Hungry baby milk 6 week old?

[Owlsoutsidethewindow]

My baby is 6 weeks old (born 37 weeks if if makes a difference). He feeds every 1.5 - 2 hours and generally has around 2 - 3oz though he seems hungrier as the day goes on and in the evenings he will have 4 - 5oz. He goes longer between feeds at night, around 3 hours.

When he wants food during the day he basically goes straight in to being very unsettled and I don't always feel he is satisfied after food.

I've been wondering if he should be on hungry baby. Told the HV and she didn't think it was needed but she did the maths in regards to what he should be eating, and he has around 300 - 400ml per day more than she said.

He only poos every few days and has never had a particularly massive poo but is also not constipated. They aren't worried about this either but my daughter used to poo several times a day so it seems a bit strange.

I've read that the ingredients in hungry baby are harder to digest so I'm just not sure how that makes me feel. I am struggling to keep up with his current feeding routine though as sometimes he will have 2oz, then 30 mins later he will want another ounce, then 30/40 mins after that he's crying like he was never fed.

I would be grateful for thoughts please.

He feeds every 1.5 - 2 hours and generally has around 2 - 3oz though he seems hungrier as the day goes on and in the evenings he will have 4 - 5oz. He goes longer between feeds at night, around 3 hours

Sometimes he will have 2oz, then 30 mins later he will want another ounce, then 30/40 mins after that he's crying like he was never fed

This is all normal newborn behaviour. Hardly any take the specified amount every 3 hours as newborns (or even as 6 month olds!) It’s called responsive feeding. I would continue feeding him like this with normal formula as opposed to giving him something that has no added nutritional benefit to try and stretch out feeds.

Just wondering if the HV explained that there aren't anymore calories in the Hungry Baby Formula? You're right that it does take longer to digest though so he might go longer between feeds but if he's wanting this amount of milk, I'd say that was fairly typical at 6 months. He may be "catching up" which is where they're born in one centile and then move up a centile and stay there.

My son was born at 37 +3 and I remember him being a hungry little thing. We just fed him on demand whenever he was hungry - if he took it, great, if not, fine. He was also an infrequent pooer! Totally fine now at 1 and he still has a great appetite.

I would just keep feeding him when he's hungry. It might just be a phase and he'll settle into his routine - they're growing so much remember

Thanks for your thoughts. He had 23oz in 4 hours last night...the moment he finishes eating he just wants more straight away...I know there's feeding on demand but I'm not sure if 23oz in 4 hours is a bit much? He doesn't seem at all satiated after food and is really unsettled because of it.

Pleased to hear your son who was an infrequent pooer was fine though. My eldest pooed a few times a day so it's very different.

If he is unsettled at the end of the feed will he take a dummy or suck on your finger?
Just to compare with breastfeeding the feeds take longer and they tend to comfort suck at the end. I am in no way advocating breastfeeding - just trying to illustrate my point. Bottle feeding is quicker and easier so may not fulfill their sucking need.

Just wondering if he’s definitely unsettled because he’s hungry or whether it could be because of the milk? My son was very similar, having huge feeds because he was always crying after a feed and we were worried he was hungry, but actually it turned out that he had a milk allergy.
Also worth checking you’re doing paced feeding.
But as others have said, some babies are just hungry and he may be catching up. Has he been weighed? What’s his chart like?

Babies have a natural sucking reflex. Are you sure he’s definitely fussing because he’s hungry? Have you tried a dummy or popping him in the sling for a nap after a feed? Are you page feeding bottles? 23oz in 4 hours is a hell of a lot at 6 weeks.

Agree that 23 Floz is a fair bit. Does he settle without a feed if you put him on a sling/automatic rocket/car?

*rocker!

6 weeks is very early days. It’s tiring for you, but it’s probably too soon to expect baby to be settling into a routine and baby is too young to go long gaps between feeds. Try to soldier on and review the situation in 4-6 weeks time

Are you doing paced bottled feeding?

As a guide it’s 2.5oz per lb of bodyweight in a 24 hour period. But as PP says he may be ‘catching up’ a centile. If and DH are both tall but he was born small this is even more likely to be the case.

2-3oz per feed doesn’t sound much, mine had 5-6oz per feed every 4 hours at 6 weeks old. So I’d maybe try for bigger less frequent feeds.

If it’s the sucking reflex it could be worth trying a dummy.

But no to hungry baby. It doesn’t contain more calories, it’s just harder to digest. It doesn’t have much of a use, maybe if you had a 5MO that has stopped sleeping through but isn’t physically ready for weaning it would be worth trying but it’s not something you should be giving such a tiny baby because if they’re hungry it’s because they need the calories.

Just to answer the questions, hopefully I haven't missed any.

Yes we are doing paced feeding, he isn't a guzzler and communicates when he needs a break or wants a bit more. I also wind him throughout.

He does take a dummy. If he is still hungry he makes what I can only describe as an angry noise while sucking and then spits it out. Otherwise he will settle with it, I use it at night time too.

The only way he will settle without the feed at the moment is in a sling or being held although sometimes he is still unsettled. I've pretty much held him all day every day this week. Would previously settle in his rocker but won't at the moment. I am hoping this will pass.

He is gaining weight well and following his curve. Not weighed for 2 weeks so need to do it this week.

2-3oz per feed doesn’t sound much, mine had 5-6oz per feed every 4 hours at 6 weeks old. So I’d maybe try for bigger less frequent feeds.

He won't take any more than he does now.

23oz in 4 hours is a hell of a lot at 6 weeks.

Yes my thoughts exactly. He was with dh last night as I needed a few hours to myself after a full on week and even dh was very shocked at how much he kept putting away. He did a HUGE poo this morning! Not eaten quite so much tonight but he has still been more ravenous as the day went on and between about 6pm and 9pm just wanted feeding almost constantly. He finally fell asleep with a dummy after that.

Just wondering if he’s definitely unsettled because he’s hungry or whether it could be because of the milk? My son was very similar, having huge feeds because he was always crying after a feed and we were worried he was hungry, but actually it turned out that he had a milk allergy.

Were there any other symptoms? It did cross my mind but he doesn't seem in pain, no symptoms, cueing for more food.

DS2 fed like this as a baby - he would feed normally every 3-4 hours during the day and come 6pm he would want bottle after bottle and there was one night when he was 3 weeks old he had 15oz in 4 hours before he finally settled and went to sleep. Went on for a few weeks and then it stopped. I just thought it was newborn cluster feeding so fed him responsively when he wanted it.

The symptoms of CMPA are here. They're usually very unsettled if they have it.

Thank you all for your replies. Just wanted to update in case anyone else finds it helpful too as I was so stuck on what to do, instinct was telling me he wasn't happy.

After another lot of unsettled stints, I decided to introduce one bottle of hungry baby just to see. He still wanted feeding 2 hours after which is totally fine, but in that two hours between feeds he was happy rather than desperately searching for food only to not have room for it. I have been gradually increasing the hungry baby feeds by one more bottle every few days and he does seem so much happier. I didn't want to try and make him go a 4 hour stretch or anything, just to be more settled and content after feeding.
He is also pooing more frequently (fine in colour and consistency) so I think maybe he has an issue with whey? He is much less windy too.

So no reaction in feeds really (which wasn't what I wanted) but he seems to be doing better. He does still have a few first infant feeds a day and isn't as happy after those so I'll continue a very gradual transition.

Lovely to hear he's doing a bit better now!