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Parenting

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Original poster

Weaning off carobel

19 replies

AussieMum28 · 26/04/2019 23:47

Has anyone used carobel with their little ones and weaned them off it successfully? Just after a bit advice/ want to know if it affected their appetite and sleep as we are currently trying this with our son! He definitely seems a lot hungrier and wonder if he is digesting his milk a lot quicker? We were down to 4 feed a day but now can't go beyond 4 hours without a feed!

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dementedpixie · 27/04/2019 09:27

How long do you want between feeds? What age are they?

Original poster

AussieMum28 · 27/04/2019 10:40

He's 5 months now. He was having 4 bottles a day and going anywhere from 6-9 hours between feeds. He's now on 5 bottles but with 2-3 "top ups" (so we make an extra 4 ounces to give to him) a day. Overnight, he's eating every 3-4 hours. Just concerning he is eating a lot more and I don't want him to put on too much weight!

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dementedpixie · 27/04/2019 10:49

6-9 hours is too long between feeds. 4 hours is a perfectly normal time between feeds. I don't wait 6 hours before having food or a drink so babies shouldn't have to wait either. What weight is he and how much is in each feed? Is he having only milk and no solids?

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SherlockSays · 27/04/2019 10:51

That's way too long between feeds. A 5 month old should be about 3-4 hours with longer overnight.

Original poster

AussieMum28 · 27/04/2019 11:26

He only went 9 hours overnight but during the day would go 5-6 hours. He is putting on weight really well as has gone up 2 percentiles (he was born premature). He neonatal nurse was perfectly happy with him needing a bottle 4 times a day. My worry is he's eating a lot more now than he was so surely that means he'll put on a lot more weight now?

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Original poster

AussieMum28 · 27/04/2019 11:27

Last weight in he was exactly a stone and isn't allow to start solids until he is 6 months.

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BertrandRussell · 27/04/2019 11:29

Maybe he’s hungrier because he is older and growing. 4 feeds a day doesn’t seem much at all for 5 months.....

Original poster

AussieMum28 · 27/04/2019 11:55

He was drinking about a litre of milk a day and as stated above, his neonatal nurse was perfectly happy with the amount he was drinking. We do responsive feeding so was always feeding him as per his cues. I was just wondering what other people's experiences are/were with weaning their babies off carobel as well. If his appetite increases that's absolutely fine of course but him eating this much is not his normal.

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dementedpixie · 27/04/2019 14:36

14lb is not that heavy. Maybe he's just catching up now feeding is more comfortable. As they get older they will eat more so just feed to appetite. 5-6 hours is too long between feeds during the day. If you feed more often during the day he might be more likely to go longer between feeds at night. How much is in each bottle?

Whymustyoubringinthebirds · 27/04/2019 18:43

On the carobel issue, I spoke to my HV and she said no point removing it if my LO was happy, we started to remove it about 9 months and slowly cut down the amount over the weeks
I wouldn't cut out before weaning as likely reflux/possett sickness would return, once on soilds this helps with the reflux
Wouldn't worry about weight gain, 14lbs isn't that much and he will be on the move soon and burn off a lot of calories

SS1987 · 27/04/2019 19:26

I just stopped putting it in one day and everything was fine, waiting until LO was well established on solids first

SoyDora · 27/04/2019 19:30

4 feeds a day seems far too few for a 5 month old. Particularly in the heat we’ve been having, I’d worry about dehydration. And 14lbs is fairly small, no? My 15 week old was 12lbs at his 6 week check.

dementedpixie · 27/04/2019 19:33

At 5 months I think my ds was closer to 20lbs. Give him the amount he wants. Once he starts solids it will start to reduce again

Original poster

AussieMum28 · 27/04/2019 19:44

Whymustyoubringinthebirds: thanks for your reply. I didn't think about the effect of weaning him off before solids but he seems to be doing fine. His nurse was ok with the idea as long as he didn't have any adverse effects so we will continue 😊

For everyone else: this post isn't about how often I feed my son. He is clearly a happy and healthy baby and he has over tripled his birthweight. I feed him when he is hungry, and if that "seems like a long time" well so be it. I'm not going to force my son to eat because he "should be eating every 3-4 hours" even though every health care professional who has seen him cannot believe how well he is doing considering he was born at 33+5 and was born not knowing how to suck.

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dementedpixie · 27/04/2019 19:47

But you stated now can't go beyond 4 hours without a feed! which implied he wants feeding more often now. We're just saying 4 hourly feeds are normal

SoyDora · 27/04/2019 19:59

I'm not going to force my son to eat because he "should be eating every 3-4 hours

I thought you said he now wanted feeding every 4 hours? So you wouldn’t be force feeding him?

Original poster

AussieMum28 · 27/04/2019 20:04

I stated that if he's appetite has increased that is fine but I feel you are all commenting on the fact he was down to 4 feeds a day and that was wrong - which it wasn't.

This is abnormal for him so was asking how other people's experiences are with weaning off carobel. If he wants to eat every 4 hours now, I'm completely on board with that (obviously) but I was concerned slightly because he hasn't been doing that for weeks.

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dementedpixie · 27/04/2019 20:06

Eating habits and amounts do change over time so it's not something I would worry about

ifoundthebread · 27/04/2019 20:17

My son was on carobel and gaviscon powder, only concoction that didn't constipate him but helped the reflux. We just gradually reduced the amount we put in each bottle by half a scoop every couple of days, when he was nearly 6 months. Didn't really notice a difference in his appatite as he then started solids not soon after the carobel stopped.

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