The bigger he gets, the less milk he seems to want - this can't be right!!

[Jack2601]

Hi, I'm looking for advice/reassurance really.
DS is 20 weeks today (was 7 weeks prem so 13wks corrected). He was 3lb 9oz when born and at his last weigh in (last Monday) he was 11lb 5oz. He is ff and has been since birth (tried and tried to bf but for various reasons it didn't happen).

ANYWAY, this is my problem/issue. DS has kind of got himself into a routine in the day where he has his first bottle at 7am and then feeds roughly every 3-4 hours. This is all down to him as we feed him when he wants. The thing is he barely takes 5oz at any feed, sometimes only wants 4. He has a bottle at 7/7.30pm and then goes to bed. He has started to go through the night now from about 10.45/11pm so has completely dropped one feed. The 11pm ish feed is a sleepy/dreamfeed and for the last few nights he has only taken 1 or 2ozs at the most.

I'm worried that he isn't having enough. Surely for a baby weighing over 11lb he should have more than 1 ounce between 7.30pm and when he wakes up?
As he was prem I've been advised to start weaning at 6 months. I can't see it working at all because he's not interested in his bottles, let alone anything else!!

how much is he having in 24 hours? The rule of thumb is roughly 2.5oz per lb of body weight so an 11lb baby would take around 27.5oz per 24 hours. This is just a guide though and some babies will take more or less than this. If he is having wet/dirty nappies and is mostly content between feeds and is putting on weight then you will just have to go with the flow as he knows best about how much milk he wants to take.

That's just it, he NEVER takes the "guideline" amount in 24 hours. For example, between 7am yesterday and 7pm this morning (before this morning's feed) he'd only had 22 ounces so that is well under what he should be having as he's probably well over 11lb now! However, he does tick all of the boxes in that he has regular dirty nappies, lots of weeing and he is such a contented baby. Maybe he is just one of the babies who doesn't want much milk? It's always difficult with him being prem, the weight-gain was the main focus when he was in hospital and it's probably that it is taking some time to get out of the habit of calculating!!

Sorry, should have said 7am this morning!

Anyone else???

Bumping to help (and also see what others say cause my DS is 16wks and BF but seems to be cutting down on it too - although still growing well - but am interested in why this might be)

Bump again, just been to weigh in and he is 11lb 8oz so in last 2 weeks he has only put on 8oz - should I start worrying? Can't you tell that I'm a first time mum!!

Congratulations on your baby!!

If he is putting on weight and appears healthy (ask your health visitor or GP if you are worried) then I really don't think you have anything to worry about.

As you've just been to weigh in, presumably your son was seen by a healthcare professional? What did they say?

It is fantastic that your baby only needs a couple of ounces of milk at night - it means you can all have a good night's sleep. Do not fall into the trap of waking him in the night to feed him if he's sleeping through; increase the day feeds if necessary. But if he won't take the feeds, he obviously just isn't hungry.
I'll repeat at this stage: ask a healthcare professional if you are worried.

Yes, you are obviously a worried first-time mum but all mums were worried first-time mums at some point

If you've had him weighed this afternoon and the HV hasn't said anything about his weight gain, then I would assume everything is OK? Is he maintaining the centile line in his red book? If so, then I wouldn't be too worried. It is normal for their weight to start to level off, if you look at the centile lines on the charts they do get less steep as time goes on. Not sure how it works with preterm babies though

It's also normal to worry as a first time mum, however I'd say that if he is happy and healthy and meeting all his (age corrected) developmental milestones then try not to worry too much.

Have a word with your HV tomorrow and I'm sure she'll put your mind at rest

if you look at those charts in the red book you will notice that they are very steep at the beginning and flatten out later on. That is because babies tend to grow faster in their first few weeks and then plateau out later. maybe this is what he is doing now.

What is a more important question is "is he happy?" If he is - he's having the right amount of food for him.

Some babies do sleep 7-7 from an early age and do not need a feed at night - and there is nothing wrong with them at all.

He sounds just lovely so try and relax and let him lead the way.

Thanks for the replies.
He is a really happy baby, just obviously not a hungry one!! I was playing with the idea of starting to wake/dreamfeed him in the early hours again just because I'm worried he isn't getting the calories as he won't take larger feeds during the day, if anything, since he has started sleeping through he has had LESS in the day, just not bothered. However, most people think this is not a great idea. My mum's theory being that if he was hungry he would let me know!!

Don't get me started on our h/v!! When he got weighed I said: "Oh, that's only 8oz in 2 weeks, is that okay?" and she smiled...............I then asked whether the slow weight gain could be anything to do with a viral infection he had recently (made him quite sick, but only for a day or so)..........and she smiled............ I ususally get him weighed every fortnight and I said: "D'you think I should come next week as opposed to waiting a fortnight, just to check he gets back on track?"...............and she smiled and said: "It's a stand-in health visitor as I'm in France next week, I am entitled."

Very supportive, not!! And this is a woman who had a very prem baby herself so I would have thought she would be in tune to these kinds of worries. DH thinks I'm losing the plot and says h/v does not appear concerned because she probably isn't concerned and therefore we should be happy!!