Can I give newborn water to top up?

[Watermelonbaby1]

My son is 11 weeks old and has become a very hungry baby! Recently he has been wanting to eat every 3 hours almost on the dot. I am giving 6oz bottles at the minute which is too much to feed him every 3 hours so I try my best to play/talk/keep him occupied to reach 4/5 hours at least before I feed him but most of the time he screams and sucks on hands so viciously that I have to feed him earlier. As soon as he’s had his bottle he’s the happiest baby smiling so I feel awful trying to make him wait all the time. I have tried giving him less oz per feed but this leads again to even more frequent feeding. From 12 weeks I have been told he should be on 7oz bottles every 5 hours so would like to give him this but scared he will gain too much weight because he will still want to feed every 3 hours. When I went for an appointment at 9 weeks he was just slightly above average weight but am now scared he’s gaining too much as he’s eating more often than he was then. So my question is can I give my newborn cooled down boiled water with just a bit of formula in every so often when he is wanting to feed constantly so he’s happily full but will not put on as much weight?

No you can’t give a baby water.

You need to feed on demand, babies don’t have a clue what a schedule is, and certainly don’t need to wait to be fed when they’re hungry.

Have a look at paced feeding. It mimics the way babies would feed from the breast, gives them more control over the amount of milk they intake and is a more natural way for them to eat, rather than guzzling bottles down in minutes.

www.mamanatural.com/paced-bottle-feeding/

Don't give him water until you start weaning.

Also please stop making him wait for food. Not all babies follow the arbitrary rules, some eat less and many eat more especially when going through a growth spurt. Making him wait just so he fits onto a generic schedule of when and how much he eats seems quite cruel, especially if its leading to him screaming for 2 hours.

No don’t do this. Feed him when he’s hungry, don’t worry so much about the schedule. Speak to your HV if you’re worried.

No, absolutely not. Feed him correctly made up bottles as and when he's hungry. It could be a growth spurt or perhaps he just has a big appetite.
The only person you should ever take feeding advice from is your health visitor and even then it's not one size fits all for babies. So what if he's in the higher weight range at 11 weeks old!
You should never water down or 'bulk up' bottles (rusks etc).

If he's hungry then he needs feeding, a schedule isn't that important when they're so young you just follow their lead

Please don’t leave your baby screaming for food. If he is hungry give him his milk, no matter when he had his last bottle. If he is finishing 6oz bottles give him a 7oz bottle.

Who has told you to make him wait and how much milk he should have?

Is there a reason you're not just feeding your baby when he's hungry? Babies come in all shapes, sizes and appetites. If he's hungry then he needs to be fed milk!! I don't understand where you've got this "every 3/4/5 hours" from.

As the others said! No water and feed on demand. Definitely at 11 weeks!

3 hours is a totally normal gap between feeds - do you go 4-5 hours between food/drink?

What does he weigh now?

Bottle fed babies need to comfort suck just as much as breastfed babies do so make sure he has a dummy.
Agree with the suggestion of paced feeding above too.

More than anything though, your baby doesn't know how much/when he should be feeding. He just knows when he is hungry and miserable.

No, you shouldn't give water, or watered down milk. It can be dangerous. Just feed on demand, he's too young to be on a diet.

Eh? Water is not a 'top up' it has no nutritional value

There's usually a growth spurt around that age making them hungrier so that's probably what's going on. Babies don't overeat so if he wants food he needs food just go with it op

There's a big growth spurt around 12 weeks and all they do it eat. If hes hungry feed him.

If I had to go 5hrs without some kind of drink, I'd probably be cross too.

Every 3hrs sounds normal to me but I breastfed. In warm weather, it was more like hourly.

You feed your child on demand whatever amount they want to take. Please do not make your very young baby wait for food. That is a terrible thing to do.

Feed the poor mite when hes hungry. Hes supposed to put on weight. What the hell are you reading?

Average weight just means half of babies are below that weight and half are above. It's not a target for everyone! Feed your baby when he is hungry.

As others have said feed on demand! Every baby is different, do not let your baby go hungry or give them watered down formula, he's so young and that's dangerous.

Don't worry about him gaining weight, my 14 month old baby was similar to yours. I just fed on demand and she's never been over weight. It may be a comfort thing for your baby too, so please don't hold off feeding him because it's not exactly 4/5 hours

Always remember you know your baby the best!

A baby that age should be fed when their hungry. What makes you think it’s too much? Formula fed babies can have small water top ups on extremely hot days but you definitely don’t top up with water to fill them up.

Why are you so obsessed with his weight? He's a baby feed the poor little bugger when he wants feeding.

He's also well past the newborn stage.

3 hours between feeds at 11 weeks is normal, and you give what the baby wants. If they finish a bottle you give them more. Babies dont overeat. They take the food they need. If you have a hungry baby then you have a hungry baby, so you give them the food their body is telling them they need. It's not a massive inconvenience to feed every 3 hours.

No! Who told you he should be having 7oz bottles at 12 weeks? Every baby is different. I've had 3 so I can testify to that. My second used to feed every 1 and half to 2 hours. I can't imagine trying to make a baby wait. Definitely feed on demand. A baby will not drink if they're not hungry.

One of the best things about breast feeding is that you don’t have a dial on your breasts so have no clue how much they eat so can’t worry about it!

If your baby is hungry then feed him. They go through growth spurts and don’t behave exactly the same as in the books.

Having said that - according to the NHS site a bottle fed baby should be given cooled boiled water when it is hot. For the same reason as you have more drink when it is hot.

“Fully breastfed babies don't need any water until they've started eating solid foods. Formula-fed babies may need some extra water in hot weather.

For babies under 6 months, you should not use water straight from the mains tap in the kitchen as it is not sterile. You will need to boil the tap water first and then let it cool down. Water for babies over 6 months doesn't need to be boiled.”

Slightly different in that DS is breastfed but duro g the day he tends to go every 2 ish hours. They're not always "proper" feeds but it doesn't matter. My theory is I don't eat and drink at a set time and then have nothing at all to drink until bang on 4 hours later so why should he?

What would you do if you felt hungry or thirsty between meals...? I honestly can’t believe anyone expects a baby to go without food or drink (milk is both of these) for 4 or 5 hours. You should rethink your approach and focus on being responsive to your baby’s needs.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/baby-friendly-resources/relationship-building-resources/responsive-feeding-infosheet/amp/