Baby hungry every 2 hours??

[Megan1995]

Hi, my DS is 9 weeks old.

Usually we fed him every 3 and a half hours. Everytime he was fed he turned into a happy little baby, smiling away and playing and being happy. Then at about the 2 hour mark he gets very grumpy and hungry. I’ve been advised to just put his dummy in and wait till it’s been 3 and a half hours to feed him but most of the time he ends up screaming his head off waiting that long.

He doesn’t always have the same amount he roundabout always has 150ml but it goes up and down, sometimes he will have 160ml and sometimes as low as 100 and 120ml.

He had his injections last week and got slightly dehydrated and we were then advised to feed him 100ml every 2 hours which he was having and not draining the bottle but now he’s back up to having 120/150ml but still getting hungry after 2 hours.

Any advice on how to make baby last longer in between feeds?

Thanks in advance x

I’d say he’s far too little to be waiting to be fed. If he is hungry then feed him.

He could be having a growth spurt or just feeling a bit more peckish at the moment. As he gets older and his tummy gets bigger he will naturally stretch out the time between feeds. That said neither of mine ever went longer than 3 hours between feeds until after they were weaned.

At 12 months my youngest still has 3 milk feeds a day (plus 2 overnight) plus 3 full meals. He is bf rather than bottle which might make a slight difference but just to show that they do eat more than you might think!

I've never bottle fed, so only know feeding on demand. Isn't it best to replicate breastfeeding by feeding on demand and doing paced feeding? Babies have growth spurts, how does scheduled feeding accommodate for that? Seems cruel to make a hungry baby wait.

My DS had a bottle every 1.5-2 hours until about 3 months, there's no way I could have made him wait, he was inconsolable if the perfect prep took too long! I'd just feed on demand.

I second being too little to be waiting to be fed.

Feed on demand. You fit to your baby’s schedule, not the other way around.

Tons of things cause extra feeds - growth spurt, wanting comfort etc.

Yes very little I would feed, could be having a growth spurt. I was advised to wait until feeding times at that age by hv, had unhappy baby, midwife advised feed on demand and I had a happy baby again. Babies know when they need food! ❤️

Another saying feed on demand and let the baby self regulate, he's far too young to learn to wait.

My baby fed every 2 hours on the dot until 5 months. It's totally normal. Please don't force them to go longer

My little girls the same and only a month old We feed on demand usually every 2 hours .

Feed on demand. Grown ups have a drink whenever we want, and he’s only tiny!

Feed on demand.

My oldest was bottle fed but I fed her on demand rather than to schedule. Baby aren’t greedy so if they’re asking for milk then they are hungry.

I found that she developed her own schedules but they did change now and then which I attributed to growth and leaps.

Feeding on demand is best for newborns so I would go with it. My DS fed every 2.5-3 hours until 11 weeks day and night and then suddenly started stretching longer. It’s tough going when it’s so frequent though.

Feed on demand at this age, I wouldn’t use a dummy as a way of deterring eating.

Yeah, I fed on demand until his 6 week HV appointment and she told me his stomach should be big enough by now and he should be lasting 4 hours. So I’ve been trying that and he hasn’t been happy at all, I cut it down from 4 hours to 3 and a half and every so often he lasts till then.

I will definitely go back to feeding on demand. Thank you everyone

My daughter was a little and often baby. She was every two hours until we weaned!

You know your baby OP. I stopped worrying about what my babies “should” be doing quite quickly and instead just went with what they actually did do! Everyone was much happier all round! I’ve been really lucky with HV’s but I know lots of people who have been told very questionable things so it can be hit and miss.

Don’t worry that you’re doing it “wrong” by going with your baby. It sounds like you know exactly what your baby needs so trust yourself.

You may have already tried it ... but a hungry baby milk?

Although id personally rather feed more often rather than switch to a formula which is harder to digest...

Having said that formula isnt necessarily intended to be fed on demand and you may find baby becomes clogged up/uncomfortable if consuming more than reccomended.

I mostly bf but did some combi feeding through growth spurts... but i seem to recall that if babies are having the full daily 'allowance' ( horrible concept in MO) then I think you are allowed to top up with sterile water? If you want to stick to the 3.5 hour formula feeds then perhaps offer 2oz of water between feeds. So long as baby isnt then too full to take bottle of formula.

I would also feel uncomfortable leaving a babe so young with needs not being met so totally understand why you have turned to here.

Good luck x

He definitely doesn’t need hungry baby milk.

If he is draining his bottle then you need to offer more milk.

Mine never went much more than 3 hours for a bottle ever!

Although I agree you should definitely feed on demand, are you sure he is crying from hunger? Does he sleep between feeds?

If he is showing signs of hunger after 2 hours, I'd spend a max of 30mins on distraction. 1.5 hours is way too long.

Your health visitor is talking bollocks

Your health visitor is talking bollocks

This. 4 hours between feeds for a 9 week old baby is tantamount to cruelty

4 hours is way too long!