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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Baby is always hungry

10 replies

Blizzardbeach · 14/07/2022 17:37

I'll try to make it short as I have a tendency to waffle on!

Quick background, was induced at 37+3 because IUGR was suspected, baby was born at 5lb 9oz. He was between the 9th-11th centile at birth.
First week we really struggled to get him to eat, and he dropped to 5lb 3oz. I know that's a normal amount of loss.
Since then he has been putting on weight, and eating well.

I've queried quite a few times that he is more hungry than my first. He's more hungry than any baby I've ever known.

At his jaundice check at 7 weeks old, I fed him one 5oz bottle, then half an hour later he was screaming the hospital down to get another bottle. He had 4oz in the waiting room, and continued to scream through the appointment because he wanted food.

The paediatrician said he's a very, very demanding little boy, but not to worry.

I've spoken with my health visitor, who said at 10 weeks, when he was weighed at 15lb 3oz and on the 50th- 75% percentile to just continue feeding him when he's hungry.

He regularly drinks between 40-50 oz of milk per day. I very rarely get through an hour without him wanting to be fed

We're at the point, where we get through 2 SMA tubs of hungry milk each week. He puts on 1lb per week, and he never seems satiated.

I took him swimming today, I knew to feed him before I got him changed for swimming. 5oz gone, during swimming he's crying and doing all of his hunger queues.
I did a quick calculation of his milk, by 1pm today he had 2 x 9 oz bottles and 2 x 5 oz bottles from when we woke at 5:30.

Since we got in, another 9 oz and 5 oz bottle down.

  • I make that 42oz and we will need another 3-4 bottles + before tomorrow.

Please someone tell me that he will grow out of this?
I'm so concerned that he may want proper food like he wants milk when he's a bit older.

OP posts:
Hugasauras · 14/07/2022 18:04

Wow that's a lot of milk! My only thought is that he could have reflux? Sometimes babies with reflux feed constantly cos it stops the pain of the reflux.

tillytoodles1 · 14/07/2022 18:07

Have you tried him with water? he might be thirsty.

PritiPatelsMaker · 14/07/2022 19:12

Is he growing longer? Are either of you particularly tall? Sometimes tall babies need more milk than the guidance suggests.

Blizzardbeach · 14/07/2022 19:34

Hi thank you for the replies! @Hugasauras I actually called the GP a few weeks back, and said I wasn't sure if the very frequent feeding was maybe a sign of reflux, he thought I was mad but I asked to try him on infant gaviscon but it made no difference whatsoever
@tillytoodles1 we haven't tried him with water, the HV said he will get all of his liquid requirements through formula, but at this point, I'll give anything a go. It feels like there's definitely something he's missing, maybe that's it... I'll make him up a bottle of boiled and cooled water and see how he gets on. I think the NHS website says 1oz- I'll double check first!
@PritiPatelsMaker nope, not at all, I'm 5"5 and DH is 5"11 so fairly standard sized people I think. This boy worries me so much with the way he guzzles.

OP posts:
PritiPatelsMaker · 14/07/2022 19:50

I'd go back to the gp and get them to plot him him on the chart again.

It does seem on the higher side of normal and there are a few things that can cause baby to not ever feel full which the GP might want to rule out of things are becoming excessive x

sleepyhoglet · 14/07/2022 21:23

40-50oz! Wow! I read that 6 month babies need about 24oz so that does seem a lot. Your health visitor doesn't seem worried though so hopefully won't be a problem. Is he regurgitating any? I wonder if he wants to suck and whether a dummy might help

Blizzardbeach · 15/07/2022 08:32

@sleepyhoglet we worked out that he shouldve been having about 20oz a day several weeks ago, I was a bit like, thats not even him fed until the afternoon.

He has been having a dummy, a consultant from the Jaundice paediatric team said, as a mother myself I'm telling you to give him a dummy! ...we hoped that the dummy would've helped...and maybe it does but he spits it out quite often when he sucks it furiously and doesn't give him milk!

Even the heat isn't stopping him!

OP posts:
Blizzardbeach · 15/07/2022 08:32

PritiPatelsMaker · 14/07/2022 19:50

I'd go back to the gp and get them to plot him him on the chart again.

It does seem on the higher side of normal and there are a few things that can cause baby to not ever feel full which the GP might want to rule out of things are becoming excessive x

I absolutely will, thank you!

OP posts:
Blizzardbeach · 15/07/2022 08:33

@tillytoodles1 thank you for the suggestion of water, he loved his water last night

OP posts:
PritiPatelsMaker · 15/07/2022 23:35

Just for a bit of reassurance, babies younger than 6 months need 2.5 floz per pound in weight per day. So if he's 16 lb he meeds approximately 40 floz a day. So don't be alarmed at the quantity.

It's the not feeling sated after a feed and climbing through the centile charts that probably need checking out.

Again though changing centiles can be pretty normal, especially for babies that were born a little small. They'll often feed a lot at first and then settle on a higher centile. The reverse is true too. My DD was born over the 75th, but by 4 months had settled between the 25th and 50th and has remained there into her teens.

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