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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

small baby : which formula milk ??

17 replies

rachounette · 08/03/2005 14:15

My daughter was born 2kgs (less than 5 pounds) but not premature. I gave her mummy's milk for 2 months (breastpump) but had to give up upon doctors' advice. Now she is on formula milk. She is 5 monhts old and weigh 4.8kgs (10.4 lbs). Because she was not premature, she was not given any special milk. We chose to give her Cow & Gate. The problem is that she does not drink much (100ml) but every 3 hours night and day, she does not settle very well, small naps during the day 15mins, and not very well at night, she wakes up at 5am and will not go back to sleep. I wonder if in this wonderful world there would be a magic milk which could help her to sleep more. Seriously, is there a more filling milk for hungry but small babies ??
A desperate mum who would like to sleep more !!!

OP posts:
HappyMumof2 · 08/03/2005 14:24

Message withdrawn

floppsy · 08/03/2005 14:25

Rachounette-try farley's second stage milk for hungrier babies,i found it brill!You can use it from birth which i did after trying SMA.The difference was unbelievable,from feeding every two hours,my dd went to feed every four hours & slept right through the night.Hope this helps.

nailpolish · 08/03/2005 14:26

i use farleys second milk too, its fab

cacaboo · 08/03/2005 14:33

Cow & Gate do a milk for hungrier babies, IIRC it's the one in a blue box with the number 2 on it. I think just about all the manufacturers do one.

Original poster
rachounette · 08/03/2005 14:33

I will try farley, if she sleeps through the nite with that, send me your adress nailpolish and polish, i will send you a bottle of champagne!!! will let you know!!

OP posts:
Janos · 08/03/2005 15:25

I found Aptamil Extra very helpful for my DS - it's the one in a purple box/carton. I think it's a bit more expeensive than the other stuff tho.

nailpolish · 08/03/2005 15:37

oh ihope she does! good luck

Reethi · 08/03/2005 16:11

I used cow & gate premium and had the same issue. I was going to switch to the hungry baby formula and was advised against it by 2 different health visitors, apparantly it is more difficult to digest and can cause severe wind in small babies. I found with my ds that he managed to reach his level and eventually found the milk satisfying enough, he was receiving a lot more though, 240ml every 4 hours. What have your health visitors advised about weaning? I was advised to wean ds at 4.5 months because he had started to refuse his milk and was taking much less than normal. I thought that weaning him would make him worse but it worked wonders as soon as I started introducing solids he increased his milk intake. I think sometimes they just get bored of milk.

Original poster
rachounette · 09/03/2005 13:57

I have given cow&gate for hungrier baby ( because organic)last night, but it did not change anything
She woke up every 3 hours.. she was also windy today. I wiil give a call to my health visitor.
thanks for yourhelp

OP posts:
nailpolish · 09/03/2005 14:20

sorry to hear this. have you tried other things? my dd2 (19 wks) wakes 2 or 3 times in the night, she doesnt really cry though, just chats. if your baby does this, dont go to her immediately, i dont and dd2 goes back to sleep herself after maybe 20 mins. have you tried going in and picking her up, cuddling but not feeding? i realise your baby is not taking much at each feed, that might be what the difference is. have you tried giving her a drink of water instead? how much milk does she take in 24 hrs? wish i could wave a magic wand for you

littlerach · 09/03/2005 14:29

You can get an extra calorie milk from HV, by SMA.

May have to be on prescription, it is used for babies that do not gain weight.

DD2 was average when born but didn't put on weight, and when she did it was v slowly. She was thought to be failure to thrive, but has put some on. Personally I don't think she is that small, she is 7 months and about 15lbs.

I was told about the milk by HV and could have had it if she didn't start putting on weight. Her problem, as it were, was that she would only take 2-3oz a time, evry 3-4 hrs. But she is fine developmentally, and that is what metters really.

aloha · 09/03/2005 14:41

I know it's awful when they don't sleep but it isn't all down to what they eat. My son was a terrible sleeper for eight awful months - I would have killed for a three hour gap! But he did get over it with the help of a bit of controlled crying at 8months and has been a wonderful sleeper ever since. It will pass.
BTW why did your GP advise you to stop giving breastmilk? It is actually marginally more calorific than formula milk.

Original poster
rachounette · 09/03/2005 20:39

The reason why I stopped breatsfeeding ( and I really wanted to do it !!) but elodie stayed in the hospital for a few days when born and was fed through the nose, then bottle, so she never got the hang of breastfeeding, I did try again at one month and later on, but she would stop after 5 minutes and fall asleep , she was too small and tired, for us the most important thing was for her to grow, so I breastpump for 3 months ( we believe breastmilk is best for her ) but I was so tired ( drinking every 3 hours, I had to pump constantly, plus having a 18 months old baby as well... it was too tiring), she also had bronchiolitis when she was 5 weeks old and had to go back to hospital, anyway the doctor said my milk was poor quality because I was too tired... now looking back , I think breastmilk was probably better, she has not grown any better on the formula milk!!!
I have a prescription for special milk for small babies, I have asked the health visitor, she says I could give it to her and see how she goes. She is very windy tonite, I can hear her cry now, she can't settle ...
Not looking forward to the night... but I know that only time will do.... so let's not get too annoyed about it ... it can only get better!! (as we're told..) Thanks a million for all your advice.

OP posts:
tiktok · 09/03/2005 20:46

rachounette - what a story, and huge challenges to overcome. Big 'boo' to your doctor for telling you a pile of rubbish about the quality of your breastmilk being affected by tiredness.....this is a myth

If you want to, you can relactate, but it needs a lot of time and motivation....ask if you want more details.

tiffini · 09/03/2005 20:52

i think 100 mls is nothimg to worry about as the smaller the baby the smaller the stomach, my twins are very small (they were 7 weeks early)and are still small and they have never took more than 170mls. they are 15 mts now and for solids onl eat as much as a 7 or 8 month baby, and they are just about to grow out of 6-9 month clothes but they are very healthy

Original poster
rachounette · 09/03/2005 21:16

oh please, no, I don't want to relactate!!! it took me so long to stop the milk... only last week have I managed to stop ! it is quite hard when you have only breastpumped! I really don't think she is able to drink from the breast, she is too used to the bottle and I don't want to unsettle her even more... I have felt so guilty not being able to breastfeed her ( I did it for 7 months with my other daughter and thoroughly enjoyed it) ... when it works, it is so much easier than the bottle... anyway, I think you are right, I should not worry too much, she was small at birth and will remain small and that's it...

OP posts:
tiktok · 09/03/2005 21:20

That's ok, rachounette I only mentioned it because sometimes mothers don't know about it. It is definitely not for everybody or everybody's situation.....

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