Hungry Baby

[April52]

I have bf my DS till 11 weeks old but have recently given up as I couldn't keep up with him. When he was born he was on the 50th centile and he is now on the 91st centile - he had a big growth spurt at 5 weeks old when exclusively bf.

To cut a long story short, he seems to be a very hungry baby as he usually drinks around 40oz of formula a day, finding 9 oz in one sitting no probs. He's always slept overnight in long stretches and started to sleep 7-6 when I changed him to formula (I still fed him last feed and first morning feed) but three nights in a row now he's got up at 3 or 4am and I've had to give him 5oz formula ontop of his 40oz day.

I breastfed my DD until she was well into second stage weaning so I'm used to feeding on demand while they're little but with DS I feel I can't just keep giving him milk. When he has 9/10 oz he manages to go almost the 'allotted' 4 hours between feeds but as he gets bigger and hungrier I don't know where there is to go! He's only 13 weeks old today and his 12 week old weight was 15 lb 6 oz but he doesn't seem chubby and the HV seemed fine with it.

I suppose what I'm asking is should I be telling my son enough is enough and not give him the overnight feed? I'm concerned that I'm confusing his waking with hunger and just simple waking up for a cuddle or a play!

If the hv is fine with his weight I'd just feed on demand. 13 weeks is still very little to cut out night feeds altogether. Similarly feeding every four hours is a big gap, especially without a night feed so that's maybe why he's having such large amounts? Could you maybe try feeding him less milk but slightly more often if your worried he's having too much?

4 hours between feeds seems massive to me - my 7 month old still feeds every 2.5/3 hours. Try smaller amounts more often? Remember their stomachs are tiny tiny.

I'd try feeding 3 hourly. I would also still feed in the night if they are waking for it

Thanks everyone. I totally agree that his tummy is so small and that's what concerns me about seeming to feed him so much - I don't like the thought of it all swimming about in his tummy! That's why I asked about the night feed as I think 40 oz during the day is a little much for him to wake at night for a feed too. I don't want to confuse waking up for a cuddle with waking up to be fed.

I had hoped to bf longer and feel rather upset that I made the choice to go formula especially as my DD was bf. He was very unsettled and didn't really sleep at all when bf - just cried and cried. I know I didn't have a supply problem as it was leaking out of me constantly. Anyway all that is irrelevant now but I feel v unconfident with ff as he's going way beyond the 30oz suggested on the back of the packs and still appearing to want more than I feel I should give him.

If you were bf you'd have no idea how much he was having, it could easily be 40oz. Some babies are born at 5.5lb, some at 11lb so the backs of the tins are really just a rough estimate. It's better to look at your baby, if he's gaining weight well and content then I'm sure he's fine. If he's not content and waking, at 13 weeks I'd feed him. You could always try giving him a little cuddle before but if I had to guess at such a young age I'd say he's hungry.