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?

OP I have the opposite problem - my DS is 16 weeks and underweight (2nd percentile). He has 6 feeds a day (3 hour gaps during the day, longer stint at night) but will only drink 4.5oz at a time. Any more he just throws it up. This is what he's happy having, it fills him up, he wakes up just before each feed is due as that's when he wants feeding, and the schedule works for him. I'm learning to accept that every baby is different. The formula packet says he should be eating more, but c'est la vie.

Please do not worry that your baby will be overweight, those are just guidelines x

@ TheDIsiilusionedAnarchist
Oh my gosh! You’re making out like I am starving my child and setting him up for a bad life. So judgemental for me just asking a question. ‘Persistent early hunger’ He is over average weight so how can he possibly be not having enough food. He is fed when he is hungry, all I do is in between feeds try to keep him occupied which I’m sure most mothers read and play with their children in between feeds do they not? When he cries for food I give it him which is why he is eating every 3 hours at the most, usually more often.

@Watermelonbaby1 I promise you, you will not be making your baby overweight. A full baby will turn their head, not continue feeding.
I'm not sure why your doctor said he should be feeding every 4 hours as every baby is different but remember that babies go through lots of growth spurts in the first year where you will find baby to be feeding more than usual. It's completely normal.
Regarding water, as other people have said, a few sips of cooled boiled water when it's really hot is not a problem. Filling a baby up with water is not recommended as their stomachs are small so if their stomach is full of water, they won't want their next feed and then miss out on vital nutrients.
I've always been told that if baby starts draining all their bottles, add an extra ounce.
And again, you cannot over feed a baby. If you do, they will throw it back up!

He is over average weight so how can he possibly be not having enough food.

What is this ‘average weight’ you’re referencing? Do you mean he’s on the 50th percentile? That’s not how it works - babies who are below don’t need feeding up quickly and babies who are above don’t need to gain weight at a slower pace to reach it, you just ideally need to follow your line. If you go over your line because your baby is having a growth spurt then that doesn’t matter. Babies’ weight isn’t just about gaining fat, they’re skeleton and brain and everything else is growing too and of course they won’t always follow the line to a tee - if all those body parts start growing at an excelled rate then you need to match the feeds to that.

Is he following his centile line OP? Please speak to your health visitor they generally know more about baby feeding than the GP

OP, firstly you’ve been really resilient in response to some quite harsh phrasing!

I also wanted to say that a baby’s weight should also be considered in relation to their overall size i.e. length. Even if they don’t measure it in your area (ours don’t) then you can get a general idea from how they fit in clothes sizes relative to their actual age. E.g. my DD was in 9-12 months at 5 months and a quick home measure out her length at roughly 91st centile. So I would therefore expect her to be heavier than the average otherwise she is underweight for her size, if you see what I mean?

*but now wants to feed all the time despite having a lot more formula.

Its likely a growth spurt.

Honestly he's eat what he needs and will reject anymore than that. Don't tie yourself to stretching the times out, you won't make him overweight. Its later on when you introduce solids you pay proper attention.

Speak to your HV rather than your GP.

I really wouldn't worry about weight with a 3 month old speaking from someone who had an over 9lb baby. Everyone commented that she was chunky blah blah, she's now slim as a bean and right on track. It's added stress you don't need.

If he seems to want more food he's likely to be having a growth spurt.

I am concerned about your GP giving such advice though. He shouldn't be saying things when they are clearly inaccurate. I would talk to your health visitor again for reassurance and just follow his cues. You know him best so trust yourself.

By above average weight I am just going by what my health visitor and doctor have told me for him, he is above his own line. So obviously I would be concerned for him to go further away from that line as it is obvious he has gotten a lot bigger since I last saw any of them. If he is a really big baby and eats all the time this is absolutely no problem for me I am carrying on as I normally would for him. However surely you can understand me worrying about health issues. I am going to speak to my health advisor tomorrow.

No you definitely cannot give him water in between and honestly wtf wouldn’t you feed him if he’s crying in hunger!?

Babies are not machines they do not understand schedules or feeding routines - all he understands are his needs and if he’s screaming In hunger for up to two hours you’re not meeting them

There should be babies at all the weights on the centimetres chart. Some should be at the top and the bottom - maybe yours is meant to be above where he is.

My fattest was off the scale but now he is a bony beanpole. Presumably he was meant to do all that early growing though.

As I said before, half of all babies will be above average weight. That is the definition of average.

OP you're getting an unnecessarily hard time here. Especially since clarifying you're not leaving him if you think he's hungry.

Speak with your HV / GP, because everyone freaking out about the idea of giving him water is wrong. While no, you can't replace a feed with water - he very well may be thirsty in this warm weather. From the NHS website: Formula-fed babies may need some extra water in hot weather.

That said, it could also be a growth spurt or he's just a hungry baby. I wouldn't get too worried at this age about him jumping centiles with weight, either.

@ TinySleepThief ‘ I am concerned about your GP giving such advice though‘
This is now concerning me with all the comments! I just assumed as a doctor that his advise is correct as formula boxes state this as well even though I know this is not the same for every child I thought it would be similar.

Don't give him water. Don't worry about him eating too much. Babies self regulate and eat when they are hungry. Being above average weight isn't a bad thing - 50 percent of babies are.

However surely you can understand me worrying about health issues.

Completely - but you need to look at grand scheme of things. Babies that age don’t tend to become ‘overweight’. Even the ones who take great leaps over their percentile line. A greater health issue in my opinion is letting a baby feel hungry for to long and mixing formula incorrectly.

@Motherofasleepaphobe YES SHE CAN GIVE HIM WATER. Formula fed babies can be given water in hot weather in addition to their normal bottles. Once again, see the NHS website www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/drinks-and-cups-children/

She cannot give him water instead of a feed, but she can very definitely give him water on top of his bottles if he is dehydrated in hot weather.

This is the third time I've posted on this thread, and I've posted the same info countless times on other threads. It is ignorant and dangerous for so many posters to say there is a blanket ban on water for young babies without checking the facts. OP even says in one of her previous posts that she has been told by her HV to give the baby water, yet I'm sure a bunch of complete strangers know better

@ Motherofasleepaphobe
I have clearly said he is not left to scream in hunger for two hours! I have said that I try to keep him occupied in between feeds like any parent plays with their child. But when he cries he is fed! That.Is.The.Whole.Point.Of.This.Thread! That I am feeding him so often that I’m concerned, not that he is going hungry. There’s no concern that he is not getting enough.

@Livingoffcoffee Thank god. The first person who has also spoken sense and checked their facts about giving water.

I really wouldn’t worry too much about weights and lines unless your health visitor explicitly says that it’s a problem. Sometimes kids have a growth spurt and jump up percentile lines, that’s normal.

@ ArtichokeAardvark
Thank you! I am not making up advice out of thin air. This is my concern that he could possibly be wanting more bottles as it is warm and he may just be becoming dehydrated quicker rather than actually needing the formula and my health visitor has said to give small amounts on warm days. I am yet to have done this as I have previously heard all this bad opinion of water and newborns but will follow my health advisers advice if this is what she thinks is best tomorrow when I speak to her.

@ Motherofasleepaphobe
Meant to tag this poster aswell