Feeding advice

[carlaloo]

Hi there

I'm a new first time mum and my baby is 15 weeks old today, he has been growing well and is generally a very happy baby. He has been sleeping more or less through the night for the last week. Over the last few weeks he has been getting very grumpy between 4pm and 7pm, he loves his bathtime but then screams the house down while we dress him rapidly until we put his bedtime bottle in his mouth. This was at 7pm and i just moved it to 6pm as i thought i may be putting him to bed too late but he is still the same. He has always brought up lots of milk after every feed since birth and the last few nights has woke up about 8pm screaming like he is in agony with wind. (we always wind him for at least 20mins afeter every bottle) he has been chewing his fists a lot and mother in law says to start weening him but i still think he is too young and he was premature??? I have done some research and have today tried him on sma staydown, he does seem so much more content, no sign of wind, no sick. the only thing is he is very sleepy after each bottle, is this normal????? please help, thank you.

Hi first congratulations I probably won't be much help as I bf so not sure about formula etc. but my son was very premature and I had to start weaning him at 17 weeks, on neonatal docs advice. Apparently with some prem babies the stomach once out of you is forced to mature quicker and process things faster. About 15 weeks my ds chewed his hands constantly and every evening screamed as if in pain, he was he was hungry. I hung on to 17 weeks then gave him baby rice again on docs advice and he was back to his old self almost immediately. I would maybe ask your doc for weaning advice? Should add i am not a medical professional and my son was micro prem at 26 weeks so not sure if that affected things. I hope things improve and the new formula continues to work

Thank you that rally helps, i know i should ask docs or HV but mine always make me feel like i'm wasting their time so i try to only go if urgent :( so it sounds like it could be the same for mine, i was breastfeeding him untill 11 weeks and had to stop as he wanted a feed every 1/2 hour day and night and HV said i wasnt producing enough milk for him so i mixed feeding but he seemed much more content on bottles so stopped the breast, Just worried with this SMA staydown milk that he is very sleepy after each feed and i have had to wake him up, is this a good or bad sign do you think?

I meant really helps, sorry :)

My DTs always scream the place down after their bath until I feed them, I started dressing them in the bathroom and singing silly songs and it seems to have helped. Also I used to do a split fees, some before and some after bath if they seemed fractious

Chewing hands is not a sign that they need weaning. It's a develpomental thing, they've found their hands, doesn't mean they're hungry. Unless a GP/HV tells you otherwise weaning should be at 26 weeks per WHO guidelines for very good reasons, otherwise can cause allergies jn future. Anyway there are more calories in milk than food so will not fix hunger!

Could it be teething?

Hi thank you for your reply, i thought it was teething as he is dribbling lots, red cheeks but not hot, and more cranky than normal but I cant feel anything on his gums yet?? but i do think it could be. I did think it was too soon to wean so i will hold off a little. Do you think it has anything to do with the milk he is on weather he needs, hungry milk or keep him on the staydown?

Split feed

Sorry, that was me correcting my earlier typo!

I'm not an expert and I really think you should discuss with HV, that's what they are there for!

i know they are, just the hv's here do not seem to want to help im still waiting for a call back from 3 weeks ago from mine!! i believe advice from real mums and their experiences is more valuble than text book but thank you

It just sounded like you were planning on early weaning based on one or two posts on here when in fact it's really important to speak with HV or GP if you're planning to do this. Not great that you've waited three weeks though! Don't you have access to a weighing/baby clinic that you can go to discuss concerns?

I would think that sleepy afterwards is a good sign, as he is full and content. I would probably give it a week or two and then see how he is. I agree still stick to the guidelines regarding weaning unless as in my case a experiences dr tells you otherwise. Are his nappies normal?

Yes i don't want to wean yet as i do think its too early especially cos he was early and i would see doc first to make sure, thank you that makes me feel a bit better about his sleepiness, his nappies are normal i think, dirty nappy once every 2 days? regular wet nappies.

My DTS has a (very) dirty nappy every 2 days, his sister every day. I think all babies vary but as long as its soft when it comes he doesn't sound constipated. It's definitely worth chatting with your doctor as Mama says, prem babies sometimes need to wean earlier, something to do with them running out of nutrients sooner than term babies. My DTs were 37 weeks, not classed as prem, and I'm waiting as long as possible as it will be a right PITA!