Demand feeding - am I doing something wrong??

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My DS is 5 weeks on Friday. He is formula fed and we feed him on demand.

The only problem with this is that once DS decides he's hungry he cries like a banshee & I find it really hard to deal with even for the 4mins it takes to heat his bottle. This just compounds my guilt at not being able to breastfeed also.

I do believe demand feeding is the best way but it is hard when DS gives no feeding cues. If he did then I could get to him with the bottle before he cries up a lung.

I also kind of dread him waking up from a sleep as I know there's a good chance he'll be hungry but not knowing when he'll wake makes it feel like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.

Has anyone else had to deal with this? Am I somehow missing his cues? (Even though I am looking out for ten like a hawk!) Help!!

What do you think the cues are?

Why is it taking so long to heat a bottle? I would make a bottle an hour or two before you will need it, keep it in the fridge then microwave for 30/45 secs when you need it.

MajaBiene, current guidelines are to make bottles up fresh.

Bottles made fresh will last an hour (or 2?) after being made - it will say on the carton.

This is a good link to early feeding cues in babies: www.brjostagjof.is/attachments/File/feeding_cues.pdf

Making up milk in advance and refidgerating is considered an acceptable alternative to making up milk on demand. Just microwave and shake vigourously to prevent hot spots.

Make bottles in advance, refrigerate and microwave. The guidelines change all the time anyway.

DD used to go from asleep to eardrum-bursting starvation mode in a split second as well when she was tiny. It's just a phase, as they get older they lose the drama-queen tendencies a little! Though just until toddlerhood, obviously.

Don't worry too much about it. You're doing okay!

I am making up 2 bottles in advance, cooling quickly & storing in the fridge. The 4 mins is to stand in a cup of boiling water. I would never microwave the bottle because of the risk of hotspots & I don't like microwaving things in plastic.

As for feeding cues, I think: tongue out, hand(s) in mouth or swiping near mouth, turning his head with mouth open, sucking noises with lips. Any I've missed?

Congratulations on your boy!
My ds is 9 weeks old and the only other feeding cue I have seen is pursuing his lips like he's going to kiss you.otherwise you may want to just be ready to feed him every hour and a half and make bottles accordingly?

I warm mine in micro in a glass bottle

This might sound like a stupid question, but have you tried him with a cold bottle? He might not mind, it would stop the 4 minute wait and I'm not aware of any problems with it.

hides and waits to be corrected

Well maybe not a fridge-cold bottle but there have been times when I've tested the temp & it's barely lukewarm & I've just given it to him anyway! He's never minded & if it saves a min...

Getting given a bottle warmer from a friend of my DH. No idea if it will be any quicker or not though!

Sorry bottle warmer is not quicker, I'm afraid

He may well be fine with cold/room temp milk although my midwife said it can sometimes give them more wind. It will prob get easier as he gets older! Could you use cartons sometimes and keep them somewhere warmish before a feed so you can just pour into bottle and use?

I always microwave and shake vigorously like other posters have suggested,but if you don't want to you could have a thermos flask of warm water ready all day and night. If you have the powder pre-measured in one of those little avent pots, then it will only take you max of a minute to make a fresh one, instead of waiting 4 mins for the bottle warmer.

Mummytopoppy - that isn't a recommended method for making formula according to WHO/DOH guidelines as powder should be added to water over 70 degrees to ensure potential bacteria in the powder are killed by the heat.

We did what marzipananimal suggested at night and I slept with a carton tucked against me so it was body temperature when required. Not sure where you could tuck a carton during the day!

you could use the flask if we had a way of testing that it was 70oc or more. For eg, I have aflask that keeps it at that temp or high for 8 hours.