Thanks for all your answers, I know she is very young and, had she always been waking at night and not going long between feeds, I wouldn't think it was unusual at just 3 months old. It's only because she has always been a good sleeper and, from day one has slept well, only waking for a feed then going back to sleep.

She normally goes to bed at around 20:00 - 20:30 and then usually sleeps until 6:30, but the last week has been tired earlier at around 19:30 and then wakes at 23:00 then every 2-3 hours. This is so unlike her. I obviously don't enjoy the sleepless nights, but I'm more worried that she is feeling hungry all the time and I'm not giving her what she needs. I'll just give her more milk - I thought that giving her any more at each feed would be too much for her and might overload her tummy, but I'll try it.

My partner can do the 23:00 feed but he has to get up at 6:30 for work so I do the night feeds. The new bottles may be the problem, however when I try her back on the Avent bottles (number 3 teat because the new thicker milk won't go through the number 2's) she gets very uncomfortable, pulls away and cries.

Oh well, I'll persevere with giving her more milk and hopefully it's a growth spurt that will end soon. Thanks again.

Can you still get variable flow teats ? They have a slit cross instead of a hole allowing thicker milk through but more in relation to the baby's suck.

Just because she slept through before, doesn't mean she can and will all the time - such is the nature of a baby's sleep pattern.

babywriggler i share your pain in having had a good sleeper suddenly change and wake up loads in the night....,but as everyone says above its usual at 3 months. DS is 4 months now i was considering early weaning but decided against because from what I've researched theres no guarantee it will help DS sleep better and the benefits of weaning at 6 months outweigh this even if it did work.