Formula feeding on demand? Help!

[newmum234]

My 5 week old is fed 100-120mls of formula every 3-4 hours and has about 700-780mls a day. I checked this with the health visitor and she said it sounds right.

However, this morning he was fed 120mls at 7.30am, fell asleep and was then woken by the postman knocking on the door at 9.15am! He wouldn’t stop crying after waking and was getting more and more distressed. I tried cuddling him for 15 minutes but he was still sounding really upset. I concluded that he must be hungry and gave him another 60mls of formula, which he drank quite quickly. After that he settled down.

I’m wondering - did I do the right thing by feeding him again so close to his last feed? And how can you tell whether a baby is crying in hunger or for some other reason?

He could have been unsettled by being woken up when he wasn't ready to wake rather than genuinely hungry again but at that age I wouldn't worry about giving another 60mls of formula if it helped settle him. Some babies need top up feeds at certain times if they are having a growth spurt so try to go by instinct and you'll start to learn his hungry cry. The amounts listed on the back of formula tin are a general guide.
The sucking and closeness with mum is soothing as much as the milk

We on demand feed and have done since baby was born, I let her have what she wants when she wants (16 weeks), I make up 6oz bottles, sometimes she takes all of it, other times only 2oz.
She rarely takes over 30oz in 24hrs, more often than not, slightly under. She sleeps for 10-12hrs overnight without feeding. She feeds anywhere between 1.5hrs - 3hrs during the day.

I dont follow amount or times so strictly. My son (9 weeks) feeds every 2-3 hrs during the day and takes about 4-5 ounces per feed. I make the bottles up to 5 ounces and he takes what he wants. When I find hes draining every bottles routinely I up the amount a bit. My view of it is that he'll take what he wants, and as long as he has wet nappies and is a healthy weight, then its ok.

Your baby was hungry and you fed him more! Its really just as simple as that.

Feeding on demand is absolutely fine. You did the right thing.

Babies are small human beings. And just like us grown ups we have days when we pick at food all day, days when we aren't very hungry and days when we are super hungry.

Additionally if a baby is growing, learning a new skill (so growing the brain) or feeling off colour they may need more calories.

Thanks all - I’m thinking that as long as he’s getting the right amount over 24 hours then it’s fine.

Don't worry too much about how much he's having, it's good to feed on demand. You could look up paced feeding if you're worried about over feeding, but babies often go through growth spurts.

I feed my almost 9 week old on demand. He is small at only 7lb 7 so doesnt take big feeds. We're in hospital st the moment so i have to ask nurses for his feeds. Driving me slightly insane as some are very regimented in that he should get 70mls every 3 hours. He is not in hospital for any feeding issues. My view is that he should feed on demand - sometimes he takes 60mls other times hes still hungry after the 70 and i have to ask for more. I think hes too small to be forced to wait 3 hours.

@hockeyboysmum I had a hospital stay with my son too (also not weight related) and found exactly the same thing. They'd ask me 'whens his next feed', and my answer was 'when he asks for it', at which point I got looked at with horror by some of the nurses

@Letsallscreamatthesistene last week a dr told me i was overfeeding him and he wasnt allowed to take more then 60mls every 3 hours. Then they weighed him a few days later and in the 10 days we'd been here hed lost 3ozs dropping from 7lb 10 to 7lb 7. Hed had a couple of surgeries he had to fast for so not a huge surprise but cutting his feeds wasnt gpimg to help.

To those saying they feed on demand - how long do you go without giving a feed if your baby is asleep?

I just let him sleep, then if he's been asleep longer than 2-3hrs I feed when he wakes up.

Honestly though OP, I do think you're perhaps overthinking things a little.

If your baby's weight is fine and they're having wet and dirty nappies then its ok. There really isnt anything more to it than that.

I bottle fed on demand. Sometimes they want more and sometimes less. I didn't stick to an every 3 hours feed or any routine. If they slept for 4 or 5 hours I would just feed when they woke up. It worked out anyway on average about every 3 hours ish, but going through a growth spurt it could be every 2 hours or every hour but less taken. Just do what you feel is right and feed when you need to.

Thanks! I’m confused again as I just gave him 120mls and after that he seemed to want more, so I fed him another 30mls which he drank quite quickly - but he then did quite a large posset afterwards! Does this mean I shouldn’t have given him the extra 30mls? I thought I was doing the right thing because he still seemed hungry!

He’s now crying again and putting his hand to his mouth, but surely he shouldn’t be given any more since he’s already had 150?! I’m pretty certain it’s not reflux as he doesn’t seem in pain and isn’t showing any of the other signs. Not sure what to do!

If he's hungry then feed him. He's got a lot of growing to do.

@newmum234

Thanks all - I’m thinking that as long as he’s getting the right amount over 24 hours then it’s fine.

The right amount is the amount he wants op, don't worry about the box.

If he did a large posset it could be that he had a pocket of wind that needed to come up rather than him being sick cos hes over fed

Overnight at that age I'd say 4 hours but then mine didn't really go more than that till about 4 months. Now I dream feed at midnight and then they wake 4-5ish

Do you have a dummy op?

@Bluebooby thanks - is it okay to feed more even though he brought up a bit of milk after the last feed?

You didn't ask me I would. But sir him upright and hold the bottle straight (pace feeding) so he has to work a bit for it

@SleepingStandingUp thanks - I didn’t consider that it might be wind. He went almost 5 hours last night between feeds, which is a record for him. Should I have woken him after 4 hours or is it okay to let him go that long?

Also, is it possible to overfeed formula? Do babies know when they’ve had enough and refuse any more milk, or will they continue feeding even though they’ve had too much and are overly full?

I don’t have a dummy because I’d prefer not to use one if I can avoid it (no offence to anyone who does use them, it’s just my personal preference!)

You can in theory but most babies will push it away when they're full or otherwise stop feeding. I think 5 hours is fine op, I'd have done 4 for MINE because I knew they wouldn't last much longer than that. I think sensibly if they're feeding every 3 hours then 6 hours would be fine as it would just be missing one feed. My fatties are every 3 hours in the day still, and fed on demand. They're not overfed they're just plump 😂😂

You're a good job newmum x

Yes, he does push the bottle away sometimes or just stop sucking and become really drowsy, at which point I take it out his mouth...

I offered a bottle every 3 hours (daytime), but never denied them in between if she ‘asked’ for it.

Fed on demand at night.

That's fine then. I found that I was trying to get them to empty their bottles even when d used off because I was so worried about them eating enough (eldest was totally tube fed from months so I have issues 😂) so they were a bit overfed but sounds like your doing it all right