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Original poster

Baby hungry every 2 hours??

43 replies

Megan1995 · 04/05/2020 11:27

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

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Original poster

Megan1995 · 04/05/2020 13:31

Ahhh seeing comments saying it’s cruel leaving him 4 hours just want to clear it up
that I tried it for one day after HV said to do it and he was very unhappy so I cut it down to 3 hours/3 and a half hours between feeds and more often than not I can read his hunger cues and get him fed before that.

I’ve not heard good things about hungry baby milk so I’ve been put off over that.

I have powder milk for him and ready made, I usually make up a powder feed for him and if he drained the bottle I do a quick ready made one that he doesn’t usually finish.

I did want to breast feed but unfortunately little man has a tongue tie and his appointments kept getting cancelled due to corona virus so I had no choice but to bottle feed.

Thanks for all your advice I will demand feed him from now on.

He sleeps between every other feed and I can tell his hunger cues - they are moving head from side to side when we put his dummy in, he tries and sucks on our fingers, he sucks on our hands. That’s usually when I know to get him fed

OP posts:

CodenameVillanelle · 04/05/2020 13:42

Why are you talking about giving him the dummy to stretch out feeds if you feed him when he's hungry?
Stay away from hungry baby milk. Just feed him more often.

dementedpixie · 04/05/2020 13:46

Your HV is talking shite by the way - no way should you be making a 6 week old wait 4 hours for a feed (or even 3½ hours, if they are hungry before then). You're supposed to feed on demand. Think mine got to 4 hourly spacing at around 4 months old

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dementedpixie · 04/05/2020 13:49

And no I wouldnt give hungry milk or water instead either.

Original poster

Megan1995 · 04/05/2020 13:58

Codename Villanelle, my HV said give baby dummy to try and stretch out his feeds

OP posts:

aimzxd · 04/05/2020 16:41

My prem baby has been fed every 4 hours since he was in neonatal on doctors orders. Its only lately that ive been feeding on demand as I think he's in a growth spurt and also teething. He wants BF constantly just now.. I mix feed but when he takes a bottle he can put away up to 210ml and has done so from about 8 weeks. He is also still small for his age, still in 0 to 3 months clothes and is 18 weeks tomorrow. I agree not to let a baby go hungry, but you can gradually space feeds till theyre going every 4 hours.

SomeoneElseEntirelyNow · 04/05/2020 16:49

Your HV is talking dangerous bollocks and if i were you I'd be reporting her. 9 week old babies need to be feed on demand.

Soubriquet · 04/05/2020 16:52

Feed him if he’s hungry

I never followed the wait 4 hour rules. I fed them if they were hungry.

Usually meant it was little and often but that’s how my dc preferred it

SingingSands · 04/05/2020 17:05

Sounds like you know your baby very well and are going back to feeding on demand. Well done - he's your little baby, you know him best and you'll both be happier when he's fed and happy!

Enjoy your happy baby

AlitheAllosaurus · 04/05/2020 17:10

I’ve absolutely no idea where your health visitor is getting her information from, the recommendations are as said above, feed on demand, you are always aiming to have some left in the bottle so you know baby is full, first milk only for the first 6 months, no water is needed until weaning and a dummy is your own preference for comfort sucking but not to stretch them between feeds. There are some excellent health visitors out there but some of their advice seems very dated and just wrong. You know your baby best.

TeddyBeans · 04/05/2020 17:16

Babies don't know what they're 'supposed' to do, they just know if they're hungry, sleepy or uncomfortable - go with your baby, not advice ❤️

okiedokieme · 04/05/2020 17:18

I fed on demand, I thought this was the way babies under 3 months are fed

PippaPegg · 04/05/2020 17:24

Report the HV.

I tried to report mine for giving utter bollocks advice but sadly couldn't get the complaints dept to respond at all. Still worth a go though OP as that "advice" is dangerous for such a young baby.

midnightstar66 · 04/05/2020 17:25

Feed on demand, they aren't machines who get hugely at set times. Dd2 was still feeding every 2 hours at 4 months bar a slightly longer gap at night

Original poster

Megan1995 · 04/05/2020 17:53

Thanks everyone like I said once my HV told me to feed him every 4 hours I’ll admit I did try but only for the 1 day and he didn’t like it at all.

He’s being fed on demand which we’ve noticed is following a pattern of 2 and a half hours, sometimes 2.

I felt like when my HV told me to feed him every 4 hours she thought I was being an idiot and over feeding him. I did explain to her he is inconsolable if you leave him too long but her response literally was ‘give him a dummy’ ‘walk him round’ which i admit have tried and didn’t work! Just had a very unhappy baby.

I’m glad I reached out and I now know moving back to demand feeding was the right thing to do. Thanks everyone x

OP posts:

Soubriquet · 04/05/2020 18:03

Glad to hear it

And don’t let the HV tell you the baby is getting fat. Dd was a right chunky little baby. She had rolls on her rolls

She’s 7 now and a right skinny minnie. It all evens out

HelloRose · 04/05/2020 22:11

The advice you were given from your HV is so worrying and wrong.

Feed your baby every 2hours or whenever he needs it. He's so little.

I fed my ds approx. every 2hrs until we started weaning at 6months

johnd2 · 04/05/2020 22:55

Something we found helpful when we were struggling, more with sleep than with feeding, was to make a daily chart with the hours on the left and the days on the top, and just colour in the sleep and feeding times in different colours for about a week while doing everything on demand.
It will quickly become clear what your baby prefers for sleep and eat routine, so in our case we sorted out nap times and rough feeding times for that.
Might not work at 9 weeks but hear in mind

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