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Parenting

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Original poster

hungry baby - wwyd?

35 replies

firsttimer78 · 14/02/2011 19:22

DS1 is 18 weeks old and, after a period of sleeping through the night, has over the past 4 weeks increasingly woken for feeds through the night (EBF) to the point that he is now up every 1.5 hours! Advice from the HV is one of the following and I'm having trouble making a decision so would appreciate your opinions/experiences!
Option 1 - express milk during day so DH can give him some feeds at night (quite when I'm supposed to express with a lively baby who feeds lot and sleeps little is another matter!)
Option 2 - give him a top-up formula feed at around 10.30pm.
Option 3 - get him onto solids.
WWYD?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

ShowOfHands · 14/02/2011 19:24

Plough on. It's normal if really bloody hard. I co-slept and napped in the day. It's a sleep regression and developmental spurt.

Stationery · 14/02/2011 19:27

Babies of around 4 months go through a massively hungry stage.

i second ploughing on

2cats2many · 14/02/2011 19:28

Option 1 or 2. It's really too early for 3.

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IrritaGirl · 14/02/2011 19:32

Yep, keep ploughing on. Mine is going through something similar, but I know it won't last forever.

BlooKangaWonders · 14/02/2011 19:36

If you can express during his first feed, it'll keep you b/f and him only on breastmilk. Personally I found the milk flowed first thing (!) so easy enough to express then. If your dh can give towards the late evening, you might find ds sleeps longer.

Or might not, but at least you've tried!

Defo don't start on solids - too soon and no guarantee that he'll sleep any better.

Original poster

firsttimer78 · 14/02/2011 19:36

Am I silly to worry that if I give him formula as a top up he'll begin to refuse breast milk?? That would make me very :( - I love feeding him!

OP posts:

BlooKangaWonders · 14/02/2011 19:37

Just breast feed more - you're doing the best thing possible :)

autodidact · 14/02/2011 19:38

I would do option 3 if you think he's hungry. Expressing is a faff and formula is a form of solid anyway so you might as well introduce a range of flavours and tastes while you're at it. Most babies enjoy tasting new things at his age, ime. But waking every 1.5 hours isn't usually caused by hunger imo. It's usually more that the baby can't settle back to sleep on his own. It may be a blip- there often is one at 4 months or so- but if he's still waking a lot in a couple of months you could consider sleep training.

bessie26 · 14/02/2011 19:47

I don't think he'd refuse your milk if you gave him formula, but the more he takes from you, the more you'll produce so you need to stick with it or you'll be giving FF from then on!. I seem to remember DD feeding endlessly at one point, it means they're growing - it's good! Hope you are eating & sleeping well to make up for the extra milk production?

I would say not to even think about solids yet, waaaay to early & it made no difference for my friends who tried it.

If you want to express, do it first thing in the morning as that's when you've got most milk. When I was storing some up for a day out I used to get up an hour earlier to do one boob

naturalbaby · 14/02/2011 20:03

i had health visitors telling me to start baby rice at 17weeks. i refused and carried on feeding on demand as i have always done. he was fine, i was fine, his weight carried on going up - he just slowed down a little then but was back on track at the next weigh in.

i was just reading up on growth spurts for dc3 and remember 4months being a pretty major one with my older kids.

i expressed with ds1 but couldn't be bothered with ds2, i just fed more on demand and things soon settled down.

Gonzo33 · 15/02/2011 06:24

I started feeding my dc solids (both dc's) at that age as both of them were constantly hungry and they just couldn't get enough. Each to their own though.

Karoleann · 15/02/2011 07:37

I'd give a massive bottle of hungry baby formula! Your DH can give it and you can go to bed. Its unlikely that you'll get enough baby rice in him to begin with to make a huge difference and I'm sure you're exhausted.

Lollypolly · 15/02/2011 07:46

As soon as I saw your thread title, I knew your DS was 4 months and going through the growth spurt associated at that age. Persevere with BF / ebm if you can, resort to formula if you really can't keep up and resist weaning if you can. That;s what I would do, it will all calm down in a few days.

KaraStarbuckThrace · 15/02/2011 07:53

Perservere - it will get better!!

Original poster

firsttimer78 · 15/02/2011 20:41

Thanks for the responses. Went to get him weighed today - has put on 9ozs in two weeks. Nurse advised starting with baby rice. Have decided to hold off for now and just keep situation under review. He STARED at us the whole time we ate lunch today though, even tried to get out his bouncy chair at one point! :o

OP posts:

homeboys · 15/02/2011 20:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

firsttimer78 · 15/02/2011 20:58

It's not that I don't want to listen - just trying to balance the different opinions I'm hearing (this includes the nurse btw - she said that her advice was to start baby rice but was up to us)

OP posts:

Tryharder · 16/02/2011 01:05

Weaning won't help. Why will a few spoons of carrot puree help any baby to sleep?

I "knew" your baby would be 4 months old as well before reading your OP. This is classic 4 month old behaviour. Whether or not you give formula is up to you and depends on how much exclusive breastfeeding means to you.

But it is a phase and will pass. Just keep bf when he wants.

ilovemountains · 16/02/2011 01:31

Another vote here for weaning! Baby rice makes them feel fuller than milk (nothing to do with the number of calories as I see so often on here.)

SparkleSoiree · 16/02/2011 01:50

A vote for no 3 - weaning.

Cosmosis · 16/02/2011 09:39

A vote for 4) just plough on with the bf and it will pass.

QueenOfFlamingEverything · 16/02/2011 09:51

I'd go for ploughing on with the BF and repeating 'This Too Shalt Pass' through gritted teeth.

Thing about baby rice at this age is - yeah, it'll make them feel fuller. But (even for adults) food and hunger isn't just about feeling full, its about nutrition. otherwise we'd all eat wallpaper paste and pulped newspaper - keep us full for hours, it would.

Babies are hungry because they need the nutrition they will get from milk.

Emo76 · 16/02/2011 20:52

I'm with karoleann and think the bottle of hungry baby formula is a good idea if you really don't want to wean. Worth a go if you are up every 1.5h in the night. Gives your supply a chance to recover too.

QueenOfFuckingEverything · 16/02/2011 21:02

Emo76 - supply does not need a 'chance to recover'.

That's not how demand-led supply works.

Giving formula may mean the baby sleeps for longer, though this is by n means a given! It will mean the baby BFs less, thus sending the message to the breasts to Make Less Milk. It will reduce supply, not allow it a chance to recover.

Maybe that is what the OP wants, maybe not. But the idea that milk supply needs time off to recover is a common and damaging myth.

Bumperlicious · 16/02/2011 21:02

I vote for plough on or try formula though

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