How do I know when he has had enough?!

[monkeynut30]

HELP! My LO is 19weeks and 13lb. Long story but from day 1 the so called health proffesionals have been getting on at me as he has not been putting on weight as quickly as they would like. He was solely breastfed until about 6weeks ago when I introduced formula because of all the stress I was getting. GP also advised early weaning. My supply of frozen breast milk ran out this week so just on formula now. He has been having 35oz milk and 2 lots of 2 tsp porridge along with 1 lot tsp sweet potato for the last week. He is rarely sick but has so many dirty nappies. The feeds just seem to go straight through him! I am worried I am overfeeding him. The GP said he would be sick if I was overfeeding him but his poo is so runny I am concerned he is not digesting properly. Had a stool sample come back normal last week as he had blood in stools for a couple of days. I had someone suggest I reduce milk intake and increase solid sightly? Also I have been using the hungry milk and they suggested using stage 1? Sorry to ramble but this really is a mindfield to me! I was ok when breastfeeding though he was hanging off me all day and I obviously was not producing enough milk for him but then I am convinced that was due to all the added stress. He is a perfectly happy baby boy who almost always sleeps through the night though recently the dirty nappies have been waking him earlier than usual. He rarely refuses food and I am concerned I am stuffing him due to all the people getting on at me. He has put on 3lb since I started formula (was 7lb 9.5oz at birth). I will shut up now to give you a chance to read! Thanks
PS He was realy colicky as a baby and currently screams when he comes off the bottle giving the impression he is still hungry but usually settles once nappy is full!

Hungry baby formula is just harder to digest (makes them feel full longer) rather than extra calories, so I would just use first milk.

35oz sounds alright to me - to get a rough idea of how much they should have, multiply weight in lbs by 2.5 to get number of oz. 13x2.5 = 32.5

Has he fallen down the centiles - is that why his weight is a worry?

Thanks for the tip on the hungry milk. Never thought of it like that. Just assumed would be good as was obviously not producing enough breast milk for him. He has always been at the bottom of their centile graphs. He is just a small baby. My mum says I was the same and her HV gave her grief too but then I was her third baby and this is my 1st. She just told them to get lost but I have been stressing since day 1! GP confirmes he was healthy when I was summons in to see her! But now I feel uncomfortable with my HV and don't want to go to her. I am 350miles away from my mum and the phone is never the same!
What do you think is causing the constant runny nappies then?

Hungry baby formula is for babies that are wanting too much formula and would be overweight. It is the worst thing for babies that need to gain more weight.

Solids will not have as much calories per volume of food as breastmilk or formula. And they will fill your baby up more - again, more solids is more for babies that are hungry but do not need extra calories.

19 weeks is very early to wean. It's entirely possible your babies gut is just not ready for lots of solid foods. It sounds like you've had some very worrying advice. Surely a GP should realise that pureed vegetables (what aduults would eat on a weight loss diet!) are less calroies per volume than formula????

As you need to get as much calories in him as possible, more feeds of first baby formula (or breastmilk if you could relactate) would be the simplest way to do this.

You've had appalling advice here. Step away from the so called professionals and follow your instincts.

I think if you are concerned about the slow weight gain you should see someone other than a GP. From what I have read, blood in stools and runny poos plus failure to gain weight (or slow gain) can indicate an intolerance which might mean your baby isn't get everything out of his milk that he could. A paediatrician can investigate this and find a solution for you.

It might not be this, and I'm no doctor, but there are a few things in your post which to me would suggest that a bit more invesigation might be helpful, even if only to rule out any problems rather than diagnose them IYSWIM.

D

I know your FF but I still think the BF lines will be helpful as they are knowledgeable as FF as well. You might do well to talk to someone more clued on babies feeding.

Sorry you've been hassled, DD wasn't 13lbs until between 6 and 9 months but luckily we had sensible HCPs.