Snacking 6wo, advice needed, please?

[StrawberrytallCAKE]

I am ff my 6wo and she has a habit for snacking on 2-3oz and then wants feeding again 2 hours or less later. I know she can take up to 5-6oz in one go as she sometimes has this before her long sleep at night (and sometimes more, up to 9oz).

Should I be encouraging her to go longer between feeds and hopefully she'll eat more? Will she eventually start having less bottles with more milk?

It's not a huge issue as she is having a 5-6 hour sleeping stretch a night but has no good nap in the daytime and naps are obviously very important for her development. I'm also finding it hard to keep track of when she might next need feeding, dd1 fed every 4 hours and a set amount each time so this is all new to me.

Their stomachs are only as big as their fists (although they can stretch) so they naturally tend to snack little & often. This keeps their blood sugar more consistent and means they don't get used to having a bloated stomach. I always understood snacking was good for these reasons.

Snacking is good :) It's physiological, as mummysmellsofsick says, and it's also normal for human beings, inc little human beings :), to need differing amounts of food and drink at different times. If your baby is healthy and thriving then this is just her way of doing things at the moment, and there is nothing wrong. It would be a different matter if your baby was not growing well, or had difficulty feeding.

Perhaps your HV will share some reassurance with you?

Ok so maybe I'm best to let her keep snacking?

Cross post. I was going to ask hv this morning but she is stuck because of the weather.

My mum worried me by saying I should be giving her the same amount consistently every 4 hours before then I was quite happy! Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely stick to baby knows best for feeding.

There is no reason on earth why a baby should have the same amount of food at exactly the same intervals - that is really very old-fashioned advice.

It comes from hospital routines, when babies were in nurseries, women were on wards, and they were in hospital for a week or more after the birth.

It also comes from age-old worries about over-feeding, and from our culture's emphasis on routines and schedules (which babies know nothing about!). Some people have translated that into the idea that the baby 'needs' things to be regular and is better off that way....but there is no evidence for this at all, and quite a lot of evidence to support allowing a baby's appetite to set the pace :)

As a infant feeding adviser (ex) I would suggest boiled water also as baby maybe thirsty otherwise keep a feeding diary for a few days and you will see she is getting roughly same ammount in 24 hour period also continue to feed on demand x

cool boiled water for a 6 week old?

really? that would fill her tummy up with no nutrition

i think your baby is doing what babies do which is regulating her own feeding pattern

i don't view what you describe as snacking but as a baby led way of feeding which is totally usual and normal baby behaviour

and FWIW, my first who was FF from 7 weeks fed as you describe ie little and often

Boiled water no longer thought to be good addition to the intake of any young baby, these days, sookie, and could interfere with them getting adequate nutrition. Maybe in very hot weather only, with a ff baby, but not routinely.

Just to update quickly - I started a food and sleep diary and noticed she was waking up for just 1oz-2oz sometimes, being quite grumpy and not wanting as much of her next feed.

It seems I may have been mistaking tiredness for hunger. Bar a projectile vomiting after gripe water session on Friday night she has slept longer, eaten more consistently and been happier since I have been soothing her back to sleep rather than feeding her when she wakes up mid mini nap.

I'm having the same. Dd is 9 weeks old and has 1-2oz every few hours. She's having two night feeds. Evening time tho she will take 7 oz but this can take up to three hours. Also having the same of parents saying she should be doing 6oz every 4 hours and sleeping through. Also advised to give boiled cooled water at night. I smile sweetly and nod. I have not googled or worried this time I'm just going with her. She's a happy baby generally so can't be too much wrong. I'm sure it will even out at some point. Am I right in doing this? Sorry for thread hijack.

Dd had a shaky start by the way and was in hdu with bronchiolitis and weight loss with secondary bacterial infection on IV antibiotics etc so il be bigger ex if she's having water until at least 6 months. I ff as failed miserably with bf

Bigger ex?? Buggered if that should say. Bloody phone.

Chezzie glad your dd is better, don't beat yourself up about ff!! She's being fed and as you say she's a happy baby :)

I have no idea if you're right in doing what you're doing. I also have no idea if I'm right but dd has been much more settled and has slept through two nights 8-9 hours since I wrote a food and sleep diary and realised she maybe needed help getting back to sleep rather than more food. I also noticed she is taking around 25oz a day so as long as she is getting all of that in the daytime she is having a long sleep at night.

Who knows if it will continue but the last two days have been bliss and dd1 has been very happy to have me to herself for more than 10 minutes.