Concerned about sheer volume of milk 5week old is taking.

[BoboksAndCot]

DD2 was BF for the first couple of weeks but for the past two and a half weeks she's been FF. I'm worried about how much milk she's demanding. She's taking 6 (sometimes up to 8) oz every three to four hours! When DD1 was this age she was only taking a third of that!

She's definately hungry, we've tried settling her other ways but it's always the milk that wins in the end. This has been going on for a couple of weeks which is making me think this is her normal, rather than a growth spurt? She guzzles her feed, gets upset if I have to remove the bottle from her mouth for any reason, and always finishes her feed easily. She's never sick afterwards.

She's put on two and a half pounds since she's been born and has jumped up to 91st centile. HV (and experienced children's nurse Mum) don't seem concerned but I don't think they realise just how much milk she's having! All they've said is stay away from hungry baby milk because of the constipation issues!

Did anyone else have a super hungry baby like this? Apart from anything else it's costing a fortune in formula!

Yup i had to give up bf due to supply issues but honestly he would have to be hooked up to a cow to keep up. Since 6 weeks he was on 7oz 7 times a day every 2.5hrs it wasn't until 14wks i got him up to 3hr feeds and the last few days hes taken 8oz 7 times a day!! He was 19lbs at 17 weeks and on 98th centile from 91st at birth.

Hungry baby milk didnt slow him down just constipated him and yup its cost us a fortune too. Hes 4 months now and having to start weaning.

Can't see why you can't give the hungry baby milk a try if you want too. It doesn't have any more calories than normal formula but takes longer to digest so might make her feel fuller for longer. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, you could try some hb feeds and some regular feeds.

"She's put on two and a half pounds since she's been born and has jumped up to 91st centile" is she long too? Don't think that taking a lot of milk is a problem if she's in proportion after all some of us adults are big and some are little .

Oh well Figgy, nice to hear another baby behaving the same way! I have visions of 17 week weaning if she carries on at this rate! So different from DD1 who simply wasn't interested in trying food until 26 weeks!

That's a good idea Jilted, I didn't think about using both types of milk, I might get some and switch between the two. And yes, she's very long! So perhaps going to ge a big girl like her mummy

Personally if you think she is hungry I'd leave weaning as long as possible. Before 6 months you can only really give them pureed veg and fruit and baby rice. The milk will have far more calories than those and could lead to her lacking nutrients and calories vital for her growth.

My ds(5+3) is the same and he was born at 35/3 at 6lb 7oz he is draining 6oz bottles 6/7 per day he is now 8lb 9oz. Have decided to put him on hungry baby food from today.

Wow hot he was very big for a 35/3 baby, is he very long too?

I know! All my dcs have been early (not as early as him, 36 weeks 7-8lbs) he is very long, grew out of newborn within 2 weeks and is now growing out of 0-3 months which is a shame as he won't get to wear hardly any of his clothes and I have tonnes and tonnes of the stuff!

Does she have a dummy?

I honestly can't see what the problem is with long babies taking more than the average milk, surely their intake is just in proportion with their size?